Mystery of the weigh stations?

Like you would with any predator in the wild... don't make eye contact.

 

But not every state has the lighted signs and since they don't always coordinate with the pre pass system they had a lot of drivers responding to the signs regardless of the pre pass unit. Therefore those states that used the signs decided they needed to stress the fact that the pre pass still trumped the lighted signs.

 

Sounds like Virginia. Half the time I go through Roanoke the system isn't even on.

 

Oh they absolutely do, the port of entry on I-5 into Washington (Ridgefield) can and will pull you in for no apparent reason.
The WSP there have no sense of humor and could care less if you look tough or not lol.
Ask any chip hauler, we get pulled in at random loaded or empty despite having a prepass quite often.
I run by the scale at Ridgefield sometimes 4-5 times in a day and might get a pass with 4 loaded trailers and then pulled in empty on my way back to the yard,go figure.

 

As a poker player I can read you like a book and I'm sure the scale masters pick up on things too. When you start acting outside normal behavior you have something to hide. Don't enter scale houses with fear or feel you have to pretend. Just be yourself is the best thing you can do and do your task at hand lining up correctly and roll your window down to hear commands.

First impressions go a long way. Keep a clean truck.

When you work for an outfit with a bad reputation there isn't much you can do but find a better company to work for.

 

Very True.......

For most people, Its only natural to become slightly (or sometimes greatly) Panicy.

even knowing all of your ducks are aligned and you operate 100% compliant...It still brings a 'Roller coaster' effect to your stomach.

Shouldn't be that way..Nobody likes coming to work under high anxiety..But,It is what it is.


Best advice i can give is if you get the red light to pull in........Try to relax as much as possible, But be CONFIDENT! If you get asked to pull around back....Be polite,courteous and organized..But most importantly.. BE CONFIDENT of your job and equipment

 

I use Jedi mind control. "This isn't the driver you're looking for."

Pass right on through like a shadow.

 

Ha! I wish, not much chance of that for my line of work, a lot of the log yards and chip facilities I roll through are mud pits and then there's all the sawdust, bark and other junk that falls on the truck under the bunkers including hydraulic fluid.
The trucks out of our main yards get washed once in a while but those of us who drive out of little Podunk drop yards like I do rarely get a bath lol.
The DOT knows us well through, they love chip haulers!

 

The pre-pass builds a computer record of your truck every time you go thru one . Also when I DOT cop pulls you over & enters your truck number . Keep it cool & everything legal , with pre-pass eventually you will be by-passing most of them ! I had it at my last 2 jobs & at first I went in a lot ,then I noticed I was going in less & less . Now I barely go into one !!

 

I am a licensed scalemaster. (that and two dollars will get you a cup of coffee). During my training and licensing period, I was required to do a certain amount of hours (like an internship) at a highway scale. I did mine at the Nisqually scales in Washington state.
It is a very boring exisitance sitting there all day watching the scales as trucks pass over, then deciding is something that looks borderline needs to reweigh, backup or whatever.
I believe it takes a certain mindset (read that labotomy) to do this for years. When I first licensed, I was figuring on becoming a state employee and retiring one day from all this garbage. But I couldn't ever numb myself enough to do this mindless job hour after hour.
So we had to create excitement.
One of the things we did was to put $5 in a pool, then one person picked the 'requirements'.
He might come up with 'red flatbeds' or 'blue tankers'. It might even be something as oblique as 'driver wearing cowboy hat'.
And then the fun began. Everytime we got a truck that fit the criteria, we did our best to find what we could ticket. weight, tires, paperwork...you name it. Then the next day we compared notes and the one that wrote the most citations for that class would get the money and set the next day's criteria.
I was an intern so I only got to 'help'.
So often, a white flatbed that was marginal was given a pass while a blue tanker (the mark for the day) had to park, bring in his paperwork and perhaps have an inspection, even tho he weighed out fine.
I'm sure there's still a lot of this kind of thing that goes on. The logic is, "they're not legal, who cares?"
Not defending the practice, just saying what was.