I’ve gotten back from a 15 hr road trip and saw a lot of weigh stations for semi trucks. How does a truck driver go through that?
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Most of the times they are closed. When they are open, blinking signs will state as such, saying all trucks must pull in. They drive over a scale to make sure their trailers are not overloaded.
Overloaded trailers can have bad effects for multiple reasons. From breaking distance to road wear to max limits on overpasses/bridges.
Depending on the station they might do more than just check the weight. Some will have inspectors go over the whole truck for safety violations. From the tiny clip lights on the side to busting out the roller and checking under neath the truck.
They do have things similar to an EZ-pass where the truck does not have to stop and can be weighed as they drive on a certain part of the roadway. Also they can tune to certain channels for notifications of such.
If they do pass one, with out stopping, they can be pulled over by troopers and issued violations.
I used to work for a moving company and we got stopped at one. It was a double cab cabin, I was in the back with another guy. We were there for a long time. We got yelled out for sleeping while we waited.
They drive over scales built into the road. There are sensors built into the main highway, and they trigger something abnormal, the truck driver is signaled to exit to the actual weigh station off the highway for further investigation with more accurate equipment.
Weight stations on US highways are like big scales for trucks. When trucks drive on them, the stations measure how much the trucks weigh. This is important because trucks have limits on how heavy they can be to keep roads safe. If a truck is too heavy, it might cause damage to the road or be unsafe to drive. So, at these weight stations, trucks stop to get weighed, and if they’re too heavy, they might have to move some of their load or face a fine. It’s like making sure everyone follows the rules to keep the roads in good shape!
Weigh stations have big truck scales and weigh the truck one axle at a time – most places 80,000 pounds total is the maximum without a permit and there’s rules for individual axle weights too (it’s got to be spread out).
Weigh stations are also law enforcement inspection stations, commercial trucks don’t have the same legal framework as personal rigs and can be searched at will. Paperwork for the machine and driver checked. A problem means a red tag, and the truck stays at the station until it’s towed or fixed or the driver is certified to work.
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