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Attention all Florida bound racers with "big rigs", the FL DOT wants you - or at
least your money
by Bob Smith
Big shows or traveling series, mean big car haulers, toter-homes and trailers, and
motor coaches, however despite the economic impact that racing has on the local
economies around some speedways the Florida DOT is apparently cracking down
on these haulers.
With an ASCS Sprint car race on the schedule this past Saturday night at Southern
Raceway, at Milton FL, the drivers and teams were heading in from out of state.
Enter the Florida DOT to take a show that may have had twenty cars and cut it
down to nine on hand to race!
As the haulers came across the Florida line the DOT made it a point to check
them. For some reason their focus seems to be on the race car haulers. Maybe
they don't like racing, or maybe they just figured it would be an easy source of
revenue for the state. Whatever the reasons, the rigs were turned around at the
state line, many leaving with thousands of dollars in fines to boot.
One team related their socialization with the FL DOT to me as follows;
A female DOT officer stopped their hauler - a motor coach style rig pulling an
enclosed trailer that housed their racecar, parts and equipment. The officer had
them open the trailer and noted the decals on the car. When the detained team
indicated that racing was a hobby the DOT officer pointed out the sponsor decals
and noted 'they pay you'. The officer then pointed to her patrol car and told them,
I'd bet in a sarcastic manner, "that's my hobby", indicating that her full-time, paid
job, was a hobby just as she insinuated that, despite the team racing as a hobby, it
was a paying job because they had sponsors. The hauler was turned around, but
not before amassing thousands of dollars in fines.
The Florida DOT apparently does not recognize the large car haulers/ motor coach
or toter-homes as the "recreational vehicles" which many are registered as. In their
eyes it is a commercial vehicle and must abide by the same regulations and
licensing requirements as a commercial tractor-trailer to the point where, even
though the vehicle is not commercial, the driver must have a valid CDL and all
documentation associated with a commercial tractor-trailer operation.
This is not a new happening here in the Florida Panhandle. I have heard from
several sources that it has been happening for several months now. I have not
heard from locations or teams further east, but if this is the mindset of the FL DOT
then I am sure it has been going on at other locations as well.
This team was told "It’s on the website" meaning the FL DOT's website; which I am
positive everyone who pulls a trailer for recreational purposes visits on a regular
basis!
It's sad to think that the FL DOT has to punish those who pursue a passion and
hobby that generally costs money, no matter how much you may win. Racing, as
we all know, is a losing proposition from a financial perspective for all but the most
highly sponsored and backed teams (which, by the way, many of which do race for
a living and therefore their equipment would be considered commercial).
Personally I would think that the FL DOT should be more inclined to regulate and
monitor other aspects of commercial traffic across the state such as hazardous
materials transportation and the "real" commercial vehicles. Who knows, maybe at
the top they don't like racing, or as I said before, these are easy targets that the
state knows they can make a lot of money off of. Whatever the reasons behind this
apparent push, it is happening and all teams coming to Florida in large haulers
should keep this in mind.
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