If you’re like me, you don’t look forward to going across a state weigh station. However, this is part of the job if you drive a truck for a living.
You just never know when you might get detained as you cross over the scale. It makes me just a little nervous each time until I see that “green light” in front of me. I normally feel confident as I maintain my equipment to be sure it’s always in tip top shape. However, you just never know when the slightest component may be found at the scale and you’ll be pulled over for a check. With that being said, the scales are a necessary evil to our operation. Imagine if there were no scales or inspection rules to follow. I think we all know how that story may play out.
A few weeks ago, I had an interesting experience at the scale in North Carolina. As I pulled my truck onto the platform scale, I noticed a large bolt sticking about three inches above the deck. This bolt was just slightly positioned to where I could maneuver around it with my tires without a puncture. This could definitely cause major damage to a drivers tire if he/she was to drive over the bolt. I decided to pull my truck around the back area of the scale and go into the office to see the scale officer. I suggested that he shut down the scale temporarily to remove the large bolt sticking up from out of the deck. We walked outside and I showed him the bolt. We both noticed that the bolt had been used to attach the angle iron at the edge of the scale. The piece of angle iron was lose and ready to turn up which would have caused much damage to any semi truck crossing the scale.
The officer thanked me for taking extra time to notify him of the bolt. This could have caused damage to a truck crossing the scale or the scale itself. I joked with him that it’s not every day that “I” as a driver put the scale out of service. I then proceeded to ask him for his previous seven days on duty status, medical card, proof of insurance, annual inspection report and pre trip inspection. We had a good laugh and said our goodbyes.