Overweight at the State Scales Question

i can see that in florida. and in states that allow a drop axle.

but i don't have a drop axle. 44 is all i can haul in my w9. 45 if i pulled the fuel tanks off.

i like hauling a fuller t ank. for less slosh purposes. but man. when that crap hits the back. it SLAMS.

 

i used to pulled reefer up till little year ago,driving teams we had crossed us on 10 got to FL stopped at ts in lee switched drivers then when he pulled out went across scale,well we were 300 pounds over gross co driver got ticket next scale pulled in no ticket,he parked went in asked why.well he was asked if he looked at ticket tnat was a no then he did it was 19.00 we had a laugh at that.we never run heavy again though

 

If it's only 100 pds then they should not hassle you unless they have reason to such as the company has a history of being overweight or other found violations. Fuel weighs around 8 pds per gallon and idling takes around 3/4 gallon per hour so you can't easily burn off the weight in fuel. You can always "gift" the scale operators some milk from your lines and be on your way.

 

I was a licensed scale master for Oregon, WA, ID and CA. I was called as an expert witness in several trial for overweight trucks. I will repeat what I said in every trial and resulted in a dismissal or not guilty in every one:

Scales that are legal for trade are accurate to 1/10th of 1% of the rated capacity of the scale. Most highway scales are 200,000 pound capacity rated. This means they can vary as much as 200 pounds in either direction and be legal.
If you scale out at 80,200 pounds on one of these, you could be 80,200, but you could also be 79,800 or anywhere in between. In other words, no one can prove the scale more accurate.
Now I don't know the requirements anymore, but highway scales were required to be calibrated at least every quarter to meet Federal DOT requirements. If the state (or juristiction) cannot show the calibration certificate from a licensed scale technician (me, for instance) then the ticket can be challenged and dismissed even without an expert witness for lack of evidence.
In this day of budget cuts, many scales do not meet this requirement.
I have been challenged twice for being overweight in the last few years. I have asked (demanded) to review the calibration certificate from the scale while I am there, and before the ticket is written. They must show that to you per Federal law. In both cases the certificate was out of date (one was more than a year out of date). Those certificates are like your med qual card. You don't have one, your license is no longer a CDL. If a scale house does not have a current calibration certificate, their scale is no longer a legal instrument by which they have evidence to cite you. Even if they do cite you, it's dismissable via administrative procedure. You don't have to turn up for a trial or hearing or even hire a lawyer.
So if you're going to be cited, ask for the certificate and if they refuse to show it , note that on the citation. You simply write a letter citing the law and the judge will summarily dismiss the ticket.
By the way, the scale at the POE on I-5 in northern cal was challenged a couple years ago over the age of the calibration certificate and when the judge found out it was out of date, required the state to refund ALL fines levied in that expiration period and all those tickets were summarily dismissed or overturned.

 

Ya know, part of standard "truck driving" used to be "running around" the state scales, for a number of reasons. Overweight, bad logs, bad equipment, whatever.

Not defending it, and it is certainly different nowadays, but it did add to the "fun factor", LOL.

 

The cali scales let you slide 500 over? I bet you was flirtn' with him. lol

 

LOL...nope....he was really nice about it...didnt even get inspected. i was headed in after i parked and he met me in the lot and told me to wait by my truck...i did, then when he did come over, he told me he just wanted to let me know i was 500 # over axle....and that i needed to adjust it if i was gonna be crossing anymore scales...and LET ME GO...Chowchilla of all places..LOL