Over weight on axles
- Thread starter denny2010
- Start date
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greg334
Veteran Expediter
Always the driver.
If they get the ticket, it is their fault - no exceptions.
FedEx ground at some hubs has a habit of overloading some trailers, which seems to be a bit of a problem for those who run honestly so several drivers out of that hub have their first stop at the scales every time and 6 out of 10 times they are returning to the hub to get that trailer off of their trucks.
If they get the ticket, it is their fault - no exceptions.
FedEx ground at some hubs has a habit of overloading some trailers, which seems to be a bit of a problem for those who run honestly so several drivers out of that hub have their first stop at the scales every time and 6 out of 10 times they are returning to the hub to get that trailer off of their trucks.
60MPH
Expert Expediter
Correct always the drivers fault.
Also some states allow you to be over on a axle by as high as 200 pounds as long as you are not over your total gross for the truck. I know CA. allows 200 pounds over on any axle as long as you are within there king pin law and do not exceed your total gross.
zorry
Veteran Expediter
Just to be argumentative... NOT ALWAYS THE DRIVER.....in a LTL freight co the driver has NO control. so at YRC,ABF, etc it would not be the driver. We hauled US Mail for years and never blamed the driver. But yes, in 90 % of situations now it is on the driver. Since deregulation and de-unionization more and more gets put on the driver; even some stuff that shouldn't be.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Just to be argumentative, it is always the driver.
there is absolutely no excuse that it can't be the driver - he is the one who is in charge of that vehicle and is responsible for the safety of that truck and its contents BY LAW - not the carrier, not the guy who loads the trailer, not the dock lackey who runs this forklift into the crate marked fragile - it is and will always be the driver.
If a company wants to take the responsibility for overloading the truck, then they have to be in the driver's seat when the truck goes over the scale.
There is no excuse that can be used in this case, if the driver is afraid of losing his job and running at risk, then he deserves to lose his job and not ever drive a truck again. It is the safety of others that matters, not making a buck.
Deregulation has zero to do with it, and neither de-unioniaztion, in face not having a union empowers the driver even more because the union sometimes gets in the way of safety.
I think I am seeing the same reasoning that is used with EOBRs, it isn't the driver who needs to be watched, they are not at fault for their logs so an EOBR shouldn't be allowed in the cab.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
The reasoning that people are fighting EOBRs is this is an intrusion into the cab and prevents them from doing their job. When in fact it is another tool that is used to be complaint and prevents the driver from "modifying" the log (other words cheat) to fit their situation.
zorry
Veteran Expediter
CHP says it CAN be the company. If you research the CHP website they have a cool little form called an ORC-OWNER's RESPONSIBILITY CARD. The owner can fill out the card and say the owner is resposible for various items like permits, maintainence, and OVERWEIGHT tickets. He fills out the card and if there is a ticket to be issued it will be issued to the owner IF the driver has a card. With CSA a driver should demand one and negotiate with the owner who is responsible for what. So if the CHP says the owner CAN be responsible for overweight, thats good enough for me.
zorry
Veteran Expediter
Excuse for it being on the company. Roadway gives me a set of doubles. I break down and they tow me out a mack that weighs 1000# more than the FL 120 that broke down. My fault ? They send me into customer A and say pu trl # 223 that has 42000# on it. Customer loaded 45000# by mistake. I get caught, maybe on way to cat scale. My fault ? Sometimes we need to let common sense prevail.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
I understand your point but it isn't what makes reality in the world of trucking.
Not to be offensive, but yep it is. If you don't have a clue what the truck weighs or how much it can handle, then you should not be driving it. You don't take the word of the company but do Due Diligence to ensure that you have the right paper work, insurance and equipment. It is the driver's responsibility to ensure that they are using the right equipment for the job. It is your problems as a driver if they hand yo something that isn't right for the job.
Got to ask when your FL120 breaks down and that Mack comes to rescue you, do you actually do a pre-trip on the Mack?
Yep, it is. You are the one who gets the ticket and you can explain that you are going to scale to ensure that it is right. If the customer gives you a heavy trailer, then how is it the company is at fault?
Yep common sense is the right thing and seems to be rare in this industry but excuses are all over the place.
I got a solution - it is an air gauge that tells you how much weight you have. I think it should be standard on every truck as should a toilet in a sleeper. On one of my trucks I have one that tells the driver what the weight is on each of the trucks axles and one for the trailer. If he can't figure out if he is overweight, then he has an issue with math.
I was reading another forum where a trainer screwed one of his trainees by messing with his paper work and when he had his first level one, he got a bunch of violations and lost his job. The guy was clueless and blamed the company for it, but it came down to almost all the people who replied explained that it wasn't the company to blame but the guy because it is his job to ensure everything is in order.
zorry
Veteran Expediter
Yeah, when the Mack comes I do a pre-trip. That doesn't tell me the weight of either power unit. On the overloaded trl I contend it is a problem to be handled by the company. They should bill back to shipper and put safeguards in place so shipper knows what can go on each type of equipment and let the shipper the penalty for future overloads. Decisions made by the driver can be the driver's problem. All problems that occur cannot be blamed on the driver.
60MPH
Expert Expediter
When I drove a T/T I loaded out of Campbells with a heavy trailer. They have you scale on site there but there scale was off. I got the first scale house on I-95 and I was 1,115 over on my tandems
I was 33,850 when I left Campbells on my tandems. I showed the officer the weigh slip from them, he did not care. I tried to axle it out but could not. So I got the fine ended up with 300 over axle on tandems. Total load of soup was 44,570. Whose fault: MY FAULT I should of known the scale at Campbells was off Had it not been a Great Dane trailer I would of not got a ticket.
How so? Any examples? Is it the Teamster Happy Hour Drink Discount Card honored at many layover hotels?
In 20+ years driving a TT I never had a overweight ticket, Reason being I would scale all loads over 30K or if they felt like they were pulling heavy. Didn't matter if i only had 20K in the trailer if it didn't feel right it got weighted.
It is the drivers fault, because he should always scale, my god if your a company driver you should scale every load its the company who pays the scale house not the company driver. If the company won't pay for a scale then find a company that will, because that company has more problems with cash flow then they would tell their drivers.
It is the drivers fault, because he should always scale, my god if your a company driver you should scale every load its the company who pays the scale house not the company driver. If the company won't pay for a scale then find a company that will, because that company has more problems with cash flow then they would tell their drivers.
I agree with the union never standing in the way of safety. But I must disagree with the union never standing in the way of productivity. I was with a non-union LTL carrier and we were more productive because we weren't bound by some of the silly union work rules.
Agreed! That's why I've been in expedite the past 15 years. I couldn't handle the grind any longer.
Also LTL drivers are some of the best payed.
zorry
Veteran Expediter
Moot, that's why I'm expediting too. I was fortunate that I never worked at any company that was weak enough to allow too many silly work rules. Was a union O/O ten years. The most profitable co my family ever ran was a teamster tanker outfit. We treated them great and the employees showed thier appreciation by working hard in return. We had ONE grievance filed in seven years. A real Win-Win situation. But...I wouldn't last in the UAW a week !
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