Florida Scales

I.love driving in Florida. You can just about always find parking wether it be some random truckstop on a country road, scale or even a mega truckstop (away from the big cities of course)

 

The Pre-Pass transponder sends out a single like a bar code to the transverses along the highway which time stamps you went by it. I most cases, but not all cases, these transverses are connected to a nearby weight station, DOT inspection station, agricultural inspection station, or police station. If manned then those people will have access to the DOT #, the # of trucks the carriers said they had, and all the time stamps with weights. From which yes they could check the CSA score.

Florida weight stations are not like a lot of states.

1. The weight stations are trucker safe havens, which FL Hwy Patrol Motor Carrier Enforcement has made it well know they will not bother trucks that park at the weight stations so drivers will have a safe place to rest.

2. Most of the time DOT inspector are only there bankers hours.

3. Most of the weight stations are manned by non-sworn officers who are very limited on what they can cite you for, anything else they have to call for a patrol officer, which they only do in extreme circumstances at night.

4. All the weight stations have CCTV, and all of them along the interstates have CCTV where the Pre-Pass transverses are on the highway, at the rolling scale on the hwy, as you enter the station at the 2nd rolling scale, and all about the stationary scale. So yes they do see your truck, plate, side of truck, and a nice picture of the driver. 99% the time they don't even bother looking at them. its more for them to look back at if something happens. You have to realize there are a lot of trucks rolling by on an 8 hours shift they have other business to attend to.

I use to live near one and I use to be pulled on the scale every time I bobtailed bye. Finally I stepped inside and asked what the heck was happen. The DOT officer, the Weight Master, and I talked for hours. They said that they had NO control over who Pre-Pass lets by or sends in, they only had a switch to let the system know when the station was manned. Bobtails, empties, and lightly loaded trucks are automatically sent in some times if scales computer can't make scene of it in time or is overwhelmed.

 

Is it just me or does Florida never close their scales? Florida is the only state I drivin in that I never seen a closed scale.

 

They're open 95% of the time

 

can't help laughin at this--They tell me this is progress!--and hard as it may seem to believe today--there was a time--and mot as long ago as you may think--when we ran Medley EVERY night out of Orlando--made the turn in a just under 9 hours--including 30 mins or so--messin around at yard in bottom--and stoppin for coffee both ways--course from South Bay down on the 2lane thru the glades--could be a real adventure at suger cane harvest--those of you who ran thru there back then--IM sure know what I mean!

 

About the only time one of the interstate scales closes is for maintenance. The actual scale staff are not state troopers, and get paid less than the troopers who do inspections. Side note: FDOT's Motor Carrier enforcement division was turned over and integrated with FHP last year. Inspectors are in both color vehicles now.

 

Lmao, us27 is a nightmare north of Avon Park. South down to Miami is a breeze