Highway Patrol hits back roads to snag overweight trucks
8/15/07

Quote:

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (AP) -- Truckers trying to skip interstate weigh stations may run into state troopers patrolling North Carolina's back roads. More than two dozen troopers fanned out near Hillsborough and Graham yesterday, scanning alternate routes for I-85 to see if big-rig drivers are using the roads to avoid scales on the interstate. The big trucks are blamed for a major part of the wear and tear on the state's highways, so the state imposes weight restrictions that are checked periodically at stations along the interstates. Troopers began stopping and weighing trucks hauling gravel, timber and other commodities early yesterday on U.S. 70, state Highway 49 and other roads near the I-85 weigh station. Just over 100 trucks were stopped in a ten-hour period yesterday, citing 27 of the drivers.

abc13

They loaded up the hen house with cruisers, vans, and even a helicopter. It would have appeared to the average trucker that they were kickin' butts, and takin' names at the hen house.

A friend of mine called and informed me of the activity at the hen house. Luckily, I was elsewhere and it was of no concern to me.

However, had I been coming through I would have picked an alternate route, just to avoid the hassles of increased scrutiny at the hen house.

And there I would have been, sitting on the shoulder of the back-road, blue lights flashing, wishing I was at the hen house.

2xR saw a report on the local news that stated this would be going on for a few more days. Yikes!!!

Fellow driver at my company was going through Ohio and passed a closed coop. He was changing lanes when he went over the pre-pass plates and next thing you know, a DOT car pulled him over. Told him he was overweight and since he knew his load was only just over 20,000 lbs, he disputed it. Trooper said to follow him off the exit, where he would then switch places and follow the truck back on the other side where they would go over the open scales. As he turned off the exit ramp, a white van pulled up, stopped in front of him, the doors flew open and these guys jumped out with the portable scale equipment -- he said it looked like something out of a bad cop movie. They weighed his truck right there and were really mad at him when they found out he wasn't even close to being overweight. They got back in the van and drove off and he was able to get on his way. Needless to say, at the time, those guys in the van nearly gave him a heart attack, but now we all laugh about the Rambo DOT in Ohio. BTW, this is the same driver that was parked in a rest area in Ohio during the big DOT push in June, when he woke up, he said the whole rest area was swarming with DOT. One officer saw him getting ready to leave and came over and told him "It's ok for you to go, we already checked your truck." First time I ever heard of a driver getting a DOT inspection in his sleep. Asked if he got a cert of clean inspection from the guy, and he said that as many DOT officers as there were crawling around that rest area, he wasn't going to ask for a thing -- the guy said to go and that's what he did. I don't blame him a bit

A few more days, uh huh, ok, LOL. Driver, they just found themselves a new way to make money. Kinda suprised that their just now doing it. They have been hard at here for a long time. Up here if you are seen loaded with a log, or coal truck, you just as well pull over before the lights come on, cause your gettin weighed!! Ive been weighed as high as 5 times in a week, fined 4 of the 5. Log trucks are expecially easy targets, open load coupled with the fact there aint no scale in the woods to weigh your truck before rolling out on the roads. Us log haulers have a sayin, if you aint got 30ton on, you aint got no load. Timber prices are very low now, even when they were up if you hauled legal loads, you might cover your fuel bill at the end of the week. Some say why do it then? It pays alittle better than welfare, and your home most every night. "A FEW MORE DAYS" You guessed it, I"m still laughing.

"Just now doing it ?" You responded to a thread 2 1/2 years old .

__________________
2 Timothy 4:3,4–”For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

Aw c'mon RickG, he is still a rookie...just barely 100 posts...might not read road signs either!

__________________


When every boat has sailed away,
And every path is marked and paid,
When every road has had it's say,
Then I'll be bringing me back home to stay.
When every town looks just the same,
And every choice gets hard to make,
When every map is put away,
Then I'll be bringing me back home to stay.
Reach out to me,
Call out my name,
And I will bring you back again today.

What can I say.....Sorry

Thats right, you tell em... As for the road signs, I see how many I can run over...

Atta boy...job security for the local DOT orange trucks....doing your part for employment stimulus!

__________________


When every boat has sailed away,
And every path is marked and paid,
When every road has had it's say,
Then I'll be bringing me back home to stay.
When every town looks just the same,
And every choice gets hard to make,
When every map is put away,
Then I'll be bringing me back home to stay.
Reach out to me,
Call out my name,
And I will bring you back again today.

Well, As for the job security, they've had that for along time. As for the stimulus, way I got it figured, if they can throw down 50 grand for tennis courts, and swimming pools, what the hells a few road signs, right? Matter of a fact, I've had my eye on a "Jake brake prohibited sign" I think I'm gonna make my own..... I can already see it hanging over the head of my bed, and that thought alone my friend, puts a smile on my face.