A well-rounded and effective truck enforcement officer is like fine wine. It takes time to season them to be proficient in their trade. The best truck enforcement officers in Illinois not only understand the detection and application of law, but they are keenly aware that it’s more than just writing tickets. It’s about compliance. It’s about education. It’s about advocacy. It’s about respect for the most vital industry to our economy…trucking. From September 29th to October 3rd, 2014, fifteen of the best truck officers in Illinois will rise to a new level of performance at the ITEA 40-hour Advanced Truck Enforcement Officer course. Will you be there?
The Illinois Truck Enforcement Association prides itself in not just being a puppy mill for truck officers. The practice of arming multitudes of police officers with nothing but basic training is dangerous to the industry. Even worse it hurts the perception of quality truck enforcement officers. Churning out scores of truck officers with limited knowledge and a ticket book pointed at revenue is nothing short of destructive. Only the ITEA trains, certifies and holds accountable truck officers with updates, resources and advanced training. The only other advanced training available teaches local police officers to exceed their authority and impersonate the Illinois State Police. The ITEA offers something completely different.
The 40-hour Advanced Truck Enforcement Officer course offered by the ITEA reinforces the basic training and post-training field experience of truck officers. Instead of teaching new ways to try and teach officers to write more tickets, the course teaches truck enforcement disciplines from the perspective of the trucking industry and regulatory officials (whom all the curriculum was built in partnership with).
The lead CVSA instructor from Illinois spends a day teaching about how the international program works. The ISP trooper spends the day going over how they perform an inspection (with the appropriate authority), training and reporting techniques. Officers quickly learn that observance of critical safety violations is important, but enforcement based on unauthoritative instruction is dangerous.
A day is spent teaching the finer points of CDL rules and regulations. The officers then have an opportunity to learn what it takes to get a CDL…just like the industry. The class reports to a Secretary of State CDL facility to take the permit tests, perform a walk-around pre-trip inspection, and then actually drive a semi-tractor trailer combination on the skills course. Officers get to see the world from the trucker perspective, and soon learn the worst truck drivers are better drivers than they are.
Truck registration is a complicated mess. Much like CDLs, a day is spent teaching the details of registration from both an intrastate and interstate point of view. Instruction not only teaches the law, but how the operation of the Secretary of State Commercial & Farm Truck Division works. At the end of the day, the officers learn how to apply for and register an entire fleet of trucks…just like the industry.
The specialized transportation industry relies on oversize/overweight permitting to get the biggest and heaviest loads delivered. The OS/OW permit process is a nightmare of individual state, county and local regulations. A detailed comparison of state law vs. local law is explored and the effect it has on the industry. Students are then given the opportunity to sit in the seat of the permit coordinator and apply for basic permits…just like the industry.
Weight enforcement is an important part of a well-rounded program, but learning what is heavy and what is not takes a lot of trial and error. While this is expected with new truck officers, much time and money is wasted by officers on fishing expeditions. A full day is spent going over different configurations for different commodities and the explaining loading trends. Real life photos from ITEA officers are used to show how to stop and weigh the trucks that are actually overweight, proper weighing procedures and reasonable enforcement discretion.
If you want the best, be the best. Do not miss the opportunity to take this unique course. Please contact the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy at 630-942-2295 to register.
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