Why Didn’t I Get A Ticket?

I’ve always heard it’s up to the Officer, when it comes to overweight tickets. True? Don’t know, only what I’ve heard.

 

Did you load out of a lumber mill? They usually have a scale.

Anyway, IME, overweight tickets go to the motor carrier, not the driver. But states are different. Virginia will let you move tandems or 5th wheel to avoid a ticket. Georgia will not let you shift tandem or 5th wheel but they'll allow you to "hand shift" your load to avoid a ticket.

 

Also, doesn't mean you won't have to pay it.
If you signed paperwork to the effect, company can still pull it out of your paycheck.
Also, is there a reason you didn't scale it?

 

Ok, 1st, it IS the drivers responsibility to make sure you are legal to go. You have no business rolling into a scale unsure of the weight. While it is a gray area who pays for the ticket as a company driver, it's usually the company's baby, it's part of hiring someone to drive their truck, but rest assured, the boss won't like it, and I'd check my settlements pretty carefully. I hate to chew you out, but making sure you are legal on weight is the most basic part of trucking, that and keeping it in between the lines, of course. Check your weight BEFORE you go,, BTW, "Silver Citation" sounds like over a certain amount, it's a Silver Citation. I wonder what a GOLD citation is? You'll be fine, we've all had stuff like this,,

 

DOT here has cracked down on shippers here, they went in and pulled paperwork and wrote fines off their scale tickets anything they stamped to go over 80,000.
Being grain they were stamping trucks over 90k and then you couldn’t take it off cause they’d stamp it, and seal doors before you got paperwork.

 

You will pay the fine out of your pay at 100 bucks a week until its paid off. The ticket is written out to the company but your company is not going foot that bill on your behalf lol. Ask me how I know...
Also...
1 your trainer should be beaten and left for dead IMO
2 scale price gets reimbursed to you so wtf....
3 if you have a 2020 transnational the 5th wheel gauge on your dash is your friend. It's not precise but its useful. If you have a load at 46 to 48k and the dash isn't saying at least 29 on the drives....guess what. You're loaded badly. Deal with it now or deal with it later.
4 different states can still nail you with their own fines. It's a cumulative thing.

 

That new 2018 plasticadia I drove for my last company had a digital air pressure gauge for the drive tires. At 64psi it was exactly 34000. I got to the point that I could be at 78000lbs and if I could get right at 64psi on the drives I knew I was good on the trailer. After a few scale tickets confirming my suspicions I started to use the air guage exclusively. Never got an overweight ticket in my life.

It was ridiculous how accurate that thing was.

 

I have to agree here. A professional driver unless it's almost so rare it happens once in a lifetime will NOT enter a state scale loaded like that without a CAT scale ticket. Most carriers reimburse CAT scale tickets. I spoke of this subject in another thread the other day. The best way to operate is to be proactive and prevent these problems. Its simply not professional to operate a CMV in this manner. Sorry if this makes you angry. It simply is what it is.

 

Did they fire your "trainer" yet?

The fact that he's working there is a sign. Find a better company before you lose your CDL.