At least he didn't hit any grade stakes!:thumbsup http://www.nbc10.com/news/9756769/detail.html $17,000.00 Fine A truck driver gets lost in the Philadelphia suburbs and winds up with a $17,000 traffic ticket. It's not an urban legend - it happened and the NBC 10 Investigators have the proof. William Connell said he couldn't believe his eyes when he got a ticket for $17,751.50. He said he thought he had been hit by a Mack truck. "My face just dropped. I couldn't even believe it," Carroll said. "I said, 'What is this, 1,700?' He said, 'No, 17,000.' I said, $17,000?" Carroll is an independent trucker out of Philadelphia. Recently, he was taking a load to be dropped off in East Whiteland Township, an area he was unfamiliar with. "One company that I'm leasing from, they were the ones that gave me the directions," Carroll said. The directions told him to get off at the Route 202 South Frazer exit. That dumped him onto Route 401. Carroll said he missed a cockeyed sign at the corner of 401 and Bear Road where he had to make a right turn. The next thing he knew, he was in a residential neighborhood -- Sydney Road to be exact -- where the police gave him a ticket. "But once you get in the there with a 53-footer, its impossible to get out," Carroll said. PennDOT spokesman Charlie Metzger said they, along with the East Whiteland Police Department were just enforcing a law that penalizes trucks that are too heavy for certain bridges and roadways, which might be damaged by overweight vehicles. The NBC 10 Investigators' Vince DeMentri asked Metzger why the ticket was $17,000. "It's $150 for the fine, and then it's $150 for every 500 pounds over the 3,000-pound weight limit," Metzger said. Metzger said there is a reason the fines are so stiff. "The money can go right back into the repairs of the roadway or the bridge," Metzger said. Carroll said it is not fair because the sign warning of the fine was bent and somewhat obstructed. The East Whiteland Police Department, which has its own motor carrier enforcement unit, isn't playing around. For them, this is a sign of the times that is not to be ignored. "A ticket like that would put a lot of truckers out of business. So, I guess that was designed to put me out of business or make sure I don't come up here anymore. It's crazy," Carroll said.
Well i have to say if that was me i would never take any freight to that area.If they can't put proper signage up and have more of it warning some one before they get to that area then they should get a fine for being ignorent.
Thats total B.S that the cops are trying to pull if it wasn't for that guy and the company he works for that paying taxes that pays the lazy ******* frigging wages. A bunch of god **** idiots trying to make something of themselve giving a guy a 17,000 dollar fine. Its not like the truck driver did it on purpose. When we get stupid fines like that fight it in court usually the gov't gives up because it costs them more money and paper work. If the trailer didn't belong to the truck drive he should have spotted the trailer in the middle of the street and said to the moron cop deal with it. It is also the cities problem for having such chitty roads that they have a max 3000lb gvw limit on it. What in the frig is the road made of ?
If the road really does have a 3,000 lb weight limit and it's not being enforced on every SUV, pickup truck, boat trailer and anything bigger that a civic the trucker probably has a good court case for getting the fine dropped. Hopefully his legal fees won't be $17,000...
Our dump truck got a ticket today. He was hauling truck and pup, he was underweight overall, and under on the pup and front axle, but the tandems were 2,100 over. Not really any way to know that when leaving the pit. $226 ticket and about an hour and a half of lost truck time.
Yeah i read that 3,00o pound weight limit and its not adding up, damn near every car on the road weighs more than that.
Cops just like to be PITAs and if they make $$$$ doing they couldn't be any happier.:bash:spaz :ban :Banghead Especailly around here. I hope he gets a good lawyer fights it and wins just to show those cops whose boss now.:thumbsup
That is ridiculous, $17k. I bet he'd have a good chance to get it reduced or dropped. Might take alot of lawyering though. Drunk Drivers don't get those kinds of fines, and this guy did it accidentally................the punishment is supose to fit the crime.
I bet its 3K per axle here in CA it a $1 fine for every 1 lb. over weight. The boss jumps all over me if I don't overload trucks he was on site so I was loading them up. One of my drivers said they got one of my trucks before the dump he was 11K over and that wasn't even bridge weight. Now all of our drives get picky on there loads one guy even dumped his load on site right after being loaded because he was over loaded. That nothing compared to the trucks going to AZ with Hazmat them I load up to 130K or so, but those drives love it they get paid by the ton.
I saw that on the news last night. I think the 3000 lb might be a typo when they typed it on the web page. When they aired the story they showed a 5 ton weight limit sign that was sort of haning to the side a little and they showed it a few times so I think the limit was 5 tons on the bridge he drove over.
I'm betting a police cruiser weighs more than 3000 lbs!!
I saw in hard hat news some type of device that replaces the dump body hinge or rides on the hinge and that with a sensor at the front of the dump body and they send weight information to the cab of the truck so the driver knows how much is in the truck. I think this should be a standard on every truck with an after market dump body. It would eliminate guessing and dumping after weighing in at the scale house and being over weight. The 17,000 fine is rediculous. I dont think the weight limit is for the road itself, rather the residential area and not wanting trucks rolling through. -Eric
I've looked into putting scales on my dump truck and it was around $5,000 if I recall correctly. I mostly use my truck for moving my excavator and hauling from a pit, so I couldn't justify the cost of installing the system. Sometimes though, I think the peace of mind might be worth it every time I see the DOT scale is open.
Most good truckers know there trailers and know if there over loaded.