its time the dot make the shippers have scales on their properties

wanna hear a point of view from the side of a shipper/receiver?

my job is to make sure the orders are picked and loaded and that we don't load anything that is over our internal company weight limit. i have to trust my lift operators to do their jobs properly and efficiently. we have overweights and we do rework them. it also screws up my night as far as loading other trailers.

we have a scale. its not a CAT certified one but its accurate to the copies of the CAT tickets we've had come back within a 50 pounds or so. it's open for FREE USE unless the weather is total crap in which case company policy is to shut it down because of the need to climb a set of stairs to get up and put a seal on the trailer.

you would not believe the number of drivers who A.) ignore the scale and go to a CAT scale then come back pissed off at us that something is off with the weights. B.) ask us which way and how much to slide the tandems or C.) simply want to argue because they don't want to slide 100 pounds from one axle to the other.

the times i see the most weight issues with trailers is either when we're training someone new to do the job i do or the lift operators start getting handed mandatory overtime which could mean they're working 70 hours a week or more.


trust me, i don't want your trailer to be overweight anymore than you do. it makes us look bad at our jobs and wastes your time as a driver. I will say for every 3 or 4 boneheads that want to be mad at us over the weights there are always a few that will slide out a weight i didn't think they could and still meet bridge law.


by the way, the nearest CAT Scale is about a 15 minute drive away with no danger of weight stations. oh, and we have a drivers lounge on property with a bathroom. in fact there is actually a bathroom on either side of our warehouse accessible to drivers.(i can't tell you where the north side one is though as it is ONLY a bathroom)

 

There's a few that charge a fee for using their scale..

If they provide a scale calibration is on them.. Fee or free

 

part of the job ONLY if you are compensated for the time to drive 40 miles to the CAT scale and back plus time to load, unload and rework

and if there is a DOT scale enroute, who is responsible for the overweight tickets?

 

because government is the one who penalizes us when the weights are off

if there were no DOT, i wouldnt want them interfering at all (but that opens up a whole new can of worms)

 

i appreciate that perspective

the ones the piss me off the most is when they tell us,"you cannot scale here" or "we cannot show you your weights" or "you cannot axle out here"

 

Why not just have the companies install on board weight management systems? Then you will always know and will not have to rely on anyone else.

 

Before you dropped and hooked, did you know where the nearest CAT scale was? That's part of your job. You have that responsibility to make sure that truck is legal. Ten seconds of your time to find the nearest scale could save you hundreds of dollars.

 

Most have no clue what a scale cost, or the maintenence on said scale. Weight systems on trucks are a much easier simpler fix, also if its that important to you onl work for companies that have these systems and train you to use it properly. They do work I have two hoppers and a cattle pot with them, axles and gross are always legal when I want them to be. As far as the CPM driver not getting paid to scale, strap etc. here is my take on that. You agree to work for said company as a driver to deliver freight from A to B for X CPM wages. Not to merely sit in a truck and only drive for X CPM.

 

Never been a big fan of government involvement. They always seem to strip personal freedoms in the name of "public good". If the ACA (Obama Care) wasn't enough of a slap in the face to wake people up, then we are doomed to accept the nanny state.