Cty Permit or Huge Fine!

A couple of weeks ago I pulled a 14' high load into Batavia, NY. My home office permit lady ordered a route survey and then ordered the NY permit from a permit service company. The permit was issued. I studied the route and then met an escort driver at a truck stop in Erie, PA. All appeared to be in order for the movement to happen. Then the escort driver asked to see my NY permit. He said it all looked good, except that I would need a county permit for Route 1 in Erie County, NY. I called my permit lady. She ordered the permit and I received it a couple of hours later. Thereafter, I made an uneventful delivery.

According to the escort driver he only knew about the need for the county permit from prior sad experience. While escorting an OD load over the same route an Erie County deputy pulled the escort and truck over and issued a warning to the escort and a ticket to the driver - no permit, over weight, over height, over width, and over length. The base fine (no permit) was $1,200 and the total with all the "over's" was $44,000 - all according to the escort driver.

My NY permit did have some "boiler plate" language saying that the permit holder would be responsible for contacting any local jurisdictions through which the movement would be made - thus absolving the State of NY and placing the responsibility on the driver, who presumably would have some support from the carrier for whom he works. However, in my situation I rely on the permitting process (the permit lady, the route survey, the permit service company, and the issuing authority) to issue the appropriate permits. In this case nobody discovered the need for the Route 1 permit in Erie County, and we only avoided an economic disaster by the good fortune of hiring the right escort driver.

Since everyone in our permitting process missed the need for the permit, I submit that the system lacks reasonable constructive notice as to the need for the permit. I'm sure the poor fellow who paid $44,000 thought he was doing everything right. However, he also missed the need for that particular permit - due, it appears, to lack of reasonable constructive notice as to the need for the permit. From my observations, it looked like a new version of the old "Speed Trap".

Questions: Whom within our system should change procedures to discover all of the permit needs?
And, is this a problem elsewhere?
And, can the system be revised to require more reasonable constructive notice?

Thanks, Drivers, for any comments.

 

Oh yes. But, is it not funny how everyone in the permit process assures the driver that all is OK, thus setting the driver up for another bad trip?
I told one experienced OD guy about this, and he asked, "Where you at now?" I said. "The TA, Harrisburg, PA!" He asked, "Is there a brick wall or a concrete barrier at the end of the parking lot?" I told him there was a concrete Jersey barrier at the end. He said, "Good. Go down there and beat your head against it until you quit thinking about this!"
Somehow, I think, there should be an increased responsibility for those who require permits to provide reasonable constructive notice.

 

Agreed. The permit service holds themselves out to perform the service and should be accountable. However, they run into the same road block as we do. I think the key is Reasonable Constructive Notice by those entities that require the permit. Perhaps it calls for a US DOT regulation to require that political subdivisions of a state must register any routes where permits are required - with the state to provide the permit requirement and contact info on the state permit.

 

Big Don, Thanks for your reply. Don't forget Indian reservations and Federal administrated land. Lots of snakes in the tall grass.