Apathy, do you have too much spare cash, or do you need additional training?
Back in the 80s while dump truck driving for the family business I got 2 over weight tickets in 1 day by the same DOT officer. Needless to say my dad was not pleased.
His corrective action for me was to spend the next 2 days, in the middle of August, breaking down and mounting new tires on old 2 piece split ring wheels.
I learned my lesson.
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
My subject line says it all actually. Should I join trucking truths wall of shame? Or am I only human?
Sounds lazy to me. Does your company not pay to scale your loads?
My subject line says it all actually. Should I join trucking truths wall of shame? Or am I only human?
Yepper, you are now in the Hall of Shame!! Mainly because it's not that you are a beginner but you aren't scaling it on a CAT or other scale.
Were these axle weights or gross weight? Never trust the gauge in the truck...esp on loads over 38-39,000. Always scale it over those weights.
Could be your attitude also. Seriously, I have talked my way out of tickets on several over axle weights. Women are tough on other women and I was able to talk with them and get out of a ticket.
Laura
Haven't got one in over 20 months driving. Twice I've gone back to the shipper to get reloaded....didn't like it but I thought better than worrying about getting a ticket. Were you taught how to scale a load?
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
Just Mitch, probably a bit of both. I run a 2015 Freightshaker with a tag axle drive system. I have a suspension pressure gauge that I use to screen loads b4 I leave a shipper. If that is over 65 psi, guarantee i will be tap dancing on the 34000lb tandem minefield, and if I've made sure the load transfer is off, and I've adjusted my tandems / 5th wheel, I dont leave. I send a grief form and separate message to dispatch informing them of apparent overweight. Wait for their guidance, in message format.
Learn your equipment and gauge reading meanings. Learn how to, if possible, move your fifth wheel to adjust loads. Learn how to adjust trailer tandems to balance loads for optimum axle weight (AND driver comfort). It sounds like you're not taking some aspects of this profession, the minutiae as it were, seriously enough. CAT Scale charges 12.50 for a first weigh, 2.00 for a reweigh, and you can get as many of those as you need, as long as you keep giving them the two bux. Get the app, you can see exactly where you stand WHILE you're on the scale, incredibly efficient...
You DON'T want to have an ohcrap where a blue hair drives under your trailer tandems while you are over on those (or any) axles. If the truck isnt legal, it shouldnt have been on the road. In a fatal, EVERYTHING gets the fine toothed comb from the folks in the unusual hats.
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
A network of over 1,500 certified truck scales across the U.S. and Canada found primarily at truck stops. CAT scales are by far the most trustworthy scales out there.
In fact, CAT Scale offers an unconditional Guarantee:
“If you get an overweight fine from the state after our scale showed your legal, we will immediately check our scale. If our scale is wrong, we will reimburse you for the fine. If our scale is correct, a representative of CAT Scale Company will appear in court with the driver as a witness”
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My subject line says it all actually. Should I join trucking truths wall of shame? Or am I only human?