How does the DOT determine who gets pulled over for a weigh?

http://kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-...-9E69-F677B82810CB}&activityType=PressRelease

 

i personally have always recived a green light, however my co-driver was 2k over on trailer axles amd got yanked in. as i type this i recal a time i did get pulled in, vut was bypassed as i got close to the scales, idk if it was an error or what. but i second the inground scales. i have also heard rumors it depends on the companys CSA score, but again that is a rumor and i have never heard facts about it...

 

At most of the big scale houses it's done by computer.
When you roll down the ramp coming in there is a bank of sensors that read your dot number your length and height and various other parameters.
As you roll passed the bank of sensors the next thing you do is roll over the pre weigh scale plates in the ramp.
The pre weigh scale is designed to be drove over at a specific speed to be acurate.
When you roll down the ramp the signs say maintain 45 miles per hour and 100 ft spacing.
This is the mph that the pre scale is designed to be most acurate at.
If you creep over the pre scale plates at 25 mph or fly over them at 50 mph the computer is most likely going to send you in for a closer look.
There is a good YouTube video done by the scale master of the wildwood FL scale house who explains how the whole operation works.
It's very informative and worth watching.
It I can find it I will post it up here.

 

If there is something obvious, being overweight, tire is bald, lights out, or if their heat cameras can see a brake dragging, etc. that is going to increase your chances of getting pulled in. The computer reads the DOT number and knows your company history of violations/inspection results and they can determine from that if you may warrant a second look. Some states also tell officers they need to do x number of inspections per shift, so even if you have a perfect looking clean new truck and trailer, they may decide to inspect you just because they want to do an easy one and get done with their day - but it also might mean the guy is trying to be so perfect he thinks his log will never be looked at.

With prepass, yes it weighs you (most states) and also reads your company ISS scores to determine quickly to give red or green. The scale can set it to pull in whatever they want - company with bad log books, company with higher iss score than 90, every 10th truck, any truck over a pre-set weight, sometimes all trucks get red, sometimes they set to bypass all trucks. Generally if your weight is good and your company record is not horrible and you keep your truck looking good they will leave you alone.

 

If you have not seen this video, it is well worth the 34 minutes next time you have to take a break...
Basically it's one scalemaster talking about his day-to-day and what information he has at his fingertips, just by pre-scales and reading the DOT number of the truck.

 

Or internet forums...

 

I dont run the AA highway anymore but I didn't know they had a "virtual weigh station" there.........wow.....

 

I think its at random.Just because you have a prepass doesn't mean you still won't get pulled in.

 

I saw a video as I think it was the guy explaining about it, but he failed to mention you can't just look at the monitor and expect to get accuracy, there is a process to understand how to set it up and what ranges to use. So I could take my fluke FLIR camera out and take a picture to make it look like my hand is super hot compared to the pan on the stove that is on top of the burner with it turned up.