When you get an overweight truck ticket in Kings County, you might need to appear in Hanford Traffic Court to resolve the ticket. When you consider it could cost as much as $1.00 for each pound over, you need the legal services of a knowledgeable and experienced traffic attorney.
Imagine having to pay a fine of nearly $4,000 for an overweight tuck that is 4,000 pounds over. These fines can be devastating for independent contractors, owner-operators, or small commercial truck fleet owners, especially given the reduced shipment during the pandemic.
Nearly 1,000 trucking fleets went out of business in 2019. Of course, only a small percentage of those were due to overweight trucks, but substantial fines add up. Take, for example, the Celadon Group with nearly 4,000 drivers, New England Motor Freight with almost 1,500, and Falcon Transport with 585 that went bankrupt in 2019.
Get a Permit Instead of an Overweight Truck Ticket
In CA, Caltrans handles transportation permits for oversized vehicles. Most fleet managers handle getting permits for oversized vehicles, but if you are an owner-operator hauling cargo in CA, or picking up a container from one of the ports, which you know to be overweight, contact the Caltrans Transportation Permits office. Their website has step-by-step instructions on getting single-trip and repetitive trip permits for novice operators.
Where Do They Get These Overweight Truck Limits?
CA Vehicle Code (CVC) Section 35550 (a), Axle Limits, warns commercial drivers, “The gross weight imposed upon the highway by the wheels on any one axle of a vehicle shall not exceed 20,000 pounds and the gross weight upon any one wheel, or wheels, supporting one end of an axle, and resting upon the roadway, shall not exceed 10,500 pounds.” In fact, sections 35550 – 35796 deal with vehicle weights, roads, and bridge restrictions.
Overweight Trucks & Weigh Stations
When the CHP-regulated weigh stations are open, commercial vehicles must stop. According to CVC Section 260, Definitions, “A commercial vehicle is a motor vehicle of a type required to be registered under this code used or maintained for the transportation of persons for hire, compensation, or profit or designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property.”
Therefore, this could include a U-Haul, Ryder, or other rental vehicle. If you don’t know, it’s best to stop. It is another violation if you do not stop. If the CHP must chase you and bring you back for inspection, you could incur several violations.
By the way, there is nearly a dozen public “weigh stations” around Kings County. Although it might cost you a few dollars, it’s much cheaper than an overweight truck ticket.
Traffic Attorneys Who Handle Overweight Truck Tickets in Kings County, CA
When you get an overweight truck or overlength truck ticket, call Bigger & Harman, (661) 349-9300. Se habla Español (661) 349-9755.
Bigger & Harman are traffic law attorneys. We offer CDL holders a free phone or email consultation to determine whether you should challenge your ticket. Also, we use a flat fee to resolve your traffic issues, including DMV NOTS Hearings. That way, you always know how much it will cost to get your ticket resolved.
Email: attorney@biggerharmanlaw.com.
References:
The 2019 CA Commercial Driver Handbook.pdf
The CVC Section 260, Definitions & CVC Section 35550, Axle Limits