Dodging scales

O OK thanks a Dodge with scales O that must be the new DOT Dodge Or maybe its a new fish.Or smell fishy.

 

You should have seen the one that got away.

 

The reason why the DOT can find something wrong & write tickets...they go to school to learn EVERY word in the dot books, they are taught that that is their 'bible', and that is that!

We, as truckers have to be a 'jack of all trades', we have to know how to operate these trucks, negotiate highways, know how to fix things that break, be radio operaters, be secrataries, know local and state laws pertaining to our vehicles, and also have to know how to load our trailers.

They, as officers just have to know the law and they are briefed every day as what to pay attention to (read: targeted enforcment), and they expect truckers to obey ALL the laws.

We have to take in consideration all factors when we do our job. The dot is just (in my opinion) worried about the word of the law, and they don't want to hear our 'excuses'.

 

Great post.

 

Had to dodge the ones at hope,ar. and litchfield,il. this trip. Was overloaded sat. night in texas and it was either go or wait till the next morning. I went and luckily the dot didnt get to check out that extra 2400 lbs.

 

yes it happens for many reasons...Most of us try to run legal..on axle weights..Hours of service...and poperly maintain the equiment....if we lived in a perfect world..it may not happen..
some also wait for the scales to closed so they don't have to cross them..
your questions makes you sound like a bear???

 

Well I dont dodge them, have nothing to hide or worry about. I was weighed a few weeks back and grossed empty at 39k lbs. Thats a good starting point as I figure that I don't haul more than 5k lbs more than that anyways when Im loaded. My freight is light so I don't worry. Our trailers are inspected on a regular (forgot the interval) basis as well as the lift gates inspected every 2-3 months. I check the important parts each day when I get my trailer and then go from there.

Sure they can find something wrong...heck, they could find something wrong probably if they sat at the end of the assembly line. They do their job, plain and simple. Not going to give them flak for doing what they are supposed to. We drive trucks and therefore are in charge of their operation and to a point are responsible for how they run and for making sure they are legal...or as legal as we as drivers can make them.

Someone wrote that they are expected to know the letters of the law...why can't we? I mean...as 'professional' truck drivers, why can't we read through the DOT and FMCSA regs? Or would that be expecting too much, lol.

 

Can you quote the regs -- chapter and verse?
Are you reviewing those regs on a daily basis?

Stick around this site for the next five years and see if your thoughts on the matter are still the same. If you run light loads now, and never heavy, you might not understand why the scales make some drivers sweat bullets.

If y'all aren't paying attention to the loading of your trailer, and the BOL says 35,000 pounds, and they throw on a few extra pallets for another 10,000 pounds, you too could be a victim of an overweight citation. It happens.
And the scalemasters don't care what the BOL says -- only the number on the screen as you roll across the platform.

Also, when running team, my co-driver and I crossed no less than eight scales with no problem, --- until we got to Arkansas. All of a sudden, the trailers were overweight, although they were government sealed and nothing was added along the route. After my co-driver received the citation, we re-weighed the trailers at a truck stop and were well under the weight limits.
But the citation still stood, and he had to pay it.
Things like that change a driver's mind about scales REAL quick.

 

One of the things I don't understand is why can't you scale the load somewhere if at all possible? Granted, I know that Cat and other brand scales aren't always available, but they offer a guarantee that if you are overweight for an area after you scale their load and their scale figures show you wouldn't be, they represent you in court.
I mean, going and scaling out a load is something we learned on day one. Schneider even pays for the scaling to make sure the trailer is loaded correctly weight-wise.
Also, each state is different and if they said you were overweight and you know you weren't well that shouldn't be hard to fight at all.

And no, I don't know all the regs myself...although Im looking to buy a regs book however.

 

We can, and usually do. But we watched the trailers being loaded. No way we were overweight.

We did scale after the citation, and were UNDER 65,000 pounds and all axles were legal.

How well I know. We were driving for Schneider pullin' doubles. But when you're UNDER gross by that much, why bother? We saw how it was loaded and everything was loaded nicely.

How are you going to PROVE it?
We both lived in California. Try making the court date. It's THEIR word against the driver's word. Who y'all reckon they're gonna believe?

The sooner the better --- and memorize it.
The D.O.T. does.
Good luck!