Injun Got a TICKET!!

Yep. It's true. And it wasn't a ticket to the theater.

Okay, here's the story:

I loaded this morning at a scrapbooking supplies warehouse. "Romper-Room" is what I called it. Not a person there above the age of 25 and nobody seemed to know anything about my load. I had been backed to the wrong door for over an hour before they realized it. Maybe that should have been my first clue to double check everything. But I didn't.

I made a second pickup and got underway. Total load weight 37,700 pounds. Never had trouble with that before, so I just rolled with it.

I fueled in Willard, UT and then immediately crossed the Utah scale. I always watch my weights when I cross state scales and noticed the numbers just didn't look right. I was not pulled around back.

So, I hauled it off at West Brigham to use the scale. Weights were: Steers-12,120 Drives-37,140 Tandems-22,440 Gross-71,700. My tandem was set in the 12th notch back. Normally, you move 300 pounds per notch. I pushed it all the way forward, thinking I would move at least 3,300 pounds off my drives, bringing it close but legal. This is the way it has always worked before. And rather than check my work, I drove off on my merry way.

I arrived at the Rupert, ID Port of Entry. And rolled onto the scale. Steers, good. Drives....back up, Swift...Drives-35,560. Park, bring in papers. I received a ticket for 1,560 pounds over axle. Crap. How much is this going to cost me? And how many points against my CSA? Answer: $66.50 and as far as the officer knew, none...because it was an Idaho infraction, not a DOT infraction. My ticket was written under Idaho statute number....NOT FMCSR.

I had two weeks to either pay it or show up in court. $66.50?? Can I just pay it here? Yep. Paid it on the spot. No way to weasle out of that and not worth hiring a lawyer for. It'd be a waste of time anyway, and wind up costing me attorney fees, plus the ticket, plus an additional $129.84 for court costs.

I was asked to get it legal, could use the scale as many times as necessary to do so, but was not being shut down if I couldn't get it done there. Remember, my tandems were already pushed all the way forward. I needed to move 1,560 pounds with nowhere to go on my slider. Only one way to do it without a pallet jack. The ol' hands can tell you how. I don't want the responsibility if you try it and something goes terribly wrong. Which it can, very easily if you're too rough and it's a less-than-stable load.

Final weights: Steers-12,100 Drives-32,960 Tandems-27,040 Total-72,100.

Complacency is what got me that ticket.

Two amusing side notes: I had just advised one of our newer drivers in balancing a heavy load and told him to double-check his work since it would cost only a dollar at most. His weights were good when he rolled. and Monday, I bought an in-dash axle weight guage for my drives...and have not installed it yet. It and all the parts necessary for its install are still in the boxes.

 

Ms. Nana, you have hit the nail precisely on the head as to the purpose of this thread.