over loaded

Well each State is different. Some State's write the ticket to the carrier, some write it to the driver. In my opinion, you should have discussed this with your employer when you were hired.

 

Just make sure if the co. says they will that they do. Don't ask me how I know about this but being at the DOT office renewing your license and being asked to please step to the back is no fun.

 

Driver responsibility! you weigh every load over 25,ooo lbs. If you don't weigh it, you don't know. do your job.

 

We had to haul X amount into Mexico and I was over axle on the drives. I used to drag a dry bulk tanker .

 

Lots of truckstops have certified scales (like CAT scales) that will give you gross and axle weights. Even if the co doesn't pay for scaling the 10 bucks or so is one heck of alot cheaper than an overweight ticket. Driver always has final responsibility.

 

Most company's make the driver pay the over weight ticket.
Some company's will pay them, but only if the driver told them it was over weight and the company said run it anyway.
And I would make sure I have some proof they said that, IE: qualcom.
Taking the word of most of these larger company's over the phone is never a good idea.
Also remember, with CSA2010 you will get points for being over weight, and it normally will cause you to get inspected.

 

In some cases you will not have an opportunity to weigh that load at the shipper or even at a truckstop for that matter.

Loads under 40,000 lbs are "usually" not a problem provided the shipper has not loaded the freight incorrectly.

Incorrect loading may include loading the heaviest freight on the tail of a 53 foot trailer or double stacking heavy pallets in the nose of a trailer.

If the shipper asks you how you want a 53' trailer loaded the correct response is; "Load it like a 48.'"

Another way to check the weight visually is to line up the mudflaps on the trailer axle to the back of the freight in the trailer.

In truck driving school the students are taught max weights are 12,000 for the steer axle, 34,000 for the drive axles, and 34,000 for the trailer axles. While these weights are correct for an 80,000 loaded vehicle they MAY NOT be correct when it comes to the bridge law.

Each state may have a different limit when it comes to the maximum allowable distance between the king pin and the middle of the rear axle of the trailer. When this occurs you will find that you are actually allowed to have MORE weight on a set of axles (provided the vehicle weighs less than 80,000 lbs overall) than the school taught you.

Best advice I can offer is to buy a laminated Road Carriers Atlas. This atlas will give you a wealth of information including size/weight limits, low underpass locations, restricted routes etc.

The laminated version will last much longer than the paper version and will survive coffe, soda, water spills.

 

I guess it varies by company. I paid for it myself when I drove OTR but now they're paid by the company I work for. The last one I got was an axle over on a pretty light trailer - the citation was made out to Con-way and I just signed for it. Turned that in with a copy of the trailer manifest and the company took care of it..

I wonder if it varies by state who the citation is made out to?

 

Most states will write the ticket to the company. But most companies will give you a choice to pay it or be terminated as you are the only one responsible. Don't be afraid to stand up and protect yourself before hand. Nobody can fire you for following DOT regulations and overweight is one position companies don't like to be in themselves. But you'll learn companies have all kinds of tricks up their sleeve to get rid of someone they don't like. Get in the habit everytime you know your load is questionable, to scale out and be prepared to return to the shipper.

We're not all angels and there will be special circumstances. I average about 2-3 overweight problems a year. I'll return to the shipper. But if time is pressed and it's going to 6 hrs to get the load fixed, I'll run. Do your trip planning and be prepared to take detours. It sucks, but you put yourself in that position. With budget cuts alot of scales are closed now after 1700 and on weekends. You can use that to your advantage.

PS, I'm not going to spam, but you can google and find a website that tells you if coops are open. I have never used it. So I don't know how up to date it is???