whats the point of having a weigh station for trucks if they're never open...i just don't understand...
I've seen them open... just not that often. I think the logistics of forcing all commercial vehicles to stop with such limited space to deal with the volume of trucks involved would create traffic nightmares if weigh stations were continually open.
i have thought the same thing and come to the same conclusion as stinkfoot does.. it seems it would fuck up traffic. i have never seen one open either. hmmm.. but there has to be a reason for it so.. i say google it
i've only seen 1 open...and that was out in either Montana or North Dakota...when i was biking on the highway its scary shit having tons of 18-wheelers fly past you but yea, only once have i seen it open...and it actually did look like it was a weigh station where they could weigh the cargo...not like the ones i see all the time that look like a parking lots
The purpose is to inspect commercial vehicles operating in a given state-- to ensue that applicable licenses and permits have been purchased to allow the truck to be transporting, that taxes are paid up by the company owning or leasing the truck, that the truck is safe, that the driver hasn't logged too many continuous hours without rest, isn't drunk or on drugs, is actually licensed to operate the truck, to verify that the truck isn't over loaded (hence the name "weigh station")... I'm sure I missed something.
stinkfoot has it right. Weigh stations are more a way to encourage compliance by having the 'possibility' of being inspected. They don't weigh and inspect everything, just scare drivers and freight companies by letting them know they 'might' be checked out... Like breathalyzer check stops on new years eve.
They once caught a whole lot of cocaine in a weight station in Arkansas. The girl I was sleeping with at the time was really unhappy about the bust.
i don't believe they were built with the intention of never being open, but rather the funding to man them being a political decision, their activity comes and goes. now a days also, there are portable 'weigh stations' that can be haulled arround in the back of a van or pickup to make spot checks anywhere and anywhen. a fixed location weighing point can often be circumvented by a driver who knows the area where it is located sufficiently well. these mobile commercial trucking enforcement units on the other hand can go anywhere the truckers can and many places they physicaly cannot to enable them to lie in wait, much as speed moniters do for lighter traffic. often even when funded and manned, they are closed at certain times of day, generaly to avoid creating backups during times of peek traffic. for the most part, fixed location stations for weighing trucks are thus artifacts of an earlier era, before the more mobile methods became common and practical. they are still useful and used. especialy where the road beyond them might have mechanical limitations as to carrying capacity. but agian they ARE at the mercy of political whimsy as to their being staffed and funded to be staffed. =^^= .../\...
