18 wheeler weight law exceptions!?

Question

i drive an 18 wheeler on a road that has restricted weight laws my truck exceeds the restrictions but i need to use that street simply to reach my parking lot what law would allow me to do this. or what law would be a defense to me using this road.?

Answer 1

The above is correct.

I am an Illinois Certified Truck Enforcement Officer and this is how it would play out in my state.

We have 3 classes of state roads in Illinois and then there are county/local roads.

Class I and II state roads allow for 80,000 lbs/20,000 per axle/34,000 per tandem..

If you leave that road to a lesser road - I assume this is the case, and it is a State Routed road - you are still allowed reasonable access and can travel the distance of 5 miles to get to your destination - food, unload/load, fuel or rest.

Roads that are not state routed are all 73,280 lbs.

If you are using the non state numbered road in my state and you were 80,000 lbs - actually over 73,280 lbs - your in violation.

Also you may want to note that height and width changes too in these situations.

Also local authorities can designate local roads and make them Class II - to allow 80,000

Answer 2

My sister is a commercial driver as is her husband.  So I asked her this.  You didn't say what state you are in, or what city or town this is in.  

My sister has to cross a weight restricted bridge to get home.  but she lives in the country and there's little to no enforcement of the laws.  They wink at all the logging trucks  that cross this bridge, so she knows she can do it and not get stopped.

If there's a high risk of you getting stopped, then you need to know what level of enforcement there is in your area.  If there's a high risk and high enforcement, why did you move to a place where your parking is requires you to pass a restricted road?

One option you can always use is find some other parking place you can rent on a monthly basis.  Whether you can do this or not depends on whether you're a company driver or an o/o.  If you're a company driver, you should consider leaving your personal vehicle at the company location to use to go home.

Or find your local DOT office and ask them.  They're the ones who enforce the regs so they can answer your question as laws and enforcement vary from location to location, as you should already know.

G