[Talk-us] Weigh stations on Interstates

[Paul Johnson]

On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 12:24 PM, Bryce Nesbitt <bryce2 at obviously.com>
wrote:

> While one could get into access tags for weigh stations, it seems like it
> would create as many problems as it solves.
>
> --
>
> A weigh station in the USA is a mandatory stop for heavy goods vehicles,
> and prohibited entry for everyone else.
>

Only place I've known this to be true is California.  Everywhere else I've
been, it either reverts to a highway parking area (midwest) or a public
access scale (northwest) when trucks aren't required to stop, and when
trucks are required to stop, access is still generally granted to the
public to use the amenities available (highway parking, litter receptacles;
sometimes a storm shelter, rarely a public restroom, telephone, vending
machines), and if they're permanently installed, the scales are
intentionally left on for use by the general public (Oregon often uses
automated speed enforcement cameras on these at the 3 MPH zone over them to
protect the scales from damage, at rarely used permanently installed
scales).  Even then, when they've had a scale out of service at Woodburn
when the other side of the scalehouse is staffed, nobody seemed to care
that I rolled in to adjust load balance on the scales using the unmanned
side (there's two scales in each direction at the Woodburn Port of Entry
scales)


> Heavy goods vehicles with special equipment can bypass the station, if
> given a bypass signal.
> Stations are often staffed only during limited hours (many stations are
> physically present, but open only sporadically).
>

Seems to be on the most major corridors only; I imagine it exists elsewhere
but I've yet to see it anywhere except for parts of the Panamerican Highway
in the US and Canadian west.


> I think you tag it as is is, and let routing software determine the
> applicable national laws for who it stops.  The tagging should
> relate to a given way, perhaps with "addr:street", or a more fiddly
> relation.
>

Problem is, as we've observed on what's starting to feel like a weekly
basis here, there are no rational national assumptions, when in doubt, tag
it anyway.
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