Overweight Ticket

Most of the guys around here dont have problems with the law. We citizens have been blessed with the fact that it has been a farm/ranch working man’s world for generations in our towns and county. If you have a problem with a deputy you can go to the county judge or sherriff and talk. Sometimes u pay fine sometimes you dont but there is usually a common sense compromise. Been living here forever and in 2016 our city drafted a “no thru truck”ordinance and put up signs. No problems for the locals until last summer. Town cop Lt. starts stopping and harrasing us everyday about the trucks. Went to city council meeting and no more problems. He does other things on his patrol that are more important.

 

Well you got an early lesson on not blindly following the gps. It’s a great tool to get around but if she says turn left on unpaved road or residential road you better #### well make sure you’re supposed to take that road.

 

I hear you on the problem of it being in a city in California. But its still worth a try. They won’t jail him for trying ......right? Lol.
Californians are moving here like roaches and filling up the San Antonio area with their kind of crazy. So trust me we are very scared we are gonna lose our way of life within the next 10 years.

 

This reminds me of a time when there was a major accident on I-80 in NE. I took the next exit and I along with another couple of truckers followed a FedEx driver pulling doubles through some small roads. We eventually hit one mile of dirt roads through some corn field, but we made it out! It was pretty cool.

 

Exactly right. It's still worth hiring a good local traffic attorney. If they make him pay the fine but throw out or reduce the ticket he will still be supporting the city.

 

Your point is noted by me. However, let's remember that green drivers are released on their own almost every day in the US. Some are trained well and some not so well. Then you have the more experienced drivers that have little or no regard for how large and heavy they are. Then there are thousands of places where drivers go that the infrastructure can't support 53 foot trailers. All of these factors are why drivers are destroying property both public and private almost every day. Not long ago the Virginia DOT was forced to get tough with over height operations in the westbound lane of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. If you are caught violating the rules on that tunnel the fines are VERY HIGH, AND you will not get them reduced. Last I heard there was an I-95 bridge in Delaware that had a weight restriction and it was also very high. I heard it was close to $25,000. When I drove for WSE one of our drivers got a 5 figure fine after getting loaded because he failed to follow the correct way out. More and more urban area's around the country are passing no jake ordinances. I guess it is worth going to court over. But in this case the driver has already admitted relying on GPS. If such a statement was made to the Cop it is most likely in that Cops notes and can be used in court. I have a serious doubt that court will toss the case or reduce the fine. It is just the way it is, AND it is only going to get worse as more and more states and local places continue to have problems with destroyed roads and other infrastructure damage.

 

I would imagine that unless that chippie used a portable scale it should not an overweight citation. This case seems to be one of those "grey" area cases. Take a look at what the OP said the fine was. I hate being cynical here. I just think all hiring an attorney will accomplish is just adding to the final cost to the OP. A driver can sometimes get speeding tickets reduced or changed to "noise" violations with run of the mill ticket. These weight and size restricted tickets have a tendency to become "sticky" and don't go away. This OP has already admitted to a lack of focus by using GPS. I doubt throwing himself on the mercy of the Judge is going to help. I hate the cynicism, it is just born out of seeing the results of these kinds of cases over the years. The chances of landing a Judge with a spittoon next to him that presides with a plug of chewing tobacco who will be reasonable is remote. I ran into such a Judge in Conway SC many years ago and he did toss my case. I do wish the OP good luck, I just think his energy would be better served working out a payment schedule with the court and not adding to his problems with attempting something that has very little chance of success.

 

Good question. That area is right by a scale so there is a good chance that highway patrol officer was certified to go after commercial vehicles. If he actually weighed him and gave him a ticket that affects his csa score I dont think attorneys can do anything about that since those violations have nothing to do with the court system.