New rules at processing plants

[John DiMartino]

I was picking up a load of stone at local yard this summer,and this time the scale man asked for registration or to see my door tag.It seems they were fined heavily by DOT and a court found them at fault and responsble for 1/2 of the damage done by an overloaded truck when it rear ended a car.He said that all yards will end up not allowing you to leave overloaded or risk fines and dropped insurance carriers.With a certified scale they see no reason not to hold the yard responsible,along with driver.I've been there about 20 times in the last 4 years and this is the first time I heard of it.Before that they used to overload every truck so they could make more money.I once asked for 2tons in my 1ton dump,which is legal limit.They filled me up and scale is 2 miles from loader on bad road,I get there and he put 4 tons in.So maybe they had it coming.The other yard I use has no scale and you pay by yard,they give you alot for your money.I pay for 1 yard and they heap my 2-3 yard body everytime.Has anyone else heard of this or am I only one.I personally think it's a good idea,as long as they all do it together.<p>----------<br>John D<br>

 

[GeoffD]

Up in maine you can load that truck as much as you want. The dot might nail ya, but the guy at the yard is to lazy to get out of his house at the scales.<p>Geoff

 

[John DiMartino]

Some of the yards here are the same way.I tend to go to these older setups-you are right ,those guys are lazy.They would rather give you keys to loader than do it themselves.I bought a 27 ton pile and load it myself because the yard isn't always open-they lock gate and all.<p>----------<br>John D<br>

 

[thelawnguy]

Where I go the operator loads my pickup from a 5 yard bucket and I have to stand outside and signal to him when to stop. Im getting pretty good at judging weight. The guy at the scale couldnt get off his seat if his a$$ was on fire so nobody checks here.<p>CT DOT only checks if you pull into a scale house or one of their roving DMV inspectors sees smoke coming from your wheelwells where the tires scraping the body (actually saw this on a garbage trailer on I-84).<p>Bill

 

[John DiMartino]

In NY the DOT cannot weigh a vehicle or inspect it if it is 10,999 gvw or less.They take that from vin# not what it is registered for.Only NY state police can weigh under that,and they do.They sit by toll booths and wave you over as you pull out.I think it's a money maker for them and it looks good for their image too.<p>----------<br>John D<br>

 

[pete]

I live in right out side of DC, in VA and the state police like to enforce the weight limits on a couple of main roads. They mostly pick on larger trucks but i have heard stories about stakebodys getting nailed. the have a van that has these portable scales on it and they pull you over and weigh you right on the spot. The local county cops have also been a hassle. My friend has had crews get tickets for things like not haveing heavy enough saftey chain on the trailer. But as for getting checked at the yard, these guys must all go to the same scale readers school,they dont care how much you haul out.