Blowing by the scales

[luckytwo]

Does anyone have any stories of blowing right by the scales. I thought it might be an intersting topic of what some of those exsperiences might have been like and what the end results were.

[matcat]

Originally Posted by luckytwo

Does anyone have any stories of blowing right by the scales. I thought it might be an intersting topic of what some of those exsperiences might have been like and what the end results were.

I blew by the one just south of Charlotte one day by accident. It was like 5ish, rush hour traffic was horrible, and I was 2 lanes over from the right. I never saw the signs because of the traffic. I happened to see the PRE-PASS sensor and I was like Ohh crap... I couldn't get over. Then just as I realized I was passing a scale, someone came on the CB and shouted, "Hey Swift, how far you think your gonna get running the scale", I never responded, and just kept on trucking. I looked out my mirrors intensely for the next 14 or so miles it is to the state border, expecting to see them blue lights any second, but they never came. I crossed state lines and just let out a phewww of relief.

[luckytwo]

Bet you were holding your breath the whole time. Wonder if they can get you the next time through ....hope not. What about the cameras as you go through. Would they be able to send a ticket from catching your plates on camera. Probably makes ya want to even go through the closed ones now huh.

[PhuzzyGnu]

Not too long ago I was rolling over the New Waverly scales at the 101 on I-45 north of Houston. I was rolling over, I got the "Return to Interstate" on the billboard and went up through the gears. There was a DOT inspector (not a DPS trooper) on the steps and he waved at me and I wave at him. Then he waved his clipboard and started hopping around all funny. I kept on rolling and by the time I got up to the 105 mile marker a Trooper was in full-tilt pursuit.

He asked why I had run from the inspector and I told him I had the "Return to Interstate" sign and never realized the inspector wanted me to pull in. :twisted:

We had a bit of a, er,"discussion." but he let me go.

---------------

Another time I was getting inspected on I-10 at the 729 eastbound towards Houston and an ol' large car missed the scale and came to a stop about 1/4 mile past the office. He came walking back on foot and apologized for missing it and said the four-wheelers wouldn't let him over, except he wasn't exactly polite and got into it with the trooper.

He got a $500 ticket of something.

-p.

[Uturn2001]

Don't know if it counts as running the scales, but there have been several times I have been by scale house with pre-pass that also have rolling scales on the highway with signs telling you to pull in or keep on going and those two bits of info did not agree.

I just kept on going and never had a problem.

[RRaccoon]

Many years ago, (the 70s) I was a young hot dog that would take any bet on getting the load there, no matter what it took. It made me money but nearly killed me and others before I wised up. One particular time I was eastbound on I-40 from Memphis with a load of produce for Louisville, non-stop from Coachella, Ca. I remembered seeing the sign for the approaching Brownsville scale, which was open and thinking I was way too tired to deal with the usual Brownsville third degree. Next thing I knew, I was 5 miles past the scale and wondering WHAT THE H***, how did I get here? No bears in the mirror and no clue how I stayed on the road. The sheer terror of what happened woke me up enough to make it to the old 76 truck stop at Jackson, where I took a nice long nap.

[belpre122]

My very first time behind the wheel of a CRST beast. I was empty at Palmyra, PA, white knuckling down I-83 towards Baltimore if I remember correctly. Well, I notice a scale to my right.............As I was passing it.

The Maryland State Trooper took pity on me and let me go with a warning. My trainer and I are still friends and I have to hear about that stop at least once a month. Here is a link to the warning that I posted on another thread...

Inspection Rpt... Advise Employer?

Finally arrived at Westminster, MD and picked up 30,000lbs. of lesbian porno bound for Los Angeles later that day. The rest is, shall we say, is in the history books.

[golfhobo]

Hey, Bel.... what did CRST say when you were a couple cases short on delivery??

[wildkat]

I remember one time when I was still running stateside.. Was in South Dakota if memory serves me...don't recall the highway, but the scale was in the centre of it. My oldest daughter was with me, she was about 9 or so at the time...she's 27 now...so it WAS some time ago!

Anyway, it was a lovely day, she had the road atlas on her lap & we were looking at the scenery, yakking back & forth...I never even saw the signs let alone the scale...LOL Next I knew there were blue lights in my mirror, so I pulled over & the trooper walks up to my truck...I think he was somewhat surprised to see me behind the wheel, but then asked my "Why I drove by the scale"... HUH??? What scale? Anyway, he takes my log book & registration book & tells me to follow him...so I did, weighed & went into the scale...and lo & behold there's two ladies behind the counter. One of them looks at me & says...your logbook is fine, your weights are good, can you give me ONE good reason WHY you drove by the scale? Well, I always believe honesty is the best policy...soooo I told her EXACTLY what I'd been doing... well then I had to go GET my daughter out of the truck & she got pop & candy & how are you enjoying the trip, they said have a nice day & sent me on my way...no warning, no ticket, no nuthin'! WHEWWW!

[truckerchuck04]

Here a couple of months ago in Va. I was rolling along with a few trucks in front of me when a weigh station sign came up. As I looked ahead I could see the other trucks ahead going by so I figured they were closed so I didnt let up on the pedal. Just as I got to the weigh station the sign said open. I was hauling a flat bed full of steel and decided at the last minute it would be better to fly by rather than risk suddenly turning in and spilling the load so I just kept going. My wife looked at me in surprise and said they were open you know. I kept looking in my mirrors for lights for miles and miles but none never came. I was never so relieved as when I was when I crossed the state line about a 100 miles up the road. I quess thats why my handle is Luckyone.

[BIG JEEP on 44's]

My first day on my trainers truck with Werner I blew right past the Colorado Utah port of entry on I-70 westbound ...I was behind a swift driver for miles who was doing 55 ,and when I got a chance to pass I did ,but missed the scale sign ,and couldn't get back over in time...So I just kept rolling ,and watching behind me for the man ...never came ...never missed a scale again.

[zipy46]

Blew a mobile scale some where up in Vermont or Maine....looked across just in time to see

the office tossing his hands skyward in apparent frustration.....they did not come after me.

I never saw the flashing sign....oh well

[YerDaddy]

Passed too many open scales to count anymore. Some accidentally, some not. The best one was the EB Manchester scale at night. It was darker back in the last century; not so many overhead lights like today.
I was legal, just left the house with a load. Just didn't feel like stopping and just wondering if I could actually get away with what I was about to do. So as I approached, the situation looked do-able. Truck was on the scale blocking officer's view of the highway. I cut out all my lights and just proceeded in the dark past the coop. That was fun! Didn't have to stop on top of Monteagle like you do nowadays either. Sometimes I still blow past that mandatory pull -off. And the one in WV on 68.

Nowadays with all the pre-pass trucks it's so easy if traffic is heavy to just get in the middle of a bunch of pre-passers and fly right on by.

[steeringwheelbracket]

Ive never blew by one fully open, Ive went by as the sign changed. But one time my boss had me leave a 2 am because they close sometimes then. with a legal dim but over weight load without a permit and was an area that if they see a lowboy on the back roads they know there dodging and he said "if there open just drive by cause if you go in your caught anyway. They were closed though

[thbogle]

the first time my wife ever went with me we had a load going from Laredo, Tx to Sacramento Ca. We got to El Paso the first night and slept in the next day a bit since we were in no real hurry to get there. Got up and started going again, when we hit the Az line I saw the sign for the scales and no sign saying if they were open or not. I looked up ahead on the long ramp and didnt see any trucks so I just kept hammering on it and flew right by. By the time i started seeing the trucks backed up at the ramp there was no use and trying to stop. My wife looked at me and said "aren't we supposed to be over there?" I just said yeah but theres no use in stopping now and hammered on it clear to Phoenix. I kept looking to get pulled over but no one ever came. My butt still puckered a little bit when we crossed another checkpoint when we left or came back in all that month but no one ever said a word to me.

I still get hassled about blowing that scale to this day and it's been quite a few years since that happened.

[Fourcats]

Twice, I was really surprised to see just how fast the scalemaster was in pursuit of a truck "blowing by" the scales, once in Fla and once in NE{east of the J}. Wasn't me either time.
In Colorado I missed the ramp, had to back up and get in line. I scaled out fine, they checked all the "documents" and set me free.
Once, running with a known "hot head", we took a "short cut" around the IA scales. EXCEPT I GOT STOPPED in town. The guy took my documents and I followed him back to the scales. Scaled out good and was let go. Its a lot easier to run legal, than think you will out smart them.

[Biscuit Lips]

I have driven past a few open scales, nothing exciting ever happened. Did get caught going around a scale one time. It was the last overweight load I ever took. Knew it was way overweight the second I hooked up to it and tried to move it. It was a local move and to make a long story short; tried to go around the scale, got caught, had to go back, was about 5000 over on bridge and still not sure how that works out, fine was around $1500, did not have to pay overweight fine but did have to pay a fine for bypassing scale, by my own C.Y.A policy consignee ended up paying fine and I left the trailer at the weigh station and they came and off-loaded the 40 foot trailer.

[danske]

I wrote the following tale some time ago about blowing pass a scale. Enjoy!

The Day I Ran the Tehachapi Scales

[Fredog]

Originally Posted by YerDaddy

Passed too many open scales to count anymore. Some accidentally, some not. The best one was the EB Manchester scale at night. It was darker back in the last century; not so many overhead lights like today.
I was legal, just left the house with a load. Just didn't feel like stopping and just wondering if I could actually get away with what I was about to do. So as I approached, the situation looked do-able. Truck was on the scale blocking officer's view of the highway. I cut out all my lights and just proceeded in the dark past the coop. That was fun! Didn't have to stop on top of Monteagle like you do nowadays either. Sometimes I still blow past that mandatory pull -off. And the one in WV on 68.

Nowadays with all the pre-pass trucks it's so easy if traffic is heavy to just get in the middle of a bunch of pre-passers and fly right on by.

a fellow driver passed that brake check station and it cost him 500 bucks

[allan5oh]

Just a couple weeks ago I was at a scale north west of Edmonton Alberta.

The truck in front of me rolled across, and I noticed his mudflaps were hanging nice and low. That's strange.

He gets the "come inside" light and pulls into the lot on the left. I knew he got it because just before I went on the scale it switched from that light to the "next axle" light.

Anyways I do my thing scale all three axles just about to merge on the highway when all of a sudden that son of a ***** cuts in front of me booking it as fast as he can.

Get going down the highway about half a mile I notice his mudflaps are sparking on the ground, so I say "Ya know, the scale called you in for a reason". No response. 10 seconds later "Oh boy he's running out of the scale house!" LOL.

So he tries to pull a fast one, slows down and lets me pass him thinking he's gonna fool the trooper. No such luck. Pulled over pretty quick!