Why the Weigh Station Is Your Friend
Don’t Be Too Heavy on It: The Weigh Station is Your Friend
The weigh station is a helpful friend of the truck driver. Some drivers may frown at that statement. In CB lingo, weigh stations are known as “chicken coops.” Some cynics even plan routes to avoid them, which is a big mistake. Whether you run into a fixed position, portable or pop-up weigh station, take the time to get your truck weighed and be nice to the people running it. Believe it or not, they are there to help you. Here are a few ways they do just that.
They Keep the Roads Safe
Despite all the wonders of modern engineering, everything breaks down over time. If machinery is used improperly, it can be destroyed causing mayhem, destruction and even death.
This is true for roads and bridges that can be excessively damaged when loads that are too heavy drive down them too many times. These damages may not be fixed for a while and can pass damage along to other vehicles using the road. They also increase the risk of accidents or bridges collapsing.
They Keep the Public Safe
But, even more urgently, overweight trucks are a danger to other drivers on the road. An overweight truck takes longer to stop, is harder to steer, and is that much harder to drive safely. Overloaded trucks beg for tragic accidents to happen. At best, this could cost a trucker an insurance deductible and downtime while their rig is fixed. At worst, someone could get seriously injured and the truck driver or their trucking company could be held criminally liable. And all of that is before the civil suits get filed against the truck driver, the trucking company, and anyone else involved with deep pockets.
They Keep Maintenance Costs Low
Overweight trucks also break down sooner than properly loaded ones. This is just a fact of life and a law of physics, just like gravity. Overloading your truck means more repair bills and incurring them more often. The harder you use any machine, the sooner it will break down. It also increases your chance of catastrophic failure, which leads to all the legal entanglements previously mentioned.
They Stop Smuggling
Weighing a truck lets law enforcement know that the cargo on the manifest matches the cargo on board. If something doesn’t sync up, it’s important to look closer. This is one of the tools law enforcement uses to catch smugglers using commercial truckers to haul illicit products, even people.
Weigh stations can also protect truckers from becoming unwitting accomplices. If someone stows illicit cargo on board a trucker’s rig, a weigh station will be their best opportunity to find out. Drug smugglers and even sex traffickers have been caught this way.
We All Have to Pay Our Fair Share of Taxes
Death and taxes are two things you can always count on happening sooner or later. The latter is true for trucks. The wear and tear trucks cause on highways is recouped in many states by taxes based on the weight of a vehicle. This is why you find weigh stations near state borders. Also, the federal government often wants its cut, too. They need to weigh the truck and bill the owner of the vehicle or the shipment. It’s just another expense like diesel fuel and insurance.
Conclusion
Don’t hate on weigh stations. They help keep you and other drivers safe. They help pay for good-quality roads. They keep your equipment working properly for longer. And they help prevent crime. So, welcome the next weigh station as you keep on trucking.
