| Truck weight enforcement event scheduled for I-84 |
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| ODOT News |
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May 14, 2009
For more information, contact Sally Ridenour (503) 986-3359
Truckers traveling the Interstate 84 corridor through Oregon over the next few days will see Oregon Department of Transportation Motor Carrier Division staff out in force. Enforcement officers will be weighing and inspecting trucks around the clock.
Weigh stations along I-84, U.S. 730 and U.S. 20 are open continuously for 72 hours starting yesterday (May 13).
“Although our staff performs this type of work every day, intensive operations like this help reinforce the message that weight and safety compliance are our top priority,” said Ed Scrivner, ODOT Motor Carrier Field Services manager. “This event also complements ODOT’s on-going initiatives to preserve our highways and bridges.”
In Oregon, commercial vehicles over 26,000 pounds pay a weight-mile tax instead of the fuel tax that passenger vehicles pay. The weight-mile tax is a large part of the funding that Oregon uses to preserve and maintain public roads and bridges. In 2008, ODOT collected more than $240 million in weight-mile tax. Weigh stations throughout the state ensure compliance with size and weight laws.
In 2008, motor carrier enforcement officers weighed 2,072,855 trucks on static scales. They also processed 1,481,278 trucks that were weighed in-motion at highway speed by the Green Light weigh station pre-clearance system.
“Although the majority of trucking companies operating on Oregon’s highways abide by Oregon law and have compliance-conscious drivers, an intensive enforcement event like this can help identify those who are not,” said Scrivner.
ODOT Motor Carrier enforcement officers will also use the event as an opportunity to educate truck drivers about common compliance mistakes such as unevenly distributed loads or expired permits.
In a similar exercise last August on the U.S. 97 corridor, almost 12,000 trucks were weighed in a 56 hour period or about 213 trucks per hours. About 1.72 percent of the vehicles weighed were subject to an enforcement action, including 82 citations for too much weight.
For more information about ODOT Motor Carrier’s enforcement and safety efforts visit http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/MCT
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