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Truck Drivers and Weighmen.

Started by Jeff, March 07, 2004, 11:49:15 AM

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Jeff

Well, our truck driver is on very thin ice with the mill owner. I cut a load of soft maple 2.5 by 3.5 by 8 and 10 foot long to be delivered near/in/by Detroit by Friday. Seems our truck driver was not sure of where his next turn would be so he drove around for about 5 miles with his air axles up. He did turn once and went a couple more miles, still with the axles up. Turns out da weigh man had been following him, giving him time to put them down but he never did. Weighman told him, gave ya plenty of time and you never lowered, so we are going to weigh you with all your axles down, and then up. The recorded weight will be with them up.

With the axles down, the truck made scale by 2,000 lbs. With them down, it was over loaded by 24,000 lbs.

Boss found out the fine will be $4800. All for not flicking a toggle switch.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

rebocardo

>  With the axles down, the truck made scale by 2,000 lbs.
>  With them down, it was over loaded by 24,000 lbs.

I am confused, please explain further.

Jeff

We run an 8 axle trailer 48 ft long. 4 axles lift for turning.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

EZ

Well so much for you guys raise and the Christmas bonus. My brother-in-law drives steel truck, he said he is over loaded most of the time, spends alot of time in jail. ::)
EZ

Phil B.

They just put road restrictions on up here in NW WI. on 3/1. That's about 2 to 3 weeks ahead of the norm. The DOT is setting at the entrance to all the mills like a bunch of buzzards tryin' to catch the guys who don't come out of the woods enough to have heard about it. There are those who abuse the limits, but it always rubs me the wrong way when your so close they know your tryin', but they keep measurin' and punchin' those calculators until they can pinch you for somethin' and then act like they just won the lottery! It's not like we're loaded on a scale. One third cord grapple of wood can change your weight by 1200 to 1800 lbs. That's only about 10 or 12 sticks of wood spread over a whole 45' trailer load of wood. The wood cut from low ground weighs more than wood cut from a hill, the slasher operator doesn't know where it came from. Pretty hard to get it right all the time.

Phil B.

Ron Wenrich

Legal weight for our state is 78,000.  Our trucks are never at weight.  Usually they run closer to 90,000 and there are times they are closer to 100,000.  Then they wonder why their trucks get busted up.  

To get around the weight man, they leave real early in the morning.  Weight man keeps a normal 8-5 job.  The other thing is to take back roads to stay away from stationairies when you're too heavy.  They get pinched once every couple of years.  They think they're ahead of the game in the reduced trucking costs.

Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Jeff

Worst part of this is was it was on class A roads with no restrictions. He could have got the ticket anytime. What he should have known after years of driving is that when frost laws come on, there are many more eyes then normal out there looking for infractions. You don't only have the state DOT's but counties put deputies on details that they are not normally on and them boys are jest looking for fun.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Paul_H

One of the brothers in a family trucking outfit in Squamish had enough of the DOT and their portable scales a few years back.When he drove up on them,he pulled the maxis,locked the cab and told the DOT guy that it was lunchtime.He caught a ride with another truck and took the afternoon off. :D

It helped the other truckers out because for the rest of the month it was the "family outfit"that was targeted.
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

pasbuild

Some years ago two Canadian truckers were stop by the MDOT weight master just east of Baraga  
The truckers hand cuffed the officer ( female) to the steering wheel of her patrol car drop her pants and took off  leaving her standing on the highway.
The truckers were caught at the bridge in the Soo.
If it can't be nailed or glued then screw it

rebocardo

> 4 axles lift for turning

Okay, now I understand. I never have seen one with more then 3 axles and assumed only one ever lifted. I was wondering how only one axle could effect it that much.

Frickman

At the edge of a local town here is a vacant lot the DOT has used for years to pull guys onto portable scales. A large local lumber company got so fed up with it they purchased the property and put up a fence.
If you're not broke down once in a while, you're not working hard enough

I'm not a hillbilly. I'm an "Appalachian American"

Retired  Conventional hand-felling logging operation with cable skidder and forwarder, Frick 01 handset sawmill

Pretend farmer when I have the time

Percy

QuoteWell, our truck driver is on very thin ice with the mill owner. I cut a load of soft maple 2.5 by 3.5 by 8 and 10 foot long to be delivered near/in/by Detroit by Friday. Seems our truck driver was not sure of where his next turn would be so he drove around for about 5 miles with his air axles up. He did turn once and went a couple more miles, still with the axles up. Turns out da weigh man had been following him, giving him time to put them down but he never did. Weighman told him, gave ya plenty of time and you never lowered, so we are going to weigh you with all your axles down, and then up. The recorded weight will be with them up.

With the axles down, the truck made scale by 2,000 lbs. With them down, it was over loaded by 24,000 lbs.

Boss found out the fine will be $4800. All for not flicking a toggle switch.

Thats alot of money. Youd be money ahead Jeff, if you go to court and challenge it. Most judges will reduce the fine after questions like "If the perpose of this whole exercise is to save the roads, why did the officer not stop the truck immediatly and inform the driver that his lift axles were up instead of following him around for miles watching him supposedly destroying the highway??"

I hauled logs up here for 20 years and one thing I learned is, its better to get along with these folks(weighmasters,nuther name for frustrated policemen) than to be in an adversarial situation. That notwithstanding, $4800, is too much to let go without a fight. Once during road restrictions , I had an axle group that was over by about 600 Kg(1300 lbs). The weighmaster said "During restrictions, the fines are double and this one is going to cost you 1000.00. I said "write it up, see you in court". After about 5 miniutes of him blowing wind, he changed his mind and gave me a 35.00 ticket for the burnt out signal lite.  I guess the point of this story is, after a while, the judges get to know who  the "cowboys" are and judge accordingly.

There are good weighmasters out there, the ones that work with truckers to make the highways safer for everyone. This type of weighmaster would only give a 4800.00 ticket to a trucker who was a cowboy hisself and was in total disregard of the law, not some lost or confused trucker, trying to find the right driveway.
GOLDEN RULE : The guy with the gold, makes the rules.

Jeff

I'll keep ya all posted on what comes down on this.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Swede

Jeff B.
Tell Your boss that crying is for free!  My crying session in Sthlm. gave me $8-900.  I think it´s a good price. :)

Swede.
Had a mobile band sawmill, All hydraulics  for logs 30\"x19´, remote control. (sold it 2009-04-13)
Monkey Blades.Sold them too)
Jonsered 535/15\". Just cut firewood now.

Jeff

I been getting the truck drivers side today. He says he had his blinker on the whole time because he did not know where the turn was. This was a new place, never delivered there before.

Driver says that the owner of the company called the cops up and give them hell for giving us a ticket our very first time there. Driver says the guy was told to send them down, that they would  "work with us"  According to our driver, he told our owner that, and he says he did not have time to mess with his screw ups, that he was supposed to leave for his house in North Carolina and he was going.

I guess thats enough said where some peoples prioities are and why we got our insurance cancelled and dont get raises anymore. :-/
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Tom

If I were the driver, I would still show up.  Somebody needs to show up. It's not often a DOT gives you the opportunity to expain yourself. :-/

pappy

it's like Jeff said,

"Well, our truck driver is on very thin ice with the mill owner"

Some folks just aren't team players I guess. $4,800 isn't anything to scoff at. Maybe you don't want him on your team anyway.

  

Maine load limits 80,000 lbs.  and you can purchase a booster to 100,000. BUT you can't haul 100,00 on the interstate so all the secondary roadways really take a hit,

I think we aught to have a worst pot hole thread, tis the season   :D

"And if we live, we shall go again, for the enchantment which falls upon those who have gone into the woodland is never broken."

"Down the Allagash."  by; Henry Withee

Tom

In Jeff's case, I think the non-team player is the mill owner, not the truck driver.   Yep it was an error in judgement but seems to me the mill owner should be protecting his $4800 and his long-term employee too.

A fellow that treats his help like machinary where he just throws it out the door when it's used up or broken and buys another, doesn't deserve caring employees.

Jeff

I'm glad I am on the fence on dis one. :D
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Paul_H

Wasn't it you that sawed up the soft Maple that started this whole fiasco?

Thats one! :P
Science isn't meant to be trusted it's to be tested

Tom

If you have an employee that is not a good employee then school him to change or dismiss him. It does no one any good to demean the guy at every turn and use him for excuses when things don't go right.   A owner/manager who controls by intimidation should find that all of his help had found other jobs, one day.

Jeff

QuoteWasn't it you that sawed up the soft Maple that started this whole fiasco?

Thats one! :P


Yea, I was told about it too. :D
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

ADfields

I was a hard nose owner at first and it was not long before I found myself doing all the work! :o   Tom's right, business is a team sport! ;)  

If the driver needed to be let go then he should have been before the trouble and if he was worth having before then he's worth having still.   Every one has bad days, let he who is without a bad day in their past cast the first pink slip. ;)
Andy

Jeff

The Driver is still with us. This is his second round of employment with us.  THe first time he worked for us, several years ago, he was let go, or quit, depends on who you hear it from, ray or glennie. Here's what happened. Sort of glennies fault.

We had a new air-ride mac. The other driver taught glennie that it was easy to exaust the air, lower the tractor, then back under the trailer, then air up the suspension, rather then blasting under a chip van that had settled low after being blown full.  Well, the last time glen did it,  he had caused the fifth wheel pin to not hook right. There are two sets of jaws on the fifth wheel latch that close around the pin but above the pin head. this locks up and down movement in the latch. Turns out the pin head was sitting ON the lower jaw, and just the upper jaw was around the upper part of the pin. This hooked the trailer to the truck, but it did not secure it by locking above that pin head.  Glen made it 45 miles to Cadilac. When he turned off of 115 on to 55 down town, the whole chip van full of chips flopped over in the intersection. It twisted the truck up with it, but did not flip the cab. It twisted the frame so bad that the back right drivers were 3 foot of the ground, after it was realeased from the trailer.

What a mess. 45 foot van full'o chips on its side blocking a whole state road.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Rocky_J

Idunno, but it certainly sounds to me like God is trying to convince Glennie to find a different line of work.  ;)

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