Public weighbridges

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upsidedown

Waiting for the great leap forward
Location
The middle bit
On my commute i pass a public weighbridge. There's a steady stream of lorries in and out, some are big name chains stores and supermarkets, others look like owner-drivers.

Why do lorries go to weighbridges ? Have they been sent there by the police to check or is there some other reason? I can't believe that they would go out of their way voluntarily to make sure they are within the law.
 
upsidedown said:
On my commute i pass a public weighbridge. There's a steady stream of lorries in and out, some are big name chains stores and supermarkets, others look like owner-drivers.

Why do lorries go to weighbridges ? Have they been sent there by the police to check or is there some other reason? I can't believe that they would go out of their way voluntarily to make sure they are within the law.

Oh, you'd be surprised. Owners and drivers don't like being overweight at all, since it means a big fine and possibly prison for them if they're caught.
 

tyred

Legendary Member
Location
Ireland
Rhythm Thief said:
Oh, you'd be surprised. Owners and drivers don't like being overweight at all, since it means a big fine and possibly prison for them if they're caught.

Very different from here. Anyone being paid by the tonne will put on as muchj as they think they can get away with.
 
tyred said:
Very different from here. Anyone being paid by the tonne will put on as muchj as they think they can get away with.

There will always be unscrupulous operators, here as well. But in my experience, most people are not cowboys and would prefer to run within the law. Certainly when I was driving tankers - which are effectively paid per tonne, since the more you can get on each load the fewer trips you need to make - running overweight was frowned upon in no uncertain terms and no one did so.
 

battered

Guru
It can be used as the basis of payment - usually the buyer has a weighbridge and weighs the truck in and out, but they can get a receipt from a public weighbridge if necessary.

It probably is a check of legality - operators do occasionally do illegal runs, but if you are over and have an accident then you are for the high jump - not only will the Police stamp on you very hard but the insurers will walk away. If you make a habit of doing bent runs it's one of the things that directors of companies can potentially be sent to prison for.
 

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
I need to have a go. I'm off the end of our scales.....
 

buggi

Bird Saviour
Location
Solihull
longers said:
How much does it cost to have a go on a weighbridge?

i was just thinking that. maybe we should all pop round on our bikes :smile: need to check i haven't put too much in my saddle bag
 
longers said:
How much does it cost to have a go on a weighbridge?

It varies from area to area ... the cheapest i've been charged was £6.00 and the most expensive was £9.00 (something)

Most haulage firms that specialise in bulk transport (grain etc etc) have on board weighing equiptment these days which is pretty accurate

Simon
 
I worked in one a few eons ago.

About once a month the police would set up a layby and pull in lots of trucks to be checked. We could always guess right if they were over or not just by the look somehow. One had to off load some kitchen units to get within his weight. They all disappered very quickly.

Driver is legally required to not drive over weight but is allowed to drive to the nearest weighbridge to check. So they do.

We sold gravel and tarmac by the ton so weighed it out of the yard and could do cars if they wanted to fill their boot.

As well as the total weight there is/was a limit on each axle for a truck. It is about 10 tonne per fixed axle and 5 for each steering axle. You can weigh each axle if the truck drives on one axle at a time.
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
Over The Hill said:
I worked in one a few eons ago.

About once a month the police would set up a layby and pull in lots of trucks to be checked. We could always guess right if they were over or not just by the look somehow. One had to off load some kitchen units to get within his weight. They all disappered very quickly.

Driver is legally required to not drive over weight but is allowed to drive to the nearest weighbridge to check. So they do.

We sold gravel and tarmac by the ton so weighed it out of the yard and could do cars if they wanted to fill their boot.

As well as the total weight there is/was a limit on each axle for a truck. It is about 10 tonne per fixed axle and 5 for each steering axle. You can weigh each axle if the truck drives on one axle at a time.

We had one at my last employer...the operators could also tell when a truck was overweight.
It used to be a good source of revenue...they half jokingly said it was the most profitable area of the site :biggrin:
It used to be my job (being 'slim') to get under the bridge to refix any loose plates. Shimmy on my back, head first, down a tiny manhole and work your way, still on your back, to the loose plates and tighten the bolts up. You couldnt do it if you were claustrophobic and i doubt you can now anyway...i read the fumes can settle in the bottom of the pit all the gubbins sits in. No-one told ME that :biggrin: It did used to occur to me...WTF happens if i passed out or something....there's about 5 or 10 tonnes of bolted down steel between me and the rescuers.
 
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