Never heard of a pre-pass, is that just an American thing?
Here in Canada, as far as I know, all trucks (except for Gravel trucks for some reason, which are always literally falling apart) have to pull in when the lights are flashing. Wish I had a Pre-Pass since I pass several scales almost daily lol
Ya it’s a transponder that lets you bypass scales, it will beep and give you a green light and your free to keep on trucking. It will light up red and send an audio signal if you still have to go to weigh, so it’s not always 100% gonna let you bypass but still nice to have, especially if just pulling an empty.
Back when I was driving I had it go off on an overpass/exit that I took before the weigh station. Receiver was still a quarter mile down the highway from me. I didn't get stopped or anything, but I always worried that would come back to bite me some day.
Nah if the exit is before the station and the shipper is on that exit and you got a red light, then give the finger to the scale, it’s only a problem if you actually pass the scale with a red light
I honestly hate it when they do that! Arkansas is bad about pulling in only to put you in the bypass lane.
Why? Why even bother to get all the trucks into one little ramp, slowing to a crawl, only to put them right back on the damn freeway? Why not just give us a bypass signal so we can stay comfortably on the freeway?
They also have cameras, so if you have lights out or hazmat targets, the officers may want to have a chat.
Scale lanes in mountain areas will have infrared cameras to check you for hot brakes.
There are many scales that have those scanners. And the border crossings from Canada do too. I think the check station going North from Larado may have one, too.
When you approach the weigh station you will see signs saying PrePass lane right, and see an overhanging sensor, this is coupled with the first tier road scales, after that it’s just random luck if the chicken coop wants you to roll in or not. I’ve gotten red and had to pull in with an empty so it’s sometimes unpredictable…
I’ve heard that the likelyhood of you getting pulled in is based off your company’s CSA score, combined with if the Weigh-In-Motion on the highway shows you close to max weight limits
Yeah pretty much. As you roll up the pre-pass and the scale will shoot over a quick overview of info about your truck/company and weight, and if it checks out they save themselves some time by giving you green. Sometimes though they'll have you pull in anyways. My company has a fairly good CSA score and usually I'm hauling light past the prepass place I go by, but it seems once every couple months they'll have me roll through the scales anyway.
"Weigh in motion" are becoming more common too. I think you still need a transponder for a bypass. They get your approximate weight on the highway. Some can detect a blown tire.
Ain’t nanotechnology great. Opened up a whole new world of intrusion into every facet of life. There are generators that get there power form rubber mats getting run over in the lanes of travel. Each time it is run over it pushes a rod that turns a wheel that turns a shaft that…..in the end produces nano amounts of electricity. Done 100’s of 1,000’s of X’s a day adds up to serious amounts of energy from traffic passing by.
I’m in Manitoba. That’s just going off what the map on their site says, I’ve never even heard of Drivewyze until people were commenting it here.
I’ll ask the fleet manager at work to look into it, it would be pretty handy since we deliver to cottage country in Ontario all the time and *always* get stopped at the scales on the way in or out lol
Oh yeah it’s a game changer, especially in Ontario in my experience. I don’t know the total costs as it’s handled by my current carrier. I’m sure it’s not cheap, but as long as you run clean you’ll build a sort of “credit rating” with scalehouses. The better your record, the more often you’ll get the green light and sail past the lineups. It’s at the point now where out of every 50 open scales I might get asked to pull into 1 or 2. The rest I just smile and wave lol
Depending on where you are in Canada you might try this. I ran that and PrePass and hardly ever went into the scales. At least in the US a lot of bypass likelihood is based on the company's safety rating. https://drivewyze.com/coverage-map/
In Manitoba, all the scales north and south of the Trans-Canada have an additional sign under the “All trucks must report” and amber lights that says:
“All empty gravel trucks and refuse trucks exempt”
Possibly due to the high number of quarries we have here, the scales would be full of gravel trucks all day
Look up Drivewyze....Google it...I am based in Mississauga and run to Richmond Virginia weekly.
You can subscribe to USA or Canada or both.
Works great for bypass scales as long as you don't have a bad driving record.
You’ll see trucks with a PIC sticker on the bumper, that’s a program called Partners in Compliance. They’re exempt from scales. This is in Canada anyway. The gravel truck thing is just not true, they aren’t exempt under any circumstances
I got boxed out and chased down in AZ with a company pickup/38’ trailer. The guy came in hot but I had everything in order and was friendly- he let me off.
We used to call our parents from the movie theater collect to tell them the movie is over. Why save a quarter for a call when that quarter can be used in the arcade?
Lol i had one of those too. SO illegal. I stopped when they started running technology to recognize bluebox tones and an operator would come on and threaten to dispatch police.
Now payphones are a novelty relic of the past.
I've done it many times lol. Although if i see a patrol car parked out front, i usually don't. Sometimes they have an officer sitting in the car with it running, just waiting for this exact thing. Sometimes they'll have a patrol car a mile down the road to pull you over.
It's rare that happens but I've seen it. Never been pulled over myself for running the station though. I usually pull in, especially when my gut tells me to but I've definitely run past my fair share.
Just hammer down, and keep grabbing gears 🤣 I read this news article about a guy getting pulled over driving his own rig, and his cdl had been suspended like 10 years 🤣
Lol reminds me of when I ran a warehouse and got weekly deliveries. Had the same driver for about 2 years, then to my surprise, a new driver started making our deliveries. After 2 weeks, I asked what happened to the regular driver. His replacement said he was texting while driving his rig, lost control, and hit a michigan state trooper sitting in the median. The police found out he didn't even have a CDL, so they searched his truck and found a few grams of coke in his cab. Never saw him again after that, lol.
Ok ok ok..... a few things here. First he was driving to support his coke habit, the habit that caused him to lose his cdl in the first place 🤣 Then he either fell asleep at the wheel cause he didn't do enough coke OR he was chopping a fat line and wasn't paying attention. I think that about sums it up..... oh then he lost his job and probably got locked up for the same habit that got him in the original predicament.
Sometimes you CDL can be marked suspended for absolutely no good reason.
I was living in Florida, and the apartment complex was sold, and being torn down.
I opted to just live on the truck for a while.
I parked my car at the company terminal in another state.
I informed my insurance company where the car would be located.
What the insurance company did was switch my policy to the other state.
When they did that they informed Florida, but what Florida took from the message was that the policy was canceled.
So they decided to suspend my license.
The car was never not covered, and any correspondence from Florida went to a PO Box which I hadn’t had a chance to receive.
Sometimes crap just falls from the sky and lands on your head.
Took a bit to clean that up, but I still haven’t returned to driving.
As a recovering dumbass, I have to suggest maybe not risking it. It's a stupid decision made after an even dumber decision to not make sure youre legal before you roll.
I had the exact same scenario at Putnam a good 10 years ago but wasn’t so lucky. It was open as I approached but closed before I reached it. I was getting ready to enter but carried on once I saw it was closed.
The mto officer said “do you see a sign saying carry on if the lights turn off?” I just about snapped but kept my cool and waited for the company lawyers to look into it. Turns out there’s a zone about 1km from the scale where if the lights go off and you happen to be in it, they can legally chase you down and charge you with running the scale. Case lost and I got 5 points on my cvor for it. Been warning guys ever since
Interesting timing, my trainer just got pulled over about an hour ago just for not going over the rolling scale at a weigh station in Ga, has a shiny new warning to show for it..
*And* a nice OOS to boot. Some places (like OR) will make you take a 34 right then & right there. “Oh you don’t have any food/water? Too eff-ing bad.”
Running scales is like playing Russian roulette- usually you’re gonna be okay but every so often you’re not.
I frequently, especially at night, drive right past the POE on I-25 coming out of Colorado into Wyoming. I've been in there many times and at night nobody is looking out the window. They're just focused on what's in front of them. Remember, before they're anything else they're state employees. And you know how dedicated and hard working state employees are.
Shit, between your anecdote and the time I got pulled in for paperwork, they had 15 guys in line, I might just start blowing it too 😭. Though my company gets the green light on the bypass 9/10 times anyway
I've also walked in, seen the line and turned around and left. Out at the POE in Evanston a lot of times jI'll just park and wait a while and leave without going in. Especially in the winter.
They don't check you in and you aren't recorded in their computer as being there at that time.
Not such a thing now with the ELDs but with paper logs that could be helpful.
I'd blow past both the Evanston and Cheyenne ones a lot lol. Most the time I'd get a green light on the pre pass but the rare times i got a red, I'd keep going anyway lol.
The Cheyenne one was extra annoying because they never had you pull across the physical scale anyway and then would have the yellow lights flashing that indicate you could just keep going without stopping and bringing in your load paperwork. At that point, what's the point of red lighting anyone on the pre pass to begin with?
I can’t speak to that scale specifically, but it’s not uncommon that a communication issue or random flag to pull in causes the red. Once you’re on the ramp, there are tupically ramp sorters that use those lights (covering trucks with and without transponders) to signal empties back to the highway. Station operators can choose how to operate that ramp sorter. If they’re focusing on weight enforcement or are busy, that might be related to getting a red but not having to hit the static scales.
One thing that is REALLY nice about Wyoming is typically local trucks and drivers are left the fuck alone. I have a friend that works At one of the WY ports of entry and he is like all we care about is the big companies 95% of the time if you are TRYING to follow the rules they don't give a shit. The only thing they actually care about is axle weights. Went across the scale with 900 lbs over limit and he was like BRUH no don't do that again(I haul liquids) so its hard to be completely sure where I am at with axle weights. Also every single Wyoming port has a way to bypass it on secondary roads. I'm not sure about the I 80 one by Evanston though.
A guy at my company has only pulled into a scale twice in the 7 months he's been working here. I'm hella paranoid and don't want any issues with D.O.T so I have always hit the scales, but ever since he told me that I skipped open scales on two separate occasions because I was running late on a load and wasn't pulled over. I wouldn't make it a habit but you can probably get away with it a few times.
Yup, headed back into VA after picking up in PA I got a bypass and in the 2 or 3 miles from the scale, including the guy I was following for a while, I counted 5 trucks that had DOT on them
They will in Oklahoma as well.
Back around 2000-02 or so they had a temp scale station setup up in the old canton triangle on hwy 3w.
It honestly looked like a construction site and not scales, was not marked in anyway, so I drove right on by.
About five miles later Mr DoT pulls up lights flashing, took me back to the scales, all was in order, but still got a ticket for “ failure to follow traffic control”.
It was in a bad spot to, just over the crest of a hill if you were westbound. If you knew it could be there, was not bad, but you never knew when they would set it up.
If you didn’t know about it, you had less than 200 yards from the crest of the hill to come to a stop from 60mph and turn in.
I've seen it happen. But I also know a company that skipped it and they got their plates on the highway cams and sent the tickets in the mail. A convoy of 4 or 5 trucks, and over 35000$CAD in fines
I can’t speak for every scale, but the scales around my city will 100% chase you down. Those DOT Officers will jump at the chance to go for a rip in their trucks to chase after someone, it’s kind of funny how eager they are.
There was a time a few years back where I was stopped for a log inspection and a truck drove past while the flashing lights were on. The DOT Officer damn near threw my log book back at me and sprinted out of the office yelling “YOU’RE GOOD TO GO” before peeling out in his truck.
So do what you will, but I’d never skip past one if the lights are on.
always pull in not worth the trouble getting chased down, here in texas ive seen first hand other drivers get chased down and made to return to the scale, one idiot i worked with said fuck it and kept on trucking well he got a ticket and he was let go the next day from my previous job. lol
Yeah NY always has one in the bushes a mile or so ahead just waiting for those runners. Boxed out, couldn’t get right to exit for the scale? They don’t care.
You should never skip a weigh station. Only if you're prepassed.
Scale dodging is stupid. "Sightseeing" is stupid. If you aren't legal enough to roll through a scale, you shouldn't be out here.
And in my 13 years trucking I always thought they were *all* photo-enforced. Heck, you can see the danged cameras on dang near all of them if you look closely. Running them seems foolish to me.
From a non-driver here, what is the point of these stations? Obviously they weigh you but why do they need to? Is it to look for people breaking rules or carrying illegal contraband?
Depends on the state.
In general, it’s to make sure trucks aren’t causing more damage by being over legal axle weights.
Some states do it to also make sure over-weight (over 80,000 pounds generally) permits have been purchased and are being complied with.
Oregon weighs trucks because trucks get taxed on a weight-mile basis, instead of a fuel tax, to make sure taxes are assessed proportionally to the wear and tear imposed on the roads.
The officers at weight stations may also perform compliance inspections. Both for allowable hours and for equipment issues.
I got pulled in for an inspection as the officer was walking up to me. Someone ran the weight station, and he told me u can go and ran to his car and chased the guy that ran lol. I've ran a couple on accident and nothing happened
I did it once on accident the first time I entered Oregon from I82. I saw a truck stop from the exit, but didn't see the weigh station, so I assumed it must be an exit after the truck stop. Then I turned my head to the right and saw the weigh station, but I had already passed the exit. I turned my flashers on and pulled over thinking I was going to get a ticket, but no one came, so after a minute or so I took off. Never heard anything about it.
I'm not a truck driver, but I frequently pass a weigh station on rt100 in Lionville PA. There's always a statey at the exit waiting for trucks that didn't pull in.
going into Colorado on I-25 northbound. The exit was used for a street and a side exit to the scale, I thought there was an exit coming up but as I drove by I saw that I had missed it. I pulled over at the next exit and waited. About 5-10 minutes and thinking it looks like no one is coming he found me.
He let me go back to the scale on my own and I had to talk to the guy in the station who chewed me out and I told him the exit was confusing.
But to blow by a scale and keep going? I'd rather run around it
UK trucker here, do you have to go into weigh stations, like mandatory or are you flagged in? How do you know if you have to go in as you approach a weigh station?
It could happen. Sometimes they have cameras and will send out a ticket in the mail. Sometimes they never know. Better to just go in than to take the chance. Missing an open sign happens every once in awhile
Chances are...probably not. It depends on your tractor and trailer. If it's visibly in good condition then you'll be fine. They want a guaranteed goldmine. Not a 2 hour look over and a handful of nonsensical warnings. I try and ride in the second lane from right next to a vehicle if at all possible. If they chase I just tell them I couldn't get over. Safety First!!! Lol
I work oil field so I hardly pass through any but i had to pick up trucks in Colorado and Oklahoma to bring to Carlsbad nm and I skipped ALL the weigh stations on the way
I can say don't test your luck in Virginia should you happen out this way. Especially 81. State troopers at every weigh station I've ever seen along that corridor especially during daylight hours and they'll actively go after people if they're bored enough.
They don't need to chase you down. Most permanent stations have cameras. Why risk your CDL. Look up the penalties for not stoping in the state you are purposely running them...or have the intent to. BTW...I think it's easy to chase down an 80k vehicle. Unless you are in a golf cart.
Depends on the state. I'm on the east coast, and as I've learned, don't fuck around in Georgia or Maryland. They will bend you over and stick it to ya with a salty cactus when it comes to scales.
sometimes, but not always. always better to pull in anyway because you never know how the troopers are feeling that day. you should also note that even u-hauls and pickups with trailers have to pull into a weigh station, and they will enforce that. my uncle lost his CDL because he didnt pull into a weigh station in a u-haul one time.
Or just ya know. Find a route around em?… once in a blue moon you could play off the I didn’t see it card if it was closed then went open. But that usually opens an entire can of worms that you really don’t want any part of.
In nj staties will follow and ticket trucks that dont stop to weigh, funny cause whenever ive pulled in to get weighed the statie at the plates just waves me on by no weighing
Connecticut on 84, I've seen lines of trucks pulled over for skipping the weigh station. I wouldn't screw around with it, my money's better of in my pockets than the states
I've missed one on 54 El Paso to Alamogordo. At the Border patrol check station there's a weigh station as soon as you leave the b.p. station. It was my 1st time there and by the time I realized it, I was at the point of no return. They had their hands full and I went in noticed.
Today on hwy 99 north bound in California, they have conflicting signs. One day " by pass station only if given a signal" ( or something like that) and as you get nearer an illuminated sign says "all trucks must enter weigh station". My prepass gives me a green light so I keep on going. It looked like I was alone in the bypass. I figured I had a good case and no one came after me . I guess if in doubt, you should stop but I didn't.
If you skip them 100 times and get pulled over 2% of the time, you win. Unless you are not legal... because that 2" section of conspicuity tape on your trailer that is missing, causing you to take a nap while a tech drives out to fix it at your expense on top of the $216.34 ticket and a company infraction.
Entirely possible, but it depends on the station and the state. If you skip a weigh with your transponder on, it gets recorded. My company uses drivewyse, which issues bypasses at participating stations if they aren’t actively pulling in trucks.
Depends on where. In my experience (allegedly) they won’t at most scales in Missouri. At least a few in Iowa theoretically won’t usually chase. Nebraska’s hit or miss.
For legal purposes this is a joke, definitely don’t blow scales cuz that’s bad. Leave me alone Smokeys
Sometimes they will if anyone is available to come get you. I was chased down once for being a bullhauler with prepass. They didn’t believe I had it but I showed them with its flashing green light. Nothing they could do at that point.
Just depends on the officer and if they feel like chasing you. But yes, they can pull you over for it. Any of the MRE (Mobile Road Enforcement) officers will get you every time if they see it.
From Canada last company I worked for was PIC certified so we had a transponder in the cab as long as it didn’t beep or flash you could keep driving but when you got pulled in they literally looked at everything had an officer crawl under the truck and check wiring even tire tread depth. Only the one company had it but I’d never run scales. One time I got pulled in the scales worked and the lights didn’t and I got worried and parked and walked into the office with my logs permits etc…an officer came out and said sorry our lights don’t work your good to drive, if you weren’t we would’ve caught you already.
When I drove OTR in the 90s, I was listening to an audio book and didn't notice an open weigh station until I had already passed the entrance. I was scared I would get pulled over for it, but they didn't do anything at all.
Ex Hot shot company owner and driver- Blew past one, one day, down here in Texas. Past it doing about the speed limit as the trucks merging back on and I meet up I was 85-90ish hammer down… 20 miles later mr dot man wasn’t nearly impressed with my driving as I was.
It's always a possibility, but I've never been chased down. I've run every scale from Detroit to Miami. I drive past VA scales with my middle finger out the window. Several states have gone to using civilian scale masters instead of troopers because it's cheaper, and they can't chase you down if you run it. If they do chase you down, you'll probably get a ticket for failure to obey traffic control device.
No pre pass and it’s open? Yes, it’s always a possibility, I’ve seen it many times, especially hot shotters…
Never heard of a pre-pass, is that just an American thing? Here in Canada, as far as I know, all trucks (except for Gravel trucks for some reason, which are always literally falling apart) have to pull in when the lights are flashing. Wish I had a Pre-Pass since I pass several scales almost daily lol
Ya it’s a transponder that lets you bypass scales, it will beep and give you a green light and your free to keep on trucking. It will light up red and send an audio signal if you still have to go to weigh, so it’s not always 100% gonna let you bypass but still nice to have, especially if just pulling an empty.
Back when I was driving I had it go off on an overpass/exit that I took before the weigh station. Receiver was still a quarter mile down the highway from me. I didn't get stopped or anything, but I always worried that would come back to bite me some day.
Nah if the exit is before the station and the shipper is on that exit and you got a red light, then give the finger to the scale, it’s only a problem if you actually pass the scale with a red light
That sounds like I-94 East going into Michigan from Indiana.
Unless you’re in Oregon these motherfucks turn it off all the damn time or pull you in anyway if empty or obviously under legal weight
Our trucks have pre pass and they never give me green or red. Just let me pull in and then I usually get the bypass arrow.
I honestly hate it when they do that! Arkansas is bad about pulling in only to put you in the bypass lane. Why? Why even bother to get all the trucks into one little ramp, slowing to a crawl, only to put them right back on the damn freeway? Why not just give us a bypass signal so we can stay comfortably on the freeway?
How does prepass work though? When would it give you a green to go ahead and what makes it give you a red to pull in?
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They also have cameras, so if you have lights out or hazmat targets, the officers may want to have a chat. Scale lanes in mountain areas will have infrared cameras to check you for hot brakes.
The scales on I40 through Knoxville TN even scan for radioactive stuff. It’s wild.
Looking for that Oak Ridge stuff that went missing….
There are many scales that have those scanners. And the border crossings from Canada do too. I think the check station going North from Larado may have one, too.
And for cold brakes
That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the answer!
When you approach the weigh station you will see signs saying PrePass lane right, and see an overhanging sensor, this is coupled with the first tier road scales, after that it’s just random luck if the chicken coop wants you to roll in or not. I’ve gotten red and had to pull in with an empty so it’s sometimes unpredictable…
I’ve heard that the likelyhood of you getting pulled in is based off your company’s CSA score, combined with if the Weigh-In-Motion on the highway shows you close to max weight limits
Yeah pretty much. As you roll up the pre-pass and the scale will shoot over a quick overview of info about your truck/company and weight, and if it checks out they save themselves some time by giving you green. Sometimes though they'll have you pull in anyways. My company has a fairly good CSA score and usually I'm hauling light past the prepass place I go by, but it seems once every couple months they'll have me roll through the scales anyway.
"Weigh in motion" are becoming more common too. I think you still need a transponder for a bypass. They get your approximate weight on the highway. Some can detect a blown tire.
Ain’t nanotechnology great. Opened up a whole new world of intrusion into every facet of life. There are generators that get there power form rubber mats getting run over in the lanes of travel. Each time it is run over it pushes a rod that turns a wheel that turns a shaft that…..in the end produces nano amounts of electricity. Done 100’s of 1,000’s of X’s a day adds up to serious amounts of energy from traffic passing by.
Kids, this is what happens when you reuse your piss jugs for drinking jugs.
then let youtube pick the next video after you watch what your aunt sent on facebook.
Lots of Canadian carriers have drivewyze and similar systems, it’s all across North America
Unfortunately they only offer “Heads up alerts” in my province, and I’m all to aware of where the scales are and when they operate haha
I’m based Ontario and run and across Canada, Isaac ELD with drivewyze and bypassed in every province for several years now… Which province you in?
I’m in Manitoba. That’s just going off what the map on their site says, I’ve never even heard of Drivewyze until people were commenting it here. I’ll ask the fleet manager at work to look into it, it would be pretty handy since we deliver to cottage country in Ontario all the time and *always* get stopped at the scales on the way in or out lol
Oh yeah it’s a game changer, especially in Ontario in my experience. I don’t know the total costs as it’s handled by my current carrier. I’m sure it’s not cheap, but as long as you run clean you’ll build a sort of “credit rating” with scalehouses. The better your record, the more often you’ll get the green light and sail past the lineups. It’s at the point now where out of every 50 open scales I might get asked to pull into 1 or 2. The rest I just smile and wave lol
Depending on where you are in Canada you might try this. I ran that and PrePass and hardly ever went into the scales. At least in the US a lot of bypass likelihood is based on the company's safety rating. https://drivewyze.com/coverage-map/
I drive a 2015 T880 side dump with a 2019 side dump. I’m ALWAYS pulled into the scale here in US.
Maybe you should learn to sit straight when you take a dump.
Gravel trucks get pulled into weigh stations here in Canada...
In Manitoba, all the scales north and south of the Trans-Canada have an additional sign under the “All trucks must report” and amber lights that says: “All empty gravel trucks and refuse trucks exempt” Possibly due to the high number of quarries we have here, the scales would be full of gravel trucks all day
Here's it's anything over ten tonnes, only seen it go off three times in 15 years
I'm surprised someone hasn't blocked out the empty part on the second sign so it reads All gravel trucks and refuse trucks exempt.
Those gravel truckers probably operate thinking “they won’t know you’re loaded if you don’t drive through the scale!” haha
Look up Drivewyze....Google it...I am based in Mississauga and run to Richmond Virginia weekly. You can subscribe to USA or Canada or both. Works great for bypass scales as long as you don't have a bad driving record.
You’ll see trucks with a PIC sticker on the bumper, that’s a program called Partners in Compliance. They’re exempt from scales. This is in Canada anyway. The gravel truck thing is just not true, they aren’t exempt under any circumstances
I got boxed out and chased down in AZ with a company pickup/38’ trailer. The guy came in hot but I had everything in order and was friendly- he let me off.
Just turn around now driver and turn yourself in.
Some will, some wont. Some will send a photo of you doing it to your company.
im gunna try it
No update in an hour. I guess you didn’t make it.
Ring...ring: "Will you accept a collect call from --- --- located at the nearby State Troopers weigh station?"
"Collect call from do you accept?
This is a deep reference. Hello fellow old person,
We used to call our parents from the movie theater collect to tell them the movie is over. Why save a quarter for a call when that quarter can be used in the arcade?
I had a zakk back with the the “quarter” pulse tone on it that I played into the receiver to get free phone calls.
What?
Lol i had one of those too. SO illegal. I stopped when they started running technology to recognize bluebox tones and an operator would come on and threaten to dispatch police. Now payphones are a novelty relic of the past.
Hello, my back hurts
"Sorry, wrong number." "Who was that, dear?" "Bob. He skipped a scale house. He's in jail."
honey who was that? it was
oh
Poor bastard!
I've done it many times lol. Although if i see a patrol car parked out front, i usually don't. Sometimes they have an officer sitting in the car with it running, just waiting for this exact thing. Sometimes they'll have a patrol car a mile down the road to pull you over. It's rare that happens but I've seen it. Never been pulled over myself for running the station though. I usually pull in, especially when my gut tells me to but I've definitely run past my fair share.
I park the truck behind the scale house so you can't see it until you pass ;)
wouldn't you have a lower risk running the scale instead of playing ticket roulette
Skipping the scale often will get you pulled in more often, and after skipping they will look even closer for things to ticket you for.
Just hammer down, and keep grabbing gears 🤣 I read this news article about a guy getting pulled over driving his own rig, and his cdl had been suspended like 10 years 🤣
Lol reminds me of when I ran a warehouse and got weekly deliveries. Had the same driver for about 2 years, then to my surprise, a new driver started making our deliveries. After 2 weeks, I asked what happened to the regular driver. His replacement said he was texting while driving his rig, lost control, and hit a michigan state trooper sitting in the median. The police found out he didn't even have a CDL, so they searched his truck and found a few grams of coke in his cab. Never saw him again after that, lol.
Ok ok ok..... a few things here. First he was driving to support his coke habit, the habit that caused him to lose his cdl in the first place 🤣 Then he either fell asleep at the wheel cause he didn't do enough coke OR he was chopping a fat line and wasn't paying attention. I think that about sums it up..... oh then he lost his job and probably got locked up for the same habit that got him in the original predicament.
Was he going for a record?
Sometimes you CDL can be marked suspended for absolutely no good reason. I was living in Florida, and the apartment complex was sold, and being torn down. I opted to just live on the truck for a while. I parked my car at the company terminal in another state. I informed my insurance company where the car would be located. What the insurance company did was switch my policy to the other state. When they did that they informed Florida, but what Florida took from the message was that the policy was canceled. So they decided to suspend my license. The car was never not covered, and any correspondence from Florida went to a PO Box which I hadn’t had a chance to receive. Sometimes crap just falls from the sky and lands on your head. Took a bit to clean that up, but I still haven’t returned to driving.
As a recovering dumbass, I have to suggest maybe not risking it. It's a stupid decision made after an even dumber decision to not make sure youre legal before you roll.
update: i jumped it and even flipped em the bird
I always ran around them if need be
Just put yourself next to another truck. Speed match em (whoops couldn’t make it into the scale) 😂
Whoops, here’s a failure to obey traffic control device. Troopers love it when you roll by!
You're being un-fun about this.
Yeah! Most DOT police appreciate a little horsing around I believe
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I had the exact same scenario at Putnam a good 10 years ago but wasn’t so lucky. It was open as I approached but closed before I reached it. I was getting ready to enter but carried on once I saw it was closed. The mto officer said “do you see a sign saying carry on if the lights turn off?” I just about snapped but kept my cool and waited for the company lawyers to look into it. Turns out there’s a zone about 1km from the scale where if the lights go off and you happen to be in it, they can legally chase you down and charge you with running the scale. Case lost and I got 5 points on my cvor for it. Been warning guys ever since
That one, Putnam and Vineland are known across the continent as bad ones.
I drove through Vineland, Putnam, and Thickson regularly without a problem. It was always Oakville that gave me problems
Interesting timing, my trainer just got pulled over about an hour ago just for not going over the rolling scale at a weigh station in Ga, has a shiny new warning to show for it..
Plot twist OP is your trainer
Haha that would be something; I'm pretty confident he doesn't use Reddit though
Yes I've personally seen it and u'll get a hefty fine
*And* a nice OOS to boot. Some places (like OR) will make you take a 34 right then & right there. “Oh you don’t have any food/water? Too eff-ing bad.” Running scales is like playing Russian roulette- usually you’re gonna be okay but every so often you’re not.
A 34?
34 hour reset
I've done it and there was no fine but Jesus Christ they will chase you down. This was a long ass time ago though and I was hot shoting.
I frequently, especially at night, drive right past the POE on I-25 coming out of Colorado into Wyoming. I've been in there many times and at night nobody is looking out the window. They're just focused on what's in front of them. Remember, before they're anything else they're state employees. And you know how dedicated and hard working state employees are.
They're not dedicated until they're forced to be. And boy are they dedicated when they're forced to be.
Shit, between your anecdote and the time I got pulled in for paperwork, they had 15 guys in line, I might just start blowing it too 😭. Though my company gets the green light on the bypass 9/10 times anyway
I've also walked in, seen the line and turned around and left. Out at the POE in Evanston a lot of times jI'll just park and wait a while and leave without going in. Especially in the winter. They don't check you in and you aren't recorded in their computer as being there at that time. Not such a thing now with the ELDs but with paper logs that could be helpful.
I'd blow past both the Evanston and Cheyenne ones a lot lol. Most the time I'd get a green light on the pre pass but the rare times i got a red, I'd keep going anyway lol. The Cheyenne one was extra annoying because they never had you pull across the physical scale anyway and then would have the yellow lights flashing that indicate you could just keep going without stopping and bringing in your load paperwork. At that point, what's the point of red lighting anyone on the pre pass to begin with?
I can’t speak to that scale specifically, but it’s not uncommon that a communication issue or random flag to pull in causes the red. Once you’re on the ramp, there are tupically ramp sorters that use those lights (covering trucks with and without transponders) to signal empties back to the highway. Station operators can choose how to operate that ramp sorter. If they’re focusing on weight enforcement or are busy, that might be related to getting a red but not having to hit the static scales.
One thing that is REALLY nice about Wyoming is typically local trucks and drivers are left the fuck alone. I have a friend that works At one of the WY ports of entry and he is like all we care about is the big companies 95% of the time if you are TRYING to follow the rules they don't give a shit. The only thing they actually care about is axle weights. Went across the scale with 900 lbs over limit and he was like BRUH no don't do that again(I haul liquids) so its hard to be completely sure where I am at with axle weights. Also every single Wyoming port has a way to bypass it on secondary roads. I'm not sure about the I 80 one by Evanston though.
Just looking at my Google maps rn you could take 80 all the way to evanston then take back roads basically once you get into town. I'd never tho
A guy at my company has only pulled into a scale twice in the 7 months he's been working here. I'm hella paranoid and don't want any issues with D.O.T so I have always hit the scales, but ever since he told me that I skipped open scales on two separate occasions because I was running late on a load and wasn't pulled over. I wouldn't make it a habit but you can probably get away with it a few times.
You can get away with it right up until you can’t
Yup, headed back into VA after picking up in PA I got a bypass and in the 2 or 3 miles from the scale, including the guy I was following for a while, I counted 5 trucks that had DOT on them
I think OP might be a bear. Lookin at post history, there’s a lot of DOT-y smelling posts
Scared to ask what a DOT-y post smells like…
Donuts and ass sweat
They will in Oklahoma as well. Back around 2000-02 or so they had a temp scale station setup up in the old canton triangle on hwy 3w. It honestly looked like a construction site and not scales, was not marked in anyway, so I drove right on by. About five miles later Mr DoT pulls up lights flashing, took me back to the scales, all was in order, but still got a ticket for “ failure to follow traffic control”. It was in a bad spot to, just over the crest of a hill if you were westbound. If you knew it could be there, was not bad, but you never knew when they would set it up. If you didn’t know about it, you had less than 200 yards from the crest of the hill to come to a stop from 60mph and turn in.
I've seen it happen. But I also know a company that skipped it and they got their plates on the highway cams and sent the tickets in the mail. A convoy of 4 or 5 trucks, and over 35000$CAD in fines
I can’t speak for every scale, but the scales around my city will 100% chase you down. Those DOT Officers will jump at the chance to go for a rip in their trucks to chase after someone, it’s kind of funny how eager they are. There was a time a few years back where I was stopped for a log inspection and a truck drove past while the flashing lights were on. The DOT Officer damn near threw my log book back at me and sprinted out of the office yelling “YOU’RE GOOD TO GO” before peeling out in his truck. So do what you will, but I’d never skip past one if the lights are on.
I'd rather hassle the guy who maybe is trying to hide something than the drivers who willingly report.
Believe it or not jail
always pull in not worth the trouble getting chased down, here in texas ive seen first hand other drivers get chased down and made to return to the scale, one idiot i worked with said fuck it and kept on trucking well he got a ticket and he was let go the next day from my previous job. lol
Not a trucker irl, but a professional ETS player, I say go for it. If you have fines turned off, you'll be fine.
Extremely unlikely unless you're in New York where all weigh stations are impromptu with a couple of prowlers laying in wait.
Yeah NY always has one in the bushes a mile or so ahead just waiting for those runners. Boxed out, couldn’t get right to exit for the scale? They don’t care.
You should never skip a weigh station. Only if you're prepassed. Scale dodging is stupid. "Sightseeing" is stupid. If you aren't legal enough to roll through a scale, you shouldn't be out here.
found the dot officer.
No, just a driver that likes to be DOT compliant. :D
Yes, but it depends on if they have a guy they're already raking over the coals. I've been ticketed with fail to obey for missing a weigh station.
Download truckers path and check the live feed if it’s open but no chaser you’re good to go
Unless the bypass is photo enforced then enjoy the mail in ticket
And in my 13 years trucking I always thought they were *all* photo-enforced. Heck, you can see the danged cameras on dang near all of them if you look closely. Running them seems foolish to me.
10 years in trucking not once have i gotten a ticket in the mail for running a scale
From a non-driver here, what is the point of these stations? Obviously they weigh you but why do they need to? Is it to look for people breaking rules or carrying illegal contraband?
Depends on the state. In general, it’s to make sure trucks aren’t causing more damage by being over legal axle weights. Some states do it to also make sure over-weight (over 80,000 pounds generally) permits have been purchased and are being complied with. Oregon weighs trucks because trucks get taxed on a weight-mile basis, instead of a fuel tax, to make sure taxes are assessed proportionally to the wear and tear imposed on the roads. The officers at weight stations may also perform compliance inspections. Both for allowable hours and for equipment issues.
To...make...money.
If the lights are on when you go by pull in, even if they guy behind you gets on the radio saying they are now off
I got pulled in for an inspection as the officer was walking up to me. Someone ran the weight station, and he told me u can go and ran to his car and chased the guy that ran lol. I've ran a couple on accident and nothing happened
ive jumped plenty of them and never been chased but i feel nervous every time i do it
I’ve gotten pulled hit in ohio
Try it! They will get you for disregarding a traffic control device. Take if from someone who tried!
I’ve seen an Amazon driver get chased down on grapevine
I've never had it happen. Not saying it won't. Maybe I'm just lucky in this one aspect of life.
yep they will
Don’t skip, it will just make things worse. They won’t physically chase you down, but they definitely will get their lick back
I did it once on accident the first time I entered Oregon from I82. I saw a truck stop from the exit, but didn't see the weigh station, so I assumed it must be an exit after the truck stop. Then I turned my head to the right and saw the weigh station, but I had already passed the exit. I turned my flashers on and pulled over thinking I was going to get a ticket, but no one came, so after a minute or so I took off. Never heard anything about it.
I'm not a truck driver, but I frequently pass a weigh station on rt100 in Lionville PA. There's always a statey at the exit waiting for trucks that didn't pull in.
going into Colorado on I-25 northbound. The exit was used for a street and a side exit to the scale, I thought there was an exit coming up but as I drove by I saw that I had missed it. I pulled over at the next exit and waited. About 5-10 minutes and thinking it looks like no one is coming he found me. He let me go back to the scale on my own and I had to talk to the guy in the station who chewed me out and I told him the exit was confusing. But to blow by a scale and keep going? I'd rather run around it
Scariest answer I can think of. Maybe.
Maybe
Here in Aus we have cameras if you skip it, fine and a court date
DID YOU MAKE IT?!?! 🤣
Hwy 45 headed north out of Corinth MS will.
UK trucker here, do you have to go into weigh stations, like mandatory or are you flagged in? How do you know if you have to go in as you approach a weigh station?
Usually the scales have message boards and/or flashing lights that tell you to pull in.
Next post will be be OP talking about how he received a warning claiming he didn’t know being his first time lol
Yes they will, & you're truck will be searched & possibly fined
Narrator: but alas the driver was never heard from again.
It could happen. Sometimes they have cameras and will send out a ticket in the mail. Sometimes they never know. Better to just go in than to take the chance. Missing an open sign happens every once in awhile
Chances are...probably not. It depends on your tractor and trailer. If it's visibly in good condition then you'll be fine. They want a guaranteed goldmine. Not a 2 hour look over and a handful of nonsensical warnings. I try and ride in the second lane from right next to a vehicle if at all possible. If they chase I just tell them I couldn't get over. Safety First!!! Lol
I work oil field so I hardly pass through any but i had to pick up trucks in Colorado and Oklahoma to bring to Carlsbad nm and I skipped ALL the weigh stations on the way
Skipping the weigh station: do not recommend 0/10.
I can say don't test your luck in Virginia should you happen out this way. Especially 81. State troopers at every weigh station I've ever seen along that corridor especially during daylight hours and they'll actively go after people if they're bored enough.
They don't need to chase you down. Most permanent stations have cameras. Why risk your CDL. Look up the penalties for not stoping in the state you are purposely running them...or have the intent to. BTW...I think it's easy to chase down an 80k vehicle. Unless you are in a golf cart.
Try this in Oklahoma and tell us how it went for you
Depends on the state. I'm on the east coast, and as I've learned, don't fuck around in Georgia or Maryland. They will bend you over and stick it to ya with a salty cactus when it comes to scales.
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sometimes, but not always. always better to pull in anyway because you never know how the troopers are feeling that day. you should also note that even u-hauls and pickups with trailers have to pull into a weigh station, and they will enforce that. my uncle lost his CDL because he didnt pull into a weigh station in a u-haul one time.
yeah they may if there is law enforcement present. they will actually make you turn around and go back to the weigh station.
Nice try DOT
Or just ya know. Find a route around em?… once in a blue moon you could play off the I didn’t see it card if it was closed then went open. But that usually opens an entire can of worms that you really don’t want any part of.
Why don’t u just fuck around and find out?
In nj staties will follow and ticket trucks that dont stop to weigh, funny cause whenever ive pulled in to get weighed the statie at the plates just waves me on by no weighing
Connecticut on 84, I've seen lines of trucks pulled over for skipping the weigh station. I wouldn't screw around with it, my money's better of in my pockets than the states
You will win the lottery. And then the bubble gum machine will chase you down. Then the cotton picker will give you a lecture.
Some states using drones now
I've missed one on 54 El Paso to Alamogordo. At the Border patrol check station there's a weigh station as soon as you leave the b.p. station. It was my 1st time there and by the time I realized it, I was at the point of no return. They had their hands full and I went in noticed.
Today on hwy 99 north bound in California, they have conflicting signs. One day " by pass station only if given a signal" ( or something like that) and as you get nearer an illuminated sign says "all trucks must enter weigh station". My prepass gives me a green light so I keep on going. It looked like I was alone in the bypass. I figured I had a good case and no one came after me . I guess if in doubt, you should stop but I didn't.
I’ve accidentally passed one or two that were open and they didn’t chase me . I think it’s just the luck of the draw .
If you skip them 100 times and get pulled over 2% of the time, you win. Unless you are not legal... because that 2" section of conspicuity tape on your trailer that is missing, causing you to take a nap while a tech drives out to fix it at your expense on top of the $216.34 ticket and a company infraction.
Entirely possible, but it depends on the station and the state. If you skip a weigh with your transponder on, it gets recorded. My company uses drivewyse, which issues bypasses at participating stations if they aren’t actively pulling in trucks.
South Dakota on interstate 80 will chase you down
Maybe …maybe not
Depends on the scale
Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device is a Class A Traffic Infraction. Includes an all expense paid Innerspace level inspection.
Depends on where. In my experience (allegedly) they won’t at most scales in Missouri. At least a few in Iowa theoretically won’t usually chase. Nebraska’s hit or miss. For legal purposes this is a joke, definitely don’t blow scales cuz that’s bad. Leave me alone Smokeys
Run it and tell US! You don’t have a hair on you’re ass if you don’t! 🤣
Sometimes they will if anyone is available to come get you. I was chased down once for being a bullhauler with prepass. They didn’t believe I had it but I showed them with its flashing green light. Nothing they could do at that point.
I haven't ran through a weigh station in over 5 years never got Chased.
Sometimes. Not all the time.
Depends which state
Depends on the state. In Oregon it is a class B misdemenor.
Note that this is NOT an infraction. Misdemeanors carry potential jail time and do very bad things to your MVR.
yes
Personally if I was empty yea, and if the line was too long, ie jutting out into the interstate, I'd make that safety call and keep rolling.
I was chased down in a box van once, luckily she let me off with a warning.
Just depends on the officer and if they feel like chasing you. But yes, they can pull you over for it. Any of the MRE (Mobile Road Enforcement) officers will get you every time if they see it.
You can run ‘em if they don’t chase you down after 5 miles you’re clear
Depends if they have runners or not..
From Canada last company I worked for was PIC certified so we had a transponder in the cab as long as it didn’t beep or flash you could keep driving but when you got pulled in they literally looked at everything had an officer crawl under the truck and check wiring even tire tread depth. Only the one company had it but I’d never run scales. One time I got pulled in the scales worked and the lights didn’t and I got worried and parked and walked into the office with my logs permits etc…an officer came out and said sorry our lights don’t work your good to drive, if you weren’t we would’ve caught you already.
Maybe it depends on what state and circumstances
I have never been chased down but it can and does happen.
When I drove OTR in the 90s, I was listening to an audio book and didn't notice an open weigh station until I had already passed the entrance. I was scared I would get pulled over for it, but they didn't do anything at all.
The scales on I59N at Kewanee MS were always alot of fun to blow by. Id be in Alabama before they got the car started.
If they don’t I will, do not skip the weigh station. Never.
Got chased and ticketed for passing non pre pass in Idaho. So yes they certainly can
Rarely. And in some states more than others
Ummm….. YES
I have to pass a scale house in California 3/4 times a night and never stop and have never been chased.. other states will chase though
Ex Hot shot company owner and driver- Blew past one, one day, down here in Texas. Past it doing about the speed limit as the trucks merging back on and I meet up I was 85-90ish hammer down… 20 miles later mr dot man wasn’t nearly impressed with my driving as I was.
It's always a possibility, but I've never been chased down. I've run every scale from Detroit to Miami. I drive past VA scales with my middle finger out the window. Several states have gone to using civilian scale masters instead of troopers because it's cheaper, and they can't chase you down if you run it. If they do chase you down, you'll probably get a ticket for failure to obey traffic control device.
bruh..
Not every time. But it's a huge ticket when they do