Ever blow by a Weigh Station when it was open?

You don't have to pull into Umatilla westbound..... you outlaw, you.......

 

Well, I guess that"s why they didn't come and chase me down. I was looking in my rearview mirror for a few minutes though.

 

This is a good one years ago I was told to bobtail to NH and pick up a trailer from the shipper the dispatcher also introduced me to the new driver and said I will have him follow you and pick up a trailer also.....he either didn't know how to use the CB or didn't have it on but the scales were opean and he went right past and they came rite out after him I pulled over and tried to explain the mistake the officer told him to take the next exit go south take the 2nd exit go north and come into the scale at that point if everything checks out I will give you your license back he takes off the cop says I'm going to sit here and make sure he does a flip well he did the flip and went rite past the southbound scale I have never seen a cop laugh soo hard .I can just imagine what he told the southbound. Cop when he asked him for his license 1hr later he pulled over behind me no ticket and said trucking is to stressfull

 

There is always "too much traffic " to hit that scale in the left lane that feeds from both directions around Baltimore / DC loop area . I 95/495 I think. That's a pain.

 

Been to the umatilla coop several times...once paid a visit to the nice inspection bay for a level 1. Still don't really know why they picked me had a shiny Cascadia with less than 250k and trailer. Meantime I see junkers rolling right through. I guess the inspector didn't want to deal with a bunch of violations paperwork that day???

 

Unless they have a diesel bear waiting for you as you go around that curve you're golden. I hate the new ones in south GA on 85. No sign that says if it's open or closed, just a weigh in motion and you have a 50/50. What I have come up with so far, going north at least, anytime after 10 PM they are locked up. Hang out in that left lane and the camera never picks you up. Not because it's closed either, but it only reads the right lane.
I had a bull hauler blow by me when the northbound GA coop was open on 85. Nothing ever happened to him and I doubt he cared either.
I have seen guys in PA blow the rest area coops, then be pulled over shortly down the road. Those times I just try to relax rolling through and hope for the best. Last time I got inspected was an OOS, thanks CT! Got started because of window tint, which has been on this truck since the first owner had it, and things went downhill from there. Now I'll take the extra 15 minutes to dance around any open coops...

 

Got a ticket for that from mr. Chavez which i dissmised in court. They park between Loves and Flying J, waiting for you guys

 

Not myself but I was in the truck with someone who did.

I was taking a student to get his own truck as the company had signed off on him and was sending him on a recovery. I suspected that this driver was garbage and was not surprised once he took the wheel. Before we even left the yard this driver stalled an automatic truck by putting it in gear but never releasing the brakes. He seemed to be in a constant state of confusion while driving my truck and the whole time I was trying not to say anything to get him riled up. I was scared thinking about being in a vehicle anywhere near him once he was on his own.

This person claimed to and was hired because he had prior experience, however he had been out for 6 weeks with a trainer that signed off on him. I doubt this and think the company falsified stuff to get this person in a truck. This guy was constantly weaving, blew through a red light, and I had to tell him over and over not to hold his cell phone up to his ear. I also bit my tongue when I tried using my laptop to write while he drove and he proceeded to go on a rant about how I was racist against black people because I had a gadsdenn flag for my laptop wallpaper.

I was supposed to be sleeping while this guy drove but I was too terrified of what might happen if I left him alone at the wheel so I stayed in the passenger seat. Eventually when he got off my truck I went back and edited my logs to show 'on duty' the whole time he drove. Anyway, this is already too long of a setup for the main story.

"Weigh station ahead!" Barked my GPS. As we got within a mile and a half of the Missouri border scalehouse I could see the sign lit. I think it was one with just the white bulbs. I began to wonder if it had registered in this guy's head that we had to go in there. I knew everything was legal with both my truck and trailer, I had secured this load myself and knew I had overkill securement. As we failed to slow down while the offramp neared I began to think about saying something but then I had a snap judgement in my head. "Is the scale open or closed?" I asked. No response. Now I was morbidly curious to see what would happen if someone blows an open coop as I lacked the cajones to try it myself. I also began to think to myself, "Do we really want this guy on the road when he will most likely cause an accident sooner rather than later?" "Do I really want this person representing my company?" I began to quickly ponder. I came to the conclusion that this would be more interesting to let develop what was about to happen.

After we flew past the scale I asked the driver. "Did you see that open scale?" "Do we need to back up and go in there?" The driver replied. I waited and about 20 seconds later I saw blue lights shooting along behind us. The cruiser must have been doing 80+ with the speed he had catching up to us. "Do I stop?" Asked the driver worriedly. "You're the truck driver... What do you think?" I replied tensely. This was getting a lot more interesting than a normal recovery.

The driver proceeded to come to a complete stop in the slow lane. "Get to the shoulder!" I yelled. Trucks began flying past us in the left lane. We crawled to the shoulder after what seemed like an eternity. I popped the buttons while we were still in gear. "Now shut the truck off!" I barked. The officer was almost instantly at the driver door but the window was still up. The officer impatiently knocked on the window while my bewildered driver tried fruitlessly to roll the automatic window down with the key in the off position. Finally I switched the key on and the driver rolled his window down and muttered a "Hello?" To the cop.

For pretty much the entire time the MHP officer was with us my face was in my hands. I think the officer knew early on how painful this was for me to watch, because I could see how shocked he was as things unfolded. Even today thinking about this event I cringe. "Why do you think you don't need to go through an open scale?" barked the officer. "Cuz sometimes people forget when they get older." Said my driver with a poop eating grin and a chuckle. The officer's attitude got more intimidating as he could this driver wasn't fazed by the situation, he said; "And you forgot a lit sign that was less than 30 seconds from the scale?" "Yep I bet even you forgot something today." the driver said.

Is this your co driver?" the officer asked as he pointed towards me. "No! The company is just having me take him to go recover a truck." I interjected defensively, "They want him to get more driving time on the way there?"

The cop then asked to see both of our licenses and medical cards and went back to his car for a while. "I think were in trouble." the driver said. "You, not me." I replied coldly.

Eventually the officer returned after what felt like an eternity with our licenses. "You, step outside." The officer barked towards me. I got out the passenger side and the officer came around the truck to talk to me, his attitude totally changed as he calmly and quietly asked me; "What's wrong with that guy?" "I don't know man." I replied grimly, "He didn't even seem to register that we had to go in the scale even though the GPS warned him about it." "Is he your student?" replied the officer. "No!" I said, "The company just dumped him on me and said he was a company driver ready to go out on his own." "I'm just here to get him to his truck, I would be driving but I'm outta hours." I continued. The officer looked at the ground, I could see he wasn't any happier than I was. "Do you think he's all there mentally?" Asked the cop as he gestured towards the truck. I looked back towards the truck as I heard muffled chuckling from inside. I could see the driver holding his cell phone in front of his face as he grinned into it and responded to whatever the person on the other end had said.
"I don't know man, I'm just not gonna answer that." I whispered apprehensively. "That's between you, him, and the company." "Alright man, go wait in your truck." The officer said with a more upbeat attitude.

"Everything good?" The driver asked from the left seat as he put his phone down. "I have no idea." I muttered.

After a long silence the cop came back to the driver's side and handed my driver his ticket(s) I never got to see what was written in detail. The cop pointed to me in the passenger seat. "You're driving, theirs a truck stop two miles up the road, follow me there once were done here!" That is indeed what happened after the damage was read out. The company was nice enough to put the driver up at a motel for the night since he wasn't sleeping in my truck. Once he got his stuff out of my truck I told the officer privately that even though I had been in the passenger seat, I wanted to use some hours and put at least 30 miles between me and that driver before I stopped to sleep since I feared retaliation from this squirreley driver. "I dont blame you!" said the cop with a smirk, "I didn't hear that, be careful!" About 45 miles later I parked at a flying J and tried to unwind.
About an hour after I parked another highway patrol showed up in the parking lot and waved at me as I stood in front of my truck smoking a cigarette and watching the last light from the dusk. The second cop rolled his window down and asked me. "Are you stopped for the night?" Yeah!" I shouted at his car." "Did you get pulled over at a scale?" The officer asked back with a grin. "I didn't but someone else in my truck did?" I replied with a tone of exasperation. The officer laughed and said. "Just checking, you have a safe night" he then rolled his cruiser off and around the scattered row of trucks and back onto the interstate. I was left to reflect as I listened to the wind blow through the cornfield behind the truckstop.

I forget the exact names of the citations but they were as follows
Failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.
Failure to follow a traffic sign
Failure to obey a traffic device.
Obstructing traffic
Reckless driving for stopping in the interstate.

I'm pretty sure this was overkill, and I don't know if this went to court or not.

That driver lost his license on the spot and was placed out of service. I don't know the damage but the ticket was way north of $1000. Terminaton followed, and I was strongly rebuked for not helping this guy. I just told them I was texting and didn't see it, but I think both them and I knew it was a lie. A few weeks later I was in their yard and got thanked by someone in safety for "getting rid of that guy" I denied any knowledge of what they were talking about, but I think by the smiles we exchanged we both knew.

Since then I have asked other drivers about running scales. Some never get pulled over for it, and some get pulled over only to be turned around and given nothing beyond a verbal warning. In one case from I driver I trust, the DOT let him continue since he was empty. I think the lesson here is that the DOT isn't the heartless ######## some people paint them as. People get tired and make mistakes on both sides. Cops miss trucks running the scale, or they understand that a driver was in the wrong lane and made a wise choice by not swerving. They also understand that mistakes happen from time to time, and it's not worth a massive fine.

Last week I flew past a scale because the offramp was full, trucks were crowding the shoulder trying to fit in line. I expected to get pulled over but never saw any cop cars chase me.

 

Great Story, it's worth reading

 

Words....