Pennsylvania and South Dakota are both struggling with their fight to keep overweight trucks off the road.
In Pennsylvania, according to published reports, it's an enforcement problem. Even though state police increased enforcement of truck weight limits last year, they still wrote far fewer tickets than neighboring states.
State police wrote 6,214 overweight tickets last year, a 20% increase. But police in Ohio ticketed three times than number, and Maryland twice as many.
Pennsylvania state police say they're concentrating their enforcement on speed limits and other safety-related issues, such as trucking equipment violations, driver violations and following two close.
In South Dakota, where the legislature increased penalties for overweight trucks, a court decision has taken some of the bite out of the new fines.
According to published reports, the state Legislature in 1999 passed a law doubling the penalties for trucks that are more than 10,000 pounds overweight. But the state Supreme Court ruled last week that the law applies only to the total weight of trucks, not excessive weight on one axle.
The case is the result of a trucker hauling hay from Wyoming to Wisconsin who was ticketed last year for carrying 32,420 pounds on one axle; state law limits axle weights to 20,000 pounds. A magistrate doubled the regular $4,658 penalty, but a circuit judge said the law didn't apply, because the weight of the entire truck was within the overall 80,000-pound limit.
State officials took the issue to the state Supreme Court. The court, however, said the law did not refer to axle weights, only to vehicles that are "completely, entirely or wholly overweight."
In Pennsylvania, according to published reports, it's an enforcement problem. Even though state police increased enforcement of truck weight limits last year, they still wrote far fewer tickets than neighboring states.
State police wrote 6,214 overweight tickets last year, a 20% increase. But police in Ohio ticketed three times than number, and Maryland twice as many.
Pennsylvania state police say they're concentrating their enforcement on speed limits and other safety-related issues, such as trucking equipment violations, driver violations and following two close.
In South Dakota, where the legislature increased penalties for overweight trucks, a court decision has taken some of the bite out of the new fines.
According to published reports, the state Legislature in 1999 passed a law doubling the penalties for trucks that are more than 10,000 pounds overweight. But the state Supreme Court ruled last week that the law applies only to the total weight of trucks, not excessive weight on one axle.
The case is the result of a trucker hauling hay from Wyoming to Wisconsin who was ticketed last year for carrying 32,420 pounds on one axle; state law limits axle weights to 20,000 pounds. A magistrate doubled the regular $4,658 penalty, but a circuit judge said the law didn't apply, because the weight of the entire truck was within the overall 80,000-pound limit.
State officials took the issue to the state Supreme Court. The court, however, said the law did not refer to axle weights, only to vehicles that are "completely, entirely or wholly overweight."
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