Adventures with permits.(for the rookies)

We were running 40m blades from Houston to Williams,AZ. My Texas routing started off something like Federal Rd,i10w,i610nw,i45n,i20e,i635nw,us75s,Loop12....

...and that was as far as I made it.

"Waitaminute! They're routing us through downtown Dallas! Why on earth would they route us through downtown Dallas????"

So I called Texas and had the permits amended and emailed directly to me. New route started like Federal Rd, i10w,i610,nw,i45n,i20w,i820w,b287n,287. New permits were in under 5 minutes. Perfect. Everyone knows that you have to read your OSOW permits. Reading a permit should require a road atlas.

Why do I need a road atlas? I have my trusty GPS

Find San Angelo,TX on your GPS. We loaded out of Corpus Christi, heading to Limon,CO. We got off the bigroad at Junction,TX, cut up 83 to 87 to 306 to 67 back to 87. Waitaminute...which way do you turn? When you get to the street signs, they will say EAST and WEST, and your permit will say NORTH and SOUTH. Chaos reigns without the road atlas.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...he-thread-that-shouldnt-have-to-exist.280440/

Look over the U Turn thread, and imagine that rig being heavy or long or tall. You don't want to be the moron in a YouTube video, do you?

 

Part 2: Permits and the ScaleMaster.

Was running up 287 to Limon,CO. Got to the weigh station in Lamar. The ScaleMaster put his forehead to the glass and watched me pull on the scale to see if I had to have the trailer steered to cross the scale. I didn't. Went inside with my permits, and registration and pilot cars. The ScaleMaster asked me if I had a steerman. My steerman was about to speak up when I stepped on her toes. I answered, "No sir. The steerman is waiting for us at i70 in Limon. We can make it there without steering." They let us go. Got up to Eads,CO. They had a diesel bear waiting to see if we could make it through that tight section without steering. I called the other drivers and warned them that Colorado was watching closely.

Most of the time when you pull into a scale, the ScaleMaster won't bother you too much. However, if he asks you a question, he's trying to determine whether or not you did your homework.

Arizona : Driver, do you know what the speed limit is?
Louisiana: Driver, do you know what time sunset is?
Illinois: Driver, do you have a copy of OPER993, version 2014?

 

The fine print.

One of my drivers was pulling his first 14 wide. He calls me up as he was leaving Laredo on a Saturday, running up 35. Final destination was Birmingham, AL

"This is easy. Piece of cake."

I didn't bother to mention that with a10 ft shoulder, any half baked dingleberry could pull that load.
'Did you do your homework?'

"Yep. Even signed my Alabama permit in red ink."

As soon ask hear them mention ink color, I know they didn't do their homework.

'So, where are you going to meet your pilot cars?'

"Pilot cars??
'Yeah,those thing you're going to need when you leave TEXAS'

He was not able to get a pilot car Saturday. He stopped in
orange and waited until Monday. Monday, he called me up and we chatted for a minute. I ask him his 20. He was on 10 closing in on Red Stick.

'Is ryour pilot car still behind you?'
"Yes, he's back there."
'That section of 10 has no shoulder. Speed limit is 55mph for oversized, and you're in a company truck. You can't tell me that there aren't any trucks passing you. I've been on the phone with you for a minute and haven't heard your pilot once.

My buddy made it into Red Stick, where he was routed off the interstates and down the back roads because of the constručtion in Denham Springs. He went the wrong way. He to do a U.got turned around, back on route. A 4 wheeler hit tie side of the load. A local came up to work the accident and asked the driver where was his police escort.
"I don't need a LEO escort, I have a civilian." The cop asked to see his permit, took out a highlighter and underscored the fine print. "Here's your ticket, driver."

"That cop was a hole! He could have let me go with a warning."
'He DID give you a warning.'
"A $300 ticket? How is tht a warning?"

He could have voided your permit. Then the ticket would have been 10x as large.