Prepass/scales Question

They're telling us here in grad class that if a scale has a sign that says " all commercial vehicles must enter" that sign supercedes the one that says follow in-cab instructions for pre-pass.

I don't know the true answer here, but this is what I have been trained to do.

If the pre pass says green and the last sign I see says follow pre pass I do.

If the pass is green then I see a message all trucks enter, I enter. If your good they will likely send you down the bypass lane.

Some states have an electronic board which will tell you what they want you to do. Either enter or bypass the station. I follow that sign no matter what.

Hope this helps.

If I get a green light on my prepass, I'm not going in the weigh station. Companies pay for the prepass in order to bypass the scales, which saves their drivers time. The better the company's CSA score, the more scales you get a green light on.

The only time I pull into an open weigh station is if I get a red light, or they don't have prepass or it's off. NC doesn't use prepass, so if the scale is open, you go in. Texas is hit or miss on the prepass. Sometimes they have it on, sometimes you get a red light and get sent down the bypass lane.

The way I've always understood it is that the prepass overrides everything. If you get a green light, you're good to roll on by no matter what the signs say.

More often then not, there will be 2 signs. "All Trucks and trailers weighing over xx,xxxlbs gross must enter" and "AVI/Prepass follow onboard signals.

What really miffs me is when the Prepass doesn't go green or red & the open/close sign is off. This has happened a few times & I'll pull in anyways...just to realize someone forgot to flip a switch before they left.

Back to the O.P.

IF they have prepass, sign or not & you get the green...the prepass will continue to blink green for awhile after it's activated. If you get stopped, you'll have proof you were given the go.

Thanks Charlie. That's what my trainer taught. That all makes sense. Just don't understand why here back at the yard they are very adament about the all trucks must enter sign YOU GO IN!

There are states where there is no pre-pass, like NJ, PA, and DE. Maybe they were referring to that as a precaution. I agree with everyone else, if you get green lighted, keep moving.

I have had my pre pass give me a red light but the lighted sign board lights up truck ok to by pass scales, I pull in anyways, what would y'all do?

If your light goes red but you get the sign saying it's ok to bypass, go ahead and keep going. Sometimes there busy in inspection or the lines are pretty full and they'll signal to keep going. In some cases you will have hit the weigh in motion boxes and they already know you're good so they give you a pass.

I have had my pre pass give me a red light but the lighted sign board lights up truck ok to by pass scales, I pull in anyways, what would y'all do?

A red light indicates you should pull into the station. If they roll you into the bypass lane - you don't go into the lane closest to the coop, where you are likely to come to a full stop.

Most modern stations have "weigh in motion sensors", so even if you have to exit the highway, you may still be directed into the "internal bypass lane".

All weigh stations have "all trucks must pull in" signs. The ones with EZ pass - if you get a bypass, it's safe to do so. The computers inside the weight station - keep a record of the EZ-Passes that they give a bypass to.

Rick

I follow the prepass UNLESS, they have one of the new lighted signs and it says "truck must enter weigh station." I'm guessing States are doing that so they can quit paying (if they do currently) to subscribe to prepass services.

It would be great to have a DOT answer though.