first time through scales?

Most scales you don't have to stop you just roll over slow. The ones you will have to stop for each axle are the ones out in the middle of nowhere or temporary ones.

The ones on interstates just roll slow over and follow signals. If they need you to stop for any reason they will signal you too.

 

Great tips guys, I was wondering about this and was going to ask trainer... I'm looking forward to doing my tandems hopefully not at the first scale to make it some big rookie test

 

how bout those north miss. scales, they dont have open or closed sign on and then when you pull in someones in there with the green and red light on. what do you do. i just haul tail and sometimes i dont even stop. then sometimes they say open and no ones in there. miss. finest doing a real good job aint they.

 

i just came through a set in south miss. where they are doing road contruction as you merge back on the interstate and its one lane, was down here bout a month ago and it was like that. its really hard and dangerous to get back on. they need to close em till the get finished, but they say its all bout safety.

 

and these new orleans roads are great, they are so rough i can barely type as we are going down the road.

 

The one who said "roll through" also said "watch the lights and do what they say". That is the key. Some states have bypass lanes and don't always make you come across the scale (IL, IA, some others). Just watch the signs, and hopefully soon you will have a great virgin experience.

 

Just observe what the trucks in front of you are doing, and look for signs instructing you what to do.
Follow the green, if its an arrow or just a light.
Don't stop unless directed to do so, by a sign or a D-O-T man.

 

yep!! why sit on the roadside waiting for a service truck or at scale with ticket AND waiting on roadside svc when ya could just get it fixed at the T/S BEFORE you ever leave in the AM

 

Easier said than done sometimes lol. A month after I started driving I got pulled into a small scale in Northern Ontario. No other trucks around, no green lights, the lines on the ground that would tell you where to go were snow covered. Add in the fact it was on the opposite of the road. I entered the exit. I come to a stop and before I could figure out where to go the guy was outside of the booth and coming to my door. He asked why I came in that side, told him I was a new driver and wasn't sure where to go. It was kind of funny. The guy was real cool about it though he did have me bring in all the paperwork and did a level 3 instead of just weighing me. He matched up all my toll/fuel receipts (for the most part fuel receipts here have the time on them) with my log book and even complimented me on my logs and told me I had a great attitude. Really nice guy.

Anyway, for the most part it's pretty obvious what to do at the scales but they are all different.

 

And if you do get the red light when you roll across the scale plate, don't slam your brakes on the scale. That tends to raise the blood pressure of the DOT man, and since crap rolls downhill......