Trucker Fined, 51,000 lb Truck Goes Over 3 Ton Bridge

Here's a real moron for your examination. He drove a 51,000 pound truck and trailer over a bridge with a rating of 6000 pounds. On the 0 to 100 bridge rating scale, this bridge was rated as a 2! Driver collected a nice fat 13,000 dollar fine for his efforts.


http://kdka.com/local/local_story_241215754.html

 

Wouldn't shock me at all. But in those cases, the truck weighs 3 times the limit. In this case, the truck weighed about 9 times the limit. And if they get caught, the concrete guys can look forward to paying a hefty fine as well.

Last week I was in Kansas, traveling on a state highway over to Joplin Mo. Outside of one town was a series of bridges, all marked for 35 ton or so. I weighed more than that, but not too much. I went on ahead. there were no warning signs before the bridges, not warning at the previous crossroads. These weren't for safety as much as they were for revenue of the local county. I took a chance, but I took a chance on enforcement, not collapse.

 

Brickman, I have found myself in that exact situation as well, and the only choice is to grit your teeth and drive over it, assuming that the safety factor is reasonable. If it's within 75% of my weight, say 30 tons limit, then I don;t worry about it too much. But, attempting to cross a 3 ton bridge with a 40 ton unit would leave me with filled shorts and an unpleasant smell in the cab. There are limits to what I would attempt. I might have to back up for a mile, and I would make some nasty phone calls afterward to the folks responsible for marking the bridge, but I wouldn.t cross that bridge (when I come to it!).