From: GOTaM35 (GOTaM35@joetrapp.com)
Date: Sun Nov 14 2004 - 19:02:27 PST
My father once told me opinions are like butt holes, everybody's got one.
So lets look at the facts. Either you are going to obey the law or you are
not (I'm speaking to everybody, not just Bjorn). If you drive anything the
man can get you. If you drive anything larger than a 3/4 pickup, he can get
you more. If you want to make sure you don't spend more time with the DOT
man than you have to, stop at the weigh station, have your truck in working
order and be prepared to answer questions. Make no mistake about it, the
DOT man can make you park your truck if he wants too. It is almost
impossible to keep anything 100% operational all the time. A little rust
around one of the lug nuts will get you parked until you repair it. I'm not
making this up, my family operates about 10 dump trucks and they spend lots
of time "talking" with the man. They also spend plenty of time at the
magistrate office getting fines reduced. If the man gives you a ticket, you
have to pay unless you can convince the magistrate you shouldn't.
If you don't want to abide with DOT regulations you have better avoid the
man. Take a route around any weigh stations. It doesn't matter if you are
hauling commercially or not, if your truck can't pass their inspection, they
got ya. I for one believe in smooching up when I am talking with law
enforcement people. It works well and everybody have a pleasant
experience:-)
Having said this, I have never stopped at a weigh station in my deuce. I
consider myself lucky not to have been stopped. But if I do get stopped I
am prepared to act as dumb and naive as I can all the way to court. I have
pulled into weigh stations before in large trucks only to be waved through.
They mostly look for over weight trucks and I have always been empty.
Now for the amusing story. A couple of years ago I was driving to
Charleston SC in my deuce for a job and I passed a real military convoy. I
stopped for food and they passed my position. I got back on the interstate
and thought that weigh station down the road will think I am with the convoy
for sure and I should be OK. As I passed the station, the entire convoy had
pulled into the back of the station. I was nervous for the next few miles.
They don't need a new law regarding military vehicles, they have laws
regarding vehicles based on size. You can overload your pickup and get
fined for that. You can bet if they catch enough of us blowing by the
weight station in 3 axle military trucks we will get noticed. For what it
is worth, I do plan my trips around avoiding weigh stations.
I don't have a DOT regulation book in front of me, so I guess this is my
OPINION.
Joe Trapp
Truck driving fool
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