Bummed Out! Arghhh.

I think I know if the one you are talking about. I passed through South Dakota yesterday and they had one open but it wasn't like the normal weigh stations off to the side. The one that was open when I passed through the state was different cause I had to get off of the interstate at a normal exit ramp like I'm going to enter the town and it was off to the north side of the interstate. I thought it was pretty strange and even asked the officer if it was necessary for me to exit the interstate for this weigh station and he said if the sign out there says open then yes I need to get off. I hope this makes you feel a little better knowing that it was an odd ball of a weigh station requiring me to exit the interstate and onto another state highway but like the other guys have said, gotta keep your eyes on those signs to know what's coming up. It's easy to get in that seat and start day dreaming so do what you need to stay alert. Another thing I like to do when I'm in unfamiliar territory is look at the atlas before I start my shift to see where the possible weigh stations are.

There are some tricky ones up there. The smaller ones also open and close more frequently so if you use the CB or TruckerPath or something to anticipate the scales and hear that they are closed, you don't want to get lackadaisical about looking for them. They can still open back up at any time.

I had a close call in SD also. Now, the radio gets turned down and the cruise gets turned off whenever I approach a scale.

Wow thank you all for the encouragement and the advice I really appreciate it and thanks Johnathan, cause I believe thats the exact one I missed.

Old School I promise you this, that I will keep hanging in there and will keep trucking! Its what we do! Since I am going solo here in a day or two I will take breaks when I think I am losing focus. Thanks for that advice.

Another scale to watch for is the one on I-82 crossing the river from WA into Oregon at Umatilla. I get so many QC messages about that one all the time because someone missed it and got a hefty ticket for missing it.

You have to get off the interstate , at the bottom of the ramp turn right. It's just up the road on your right. You can't see it from the interstate.

Ernie

Signs, signs everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this don't do that
Can't you read the sign.....

I definitely sang that song as I read it!!

In training i missed an "inspection station" in Florida that was also a weigh station. My trainer made me pull over, find the number and call the station.

They told us to keep going, but i remember that to this day. Lol.

Wow I did not know I was not the only one makes me feel a little better but I am watching signs like its my religion! Ernie I will absolutely remember that and I told my mentor about that cause this is all new territory for us. I have been to 23 or more states in the 5 weeks I have been here on the truck and I am about to get my own!

Yes Victor lucky that he only gave you a warning.... you have to remember that every time you are stopped it is reported to the DOT. So this stop will be reported but it will say they were no violations. Always keep that in mind and good luck. This is what we see:

The summary includes information on the 5 most recent investigations and 24 months of inspections and crash history. Most Recent Investigation: Total Inspections: 34 Total Inspections without Violations used in SMS: 12 Total Inspections with Violations used in SMS: 22