Weighty Matters
Topic 34171 | Page 1
Not sure lol I did get a ticket in Idaho, driving for Gardners. My trailer was a bit over weight as well. Suck part is the lady inside, let me adjust tandems twice, and re-scale. Back end musta' had the load wee bit much, yet I STILL had to pay the damn $240 fine afterwards.. Even though my load was now balanced better, and she said "Ok now you're good to go" . Did I say I hate I-Da-Ho? lol Big $$ lesson learnt
Tandems:
Tandem 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".
Tandem:
Tandem 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".
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
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.
I've never had this problem, but my guess is you Did The Right Thing.
But first, was your BOL stated weight "legal" and the CAT ticket proved there was an error? I doubt you would have left the yard with a Bill weight of 45,660 lbs. or so. (Plus the truck weight to total 81,660)
You are headed back to the shipper (proved by the BOL shipping address). The only way to correct the overweight is to lose some of the freight. You are going back to fix that. State Troopers are people, too
Shipper:
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.
Technically speaking yeah they could write you up, but as long as you explain the situation along with the documentation they probably won’t. All depends on the officer.
Also keep in mind CAT shows a little heavier than you actually are. They have always in my time done that. That is why they guarantee if you show legal on their scale and get a ticket they will fight it for you.
I've never had this problem, but my guess is you Did The Right Thing.
But first, was your BOL stated weight "legal" and the CAT ticket proved there was an error? I doubt you would have left the yard with a Bill weight of 45,660 lbs. or so. (Plus the truck weight to total 81,660)
You are headed back to the shipper (proved by the BOL shipping address). The only way to correct the overweight is to lose some of the freight. You are going back to fix that. State Troopers are people, too
Errol, you picked up on the “lesson learned” part of this situation.
In this case, I really messed up at the shipper. I saw that the BOL listed the load at 46,500 lbs. I also know that my tractor/trailer weight is almost 35,000 lbs. exactly. So, I should have known that the load was too heavy before I even left the shipper. But I failed to do the math. I don’t have any excuse, I just didn’t put two and two together like I should have. That was totally my fault. The whole fiasco cost me about a half days wages lost in unpaid driving time and the company lost money on my fuel and equipment wear and tear. Obviously, I’m not complaining about the lost wages since I did that to myself. And I am fully aware that I was very lucky I got passed through that weigh station or the cost could have been much higher. I’m disappointed in myself that after 3 years of driving I made a fundamental mistake like this. But I gotta put this one in my “live and learn” archive and make sure I don’t screw up like this again.
Shipper:
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.
SAP:
Substance Abuse Professional
The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is a person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.
BK confeses:
But I failed to do the math.
Not to worry, but now you know: when the BOL weight bumps up to 45k, double check.
Must drivers assume (ass+u+me) the shipper knows what they're doing, at least until this happens.
Shipper:
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.
But what would have likely happened if I had been weighed?
Likely a televised state execution.
I think you would have been OK, you went to the first available scale, found the problem and where trying to get it fixed.
Likely a televised state execution.
Yup, sometimes things do get out of hand.
Many produce loads dont have a weight on them. We have to guess based on how much they claim a pallet weighs.
I just had watermelon. The closest cat scale was 180 miles away. We have scales on our tractors and trailers, yet if you arent on flat ground, they are not accurate. I guessed i had 44,000... put it in our 8th hole and ran.
Got to a weigh station before the CAT and was 79,659 pound with 34,659 on trailer. I was sweating thinking i was getting a ticket. They green lit me from the scale. And that was with half a tank of fuel.
CAT Scale:
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”
I have a question that I’d like to see if anyone knows the answer to.
This week I picked up a loaded in NJ and headed west with it. When I weighed it out on a CAT scale , it was overweight. By quite a bit, actually: 1660 lbs. so I called the company and was instructed to go back to the shipper and get product removed. The problem was that to go back, I had to pass a NJ weigh station. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I was hoping the station was closed. But it was open and I had to go in. To my great happy surprise, I got green lit to the bypass lane and really dodged a bullet.
I had my CAT scale ticket and my story that I was being sent back to the shipper to get the load legal. But what would have likely happened if I had been weighed? Would I have gotten an overweight citation? Or would it just have depended on whether the officer on duty was in a good or bad mood?
A couple thoughts:
1) check the BOL weight beforehand, like Errol already brought up.
2) CAT scales aren’t the only certified truck scales out there. If that really is the closest scale then there’s not much you can do about it but it’s usually not hard to find a different brand truck scale closer to your location. Trucker Path has a filter for truck scales. If it’s not certified, the weights may be questionable but it should at least give you an idea of your weight until you can get to a CAT scale or other certified scale.
3) Unless you’re somewhere like Idaho, most places will have some grace if you explain the situation and show them the scale ticket.
Shipper:
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.
CAT Scale:
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”
Cat Scales:
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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I have a question that I’d like to see if anyone knows the answer to.
This week I picked up a loaded in NJ and headed west with it. When I weighed it out on a CAT scale , it was overweight. By quite a bit, actually: 1660 lbs. so I called the company and was instructed to go back to the shipper and get product removed. The problem was that to go back, I had to pass a NJ weigh station. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I was hoping the station was closed. But it was open and I had to go in. To my great happy surprise, I got green lit to the bypass lane and really dodged a bullet.
I had my CAT scale ticket and my story that I was being sent back to the shipper to get the load legal. But what would have likely happened if I had been weighed? Would I have gotten an overweight citation? Or would it just have depended on whether the officer on duty was in a good or bad mood?
Shipper:
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.
CAT Scale:
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”