The $8,945.00 fine

In the local newspaper.



How overweight does a driver have to be to get a $9000 ticket? Ouch.

opps thought it was yours nvm

could be a dollar/lb scenario. I used to work for a precast concrete co. when i was in my early 20s, saw a couple fines like that roll through our dispatch office... boy were they pissed off about that stuff, but it was legit. Never saw one for almost 9k, but there was one where we had a load go out (they maxed the 53' flatbed) where they forgot to add in the weight of all the chains/fuel and believe it or not, the driver... wound up being over an extra ton, and they got a fine for over 2k. Think the other one was a 1k fine or so, either way... that is no bueno.

Think they fine people to hell and back for that stuff just to make sure it's a lot more economical to pay for their overweight permits, which are wayyyyyyyy overpriced. But if you're going to be 5k over, it's sure a lot cheaper to pay $500 (guesstimation) for the permit then $5k for getting caught without it.

What kills me is, the poor b***** is only 23 years old. I'm guessing a farm truck full of grain probably loaded by his dad or the farmer he was working for. How long does it take a 23 year-old to make $9k? Hope he can make payments.

Originally Posted by pjost

What kills me is, the poor b***** is only 23 years old. I'm guessing a farm truck full of grain probably loaded by his dad or the farmer he was working for. How long does it take a 23 year-old to make $9k? Hope he can make payments.

Never know, if he was on company time in a company vehicle, even tho his name is in the paper, it would more than likely fall under the liability of his employer. But if not, yeah that'd be a tough one. One of those early adult year mistakes that can set you back enough to haunt you for years. Hope thats not the case. Hard to see a young guy get buried in legal debt, or any debt for that matter.

Originally Posted by phred59

Never know, if he was on company time in a company vehicle, even tho his name is in the paper, it would more than likely fall under the liability of his employer. But if not, yeah that'd be a tough one. One of those early adult year mistakes that can set you back enough to haunt you for years. Hope thats not the case. Hard to see a young guy get buried in legal debt, or any debt for that matter.

I respectfully disagree Phred. The driver is responsible for securing/weighing/safety of the load he/she is hauling. IMHO, I think this one is on the kid.

You said it PJ. At the end of the day, the driver is responsible for weight, his driving hours of service(HOS), etc.

The truck doesn't move unless the driver is ready to move it. Dispatch can yell all day but the driver decides when it hits the road. An it's all on the driver. He knows how to find a scale, he knows how to scale his load to fit properly, he knows his HOS, he knows how tired he is or how bad the weather is, etc. Or he should. An if he doesn't he needs to go back to CDL training.

So yea he's hit with a nice fine an will now know what it means to give all your money to the court. He learned a valuable lesson, he an he alone is responsible for most of what goes on while driving that truck. No different then when I started doing this gig. I threw away a lot of money. This young guy just did the same, but to the tunes of thousands an thousands. Sucks to be him but hey..I'd rather pay a fine then live with the fact I killed an entire family cause my truck was so heavy that I couldn't break in time..just saying. This could've been much worse. Go look up accidents involving big companies like CR England or Swift. He could have had it much much worse. Yea..he's getting off easy. He should be thankful he doesn't have to live with the fact he killed someone or a family. Sorry charlie..you ain't driving no pick up here.

I can't say I have sympathy for this kid. Being young is not an excuse.He accepted his role as a driver and all the responsibilities that go with it. This could all have been resolved with simple visit to a scale. I bet the 10 bucks for the scale, an the hour drive seem like a better choice vs an over weight fine.

I could go on, but..it's a nice day. I'll rant later.

Edit: Oh an Phred don't feel to bad for him. He may lose his job but some smaller company or a bottom feeder will pick him up an give him a job till enough time has gone by to move on to something better. Or he could go with CR England..I hear you just need a pulse to be a driver there.

Sirscrapalot - Commonsense isn't so common.

Originally Posted by Sirscrapalot

You said it PJ. At the end of the day, the driver is responsible for weight, his driving hours of service(HOS), etc.

The truck doesn't move unless the driver is ready to move it. Dispatch can yell all day but the driver decides when it hits the road. An it's all on the driver. He knows how to find a scale, he knows how to scale his load to fit properly, he knows his HOS, he knows how tired he is or how bad the weather is, etc. Or he should. An if he doesn't he needs to go back to CDL training.

So yea he's hit with a nice fine an will now know what it means to give all your money to the court. He learned a valuable lesson, he an he alone is responsible for most of what goes on while driving that truck. No different then when I started doing this gig. I threw away a lot of money. This young guy just did the same, but to the tunes of thousands an thousands. Sucks to be him but hey..I'd rather pay a fine then live with the fact I killed an entire family cause my truck was so heavy that I couldn't break in time..just saying. This could've been much worse. Go look up accidents involving big companies like CR England or Swift. He could have had it much much worse. Yea..he's getting off easy. He should be thankful he doesn't have to live with the fact he killed someone or a family. Sorry charlie..you ain't driving no pick up here.

I can't say I have sympathy for this kid. Being young is not an excuse.He accepted his role as a driver and all the responsibilities that go with it. This could all have been resolved with simple visit to a scale. I bet the 10 bucks for the scale, an the hour drive seem like a better choice vs an over weight fine.

I could go on, but..it's a nice day. I'll rant later.

Edit: Oh an Phred don't feel to bad for him. He may lose his job but some smaller company or a bottom feeder will pick him up an give him a job till enough time has gone by to move on to something better. Or he could go with CR England..I hear you just need a pulse to be a driver there.

Sirscrapalot - Commonsense isn't so common.

Yes the driver is responsible for his load unless the BOL has an incorrectly stated weight that was issued by his co.
I have seen this happen before first hand, that incident where they calculated the weight of the truck and the load but did not account for the chains, fuel, driver, and other cab contents. The driver did not have any idea that he was 2k' overweight and his paperwork stated that he was in fact 300lbs under. Company admitted they screwed up, and paid the fine.

Depending on the circumstances and a company's policy, and where the negligence originated, would determine the liability of the fine. Lesson learned for the kid either way. But according to the law, yes... it's on the driver - period, because the trooper that nails you isn't a judge and does not have the whole story nor care to hear it, as he shouldn't. He has an overweight truck, and a driver to fine. The gray area between the state trooper and JudgeFinesALot is where someone either does the right thing, or gets screwed. Period.

Originally Posted by Fubar701

Anyone know weight limits in Maine? I'm new here and didnt even know there was a weight limit...?

Go to Maines DOT web site. Should have all the rules or possibly a local dmv office.

I only wanted to add the glaringly obvious. What if he did scale at his yard...or was coming off a field? Once grain is in a 40 footer...this time of year its gonna quite heavy Ive seen it scale 8k over the axle limit...because the combine operator is a moron...or they just want to cut max profits. Likewise... seen a yard scale not read correctly...even on my personal truck. Load cells burn out...so checking axle weight as you pull off...well yanno where im going with that.