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Why are there so many weigh stations?
A weigh station is a designated location, typically located directly off of highways, where the Department of Transportation or state highway patrol inspects the weight of a vehicle. The reason why there are weigh stations is to ensure that the roads are not compromised by a potentially overweight vehicle.
What is the point of truck weigh stations?
A weigh station allows trucks to be weighed while still on the road. Trucking companies are responsible for making sure that the trucks they send out are under the legal weight limit. However, trucking companies are often untrustworthy. This makes weigh stations necessary.
What happens if a trucker skips a weigh station?
For example, if a trucker skips a required weigh station, they could be pulled over by a law enforcement officer, who may direct the trucker to drive back to the weigh station. And that can lead to additional delays because even more of your trucks could be required to stop at weigh stations on the future.
Why do truckers skip weigh stations?
They are connected to a high-tech scale built into the roadbed. “The weights are screened before they get to the scale, and if they’re in compliance, a green light comes on in their vehicle and they can bypass the scale. It’s an overhead scanner in conjunction with a weigh-in-motion device.”
Why do tractor trailers have to be weighed?
Truck weigh stations are important because weighing trucks prevents overweight trucks from going onto highways that cannot handle the heavy load. Trucks that weigh over the regulated weight limit can cause irreparable damage to roads and bridges. Many states collect taxes on transported goods based on weight.
Do moving trucks stop at weigh stations?
Normally U-Haul customers moving their own household goods are not required to stop, because it is not a commercial move. However, some states require that all trucks stop at the weigh stations. If in doubt, stop at the weigh station.
Who has to stop at weigh stations?
In many states, any vehicle over 10,000 pounds must stop at a weigh station. The only exception to this is if the driver has a PrePass or other bypass service. These bypass services are helpful, especially in the event of a closed weigh station. This is all common knowledge for those in the fleet industry.
Do rental trucks stop at weigh stations?
Truck rental locations will usually tell you that you must indeed stop at all weigh stations whereas an Internet search will likely yield the opposite. To help our customers, or anyone completing a do-it-yourself move with a rental truck, we have put together this quick guide.
What is the purpose of truck weigh stations?
Truck weigh stations are used for these tax purposes as well as to monitor the weight of a truck to ensure that it falls within the safety guidelines that each state has in place for its road system. While the maximum allowed weight varies, a common standard is 34,000 pounds (15,400 kilograms).