[Talk-us] Weigh stations on Interstates

Paul Johnson baloo at ursamundi.org
Mon Mar 16 18:01:45 UTC 2015


On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 12:50 PM, Harald Kliems <kliems at gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 12:39 PM Paul Johnson
>>
>> 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
>>
> I don't think that's the case in Wisconsin or Ontario/Quebec. When closed,
> these stations always look completely deserted, and when they're open, I
> only ever see trucks in there. But maybe that's just because nobody knows
> that you're allowed to drive in there? It's certainly not covered in the WI
> drivers handbook.
>

Generally speaking, scales that aren't in mandatory stop operations are of
minimal use to anyone other than the long-distance, budget-minded and/or
commercial traveler, since generally speaking the only two things that are
at these locations are highway parking (which is by design always open to
most-to-all comers so fatigued drivers can get off the road and take a
safety nap), usually some litter barrels, and possibly a permanently
installed scale (I say possibly because I've personally encountered a grand
total of zero of these in Oklahoma, leaving just the parking; and some of
the ones in Oklahoma closer to Arkansas often omit the litter barrels as
most of the traffic over the border is going to or from Walmart's central
distribution center, minutes over the line in Fayetteville, Arkansas, or
the college border town of Fort Smith, AR, in which all the traffic's
coming from the Oklahoma side).

As such, most drivers don't bother to enter them because they're not
useful.  And even if they have a scale in operation, it's generally only
useful for the folks who care enough about their suspension and tires to
balance their load and make sure anything they're towing is properly
balanced.
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