OH did that a little north of Columbus too, and about half a dozen of us went right by because the wind blew the sign down.

But, don't ever go by one of the parking areas in VT when they are set up there. I don't know what the fine is for passing it by, but I can tell you that about 3 squads will go out after you.

 

[quote="GMAN"]If you ever unintentionally pass a scale the best thing to do is pull to the side and stop immediately. Then get out of your truck and walk back to the scale and try to explain it to them.

Don't do that in WY. I did that (while still in training) and pulled over and walked up and explained what happened. He told me I was a traffic hazard while on side of road and that was a $265 ticket! He waited, to see if I was going to blow up I think, and ended up just letting me go with a warning. He did say next time to just go up to next exit and turn around and come back. But good advice for most states.

 

michigan doesn't have Pre Pass

 

Sometimes they dont put out a sign. I've seen this twice in New York. Once on 81 north of Syracuse I pulled into a rest stop to check my straps and they had an inspection set up catching the unsuspecting and this happened also near Watertown. I've seen it in Pennsylvania also. Vermont also has no warning random inspections on the secondary roads but do put out signs on the interstate.
I almost passed the in-bound scale on I80 in Utah because I was spacing out. Slammed on my brakes and pulled to the shoulder in front of the scale ( much to the delight of all of the truckers pulling into the scales). As I sat there pondering what to do the scalehouse came on the CB telling me not to back up the shoulder. Guess that has happened many times. I asked them if they wanted me to put my 4 ways on and bring in my log and they said "No, just go ahead but dont make a habit of this" lol.

 

It usually has nothing to do with that. Most drivers who sometimes don't stop at scales do *not* do it intentionally; either they didn't see the sign in time or it changed to "open" just as they past it or they were paying attention to traffic, not signage...the 14 years I drove I missed a scale house a time or two as well, and it was accidental, not intentional.

The categorical condemnation in your original post is way off.

 

This guy is correct about NOT blowing by a random in VT. They most certainly will come after you and not with one vehicle either. I've seen it several times.

 

I went through the southbound scale on I-81 in Virginia at about the 150 MM when a Swift truck ran by the scale. He didn't make it very far until a DOT officer caught him and suggested that he not do that again. :wink:

 

None intended. I am guessing, however, that some people DO run over their weight limit intentionally, however, or skip scales for intentional reasons, and simply wondering why anyone would, not assuming that anyone who does so necessarily has criminal intentions in doing it.

 

I was NB at that scale and pulled in. The guy asked me to come so I gathered my stuff and wandered in not overly concerned as I was totally legal. He then informed me that he was impounding my truck. "What?" I said. He laughed at the expression on my face and told me that another driver for my company had gotten an overweight ticket and apparently didnt inform the company or pay it. The state then suspended our authority to operate in the Commonwealth of Virginia and I just happened to be the first driver across the scales. He said not to worry, if i paid the ticket he would let me go and they took Comchecks, Visa, personnal checks and, of course, cash was king! I laughed and said " I bet you do" and told him I'd be right back with a comcheck. Paid up and was on my way in 15 minutes.

 

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