HEY, JERK! (a truck-driving question)

[TUSooner]

I know your regular route is OKC-Tulsa and back and forth and back, etc. But my daughter was asking me on a recent road trip what weigh stations are for, and I couldn't do more than mumble something about "taxes and stuff". Can you 'splain how all that works?
TIA
kev... I mean TU :D

[slickdawg]

I think the primary reason the scales exist is to ensure that load maximums
aren't being broken. 80,000 pounds is the legal maximum on most federal
interstates.

[OUinFLA]

I think the primary reason the scales exist is to ensure that load maximums
aren't being broken. 80,000 pounds is the legal maximum on most federal
interstates.

wow, no wonder my ex has to make two trips.

[OUHOMER]

log books, bingo card(permit card), hazmt documentation, insurance, check the truck for FHWA ( federal inspection), to name a few

[TUSooner]

log books, bingo card(permit card), hazmt documentation, insurance, check the truck for FHWA ( federal inspection), to name a few
Thanks, jerk.
;)

[XingTheRubicon]

The main purpose of weigh stations (for 18 wheelers) are to weigh four things.

1. The front axle weight
2. The drive axle weight (34,500? max)
3. The trailer axle weight (again 34,500, i think)
4. GVW Gross Volume weight (80,000 max)

The log books and permits are checked sometimes at random, and they're guaranteed to be checked if your over on any axle or GVM.

[Jerk]

Xing nailed it.

Good thing I don't go over scales because I'm always over on my drives (the two axles on the back of the tractor) I got nailed for this in Caney, KS once. Some dunce on a PA tells you to pull forward to where your steering axle is on the scale, then pull forward until the tractor is on, then pull forward until the whole truck is on...that way they can tell how much you've got on your steers, drives, and tandoms. Problem is I haul cement powder which acts like water and is usually piled up toward the front of the trailer. Only way to correct it is to haul arse backwards and slam on the brakes.

[Okla-homey]

I know your regular route is OKC-Tulsa and back and forth and back, etc. But my daughter was asking me on a recent road trip what weigh stations are for, and I couldn't do more than mumble something about "taxes and stuff". Can you 'splain how all that works?
TIA
kev... I mean TU :D

TU,
Cuz I know you dig the mathematicky stuff.

Heavy trucks = hard on roads, bridges and highways, therefore trucks must < maximum weight per axle.

It may aslo be algebraically expressed: trucks > maximum allowable weight = pay fine.;)

[Jerk]

Nothing like flying down the road in a 40 ton truck on some 2 lane state road and as you get to a bridge it says "Weight limit 10 tons." At 65 mph, the brain finishes processing this information at about the same time I'm half-way over it.


Trucks do many a thousand times more damage to a road than cars. Those ruts you see on asphalt aren't created by Civics.

[Okla-homey]

Nothing like flying down the road in a 40 ton truck on some 2 lane state road and as you get to a bridge it says "Weight limit 10 tons." At 65 mph, the brain finishes processing this information at about the same time I'm half-way over it.


Trucks do many a thousand times more damage to a road than cars. Those ruts you see on asphalt aren't created by Civics.

Problem is IMHO, how do we know the money truckers have to pony-up for being heavy ever makes it to the highway departments? Hmmmm?

[Jerk]

Problem is IMHO, how do we know the money truckers have to pony-up for being heavy ever makes it to the highway departments? Hmmmm?

I don't know, but if you couple in fuel tax with all the other stuff, I bet trucks pay something like $30,000 a year in taxes. I really don't know for sure, though. I've never owned one...don't want to. I'll drive the big toy and let someone else pay the bills. I use about 100 gallons a day and I'm glad I don't have to fork it over.

[VeeJay]

wow, no wonder my ex has to make two trips.

Ba-Dum, Phiiiish!

[Okla-homey]

I don't know, but if you couple in fuel tax with all the other stuff, I bet trucks pay something like $30,000 a year in taxes. I really don't know for sure, though. I've never owned one...don't want to. I'll drive the big toy and let someone else pay the bills. I use about 100 gallons a day and I'm glad I don't have to fork it over.

You'd think with two major commercial interstate arteries running thru OUr state (I40 and I35) and all that revenue from trucks (not to mention the pikes), OUr roads would be the shizz. Methinks those dollars are making it into some other cookie jar other than ODOT's.

I've heard apologists say the sorry state of our highways and roads has to do with the temperature extremes we have in OK which make it tough on the pavement, but I ain't convinced.

I think we need hearings in the legislature and a blue-ribbon panel!;)

[walkoffsooner]

i think they had a grand jury on the taxes 5 years ago. Shazam most of the money was going other places. But nothing happened.

[Okla-homey]

i think they had a grand jury on the taxes 5 years ago. Shazam most of the money was going other places. But nothing happened.

Them legislature d00ds are generally very opposed to earmarking funds or revenue streams. Not just OUr pack of legislators either. Such opposition is pretty common in state houses around the country. Earmarking makes it tougher for them to shift bucks around when no one is looking.

[Vaevictis]

I've heard apologists say the sorry state of our highways and roads has to do with the temperature extremes we have in OK which make it tough on the pavement, but I ain't convinced.

As if ours is the only state with temperature extremes. I don't buy that for a second.

[Okla-homey]

As if ours is the only state with temperature extremes. I don't buy that for a second.

Some drivel about how asphalt that gets to a hundred degrees plus in the summer, then freezes solid in the winter for extended periods is more likely to crumble-up and crack. Maybe something to it but Kansas seems to manage. I shall defer to the civil engineers (roads and commodes guys) among us.

[soonerjoker]

i don't buy the "temp" thing. other states have temp variations than us. but then, maybe they have worse roads.

[Vaevictis]

If that really is the case, then don't use asphalt.

Oh, wait. That costs money.

[Al Gore]

Some intelligent questions....:D

[TUSooner]

TU,
Cuz I know you dig the mathematicky stuff.

Heavy trucks = hard on roads, bridges and highways, therefore trucks must < maximum weight per axle.

It may aslo be algebraically expressed: trucks > maximum allowable weight = pay fine.;)

Thanks for dumbing that down for me, counselor. :D

BTW, I drove on I-40 between Memphis and Little Rock last Friday and it almost seemed like the big rigs outnumbered the cars. Traffic was a genuine cluster-f***. On the way back from Little Rock. We slipped down US 65 into NE Louisiana, then, after a short stretch on I-20, took a winding Mississippi highway to catch I-55 well south of Jackson. I tell ya, driving on those non-interstate roads can be a kick and is much more interesting and less tiring than cruising the freeway. We saved a hour, too. I recommend it.