A coal truck involved in an accident in West Virginia last week was found to be nearly twice the legal weight limit - and officials say that's nothing unusual.
The truck in last week's accident weighed 146,800 pounds, nearly twice the limit on state roads of 73,500 pounds. The accident seriously injured a woman.
From Sept. 20 to Oct. 19, state weight enforcement officers found that 86 percent of the coal trucks they stopped on state highways 94 and 3 weighed more than the legal limit. A third of the overweight trucks were nearly twice the limit. This week, a truck was cited for weighing 182,000 pounds.
Some companies have told enforcement officers that they have parked their trucks since last week's accident prompted increased enforcement. "They tell us they can't haul legal and make money," Cam Lewis, head of weight enforcement for the state Division of Highways, told The Charleston Gazette.
Lewis would like to be able to go after the companies that knowingly send or receive the overweight coal trucks. He wants the state Legislature to give his inspectors the authority to examine shipping logs and cite the companies responsible for the overloaded trucks.
The truck in last week's accident weighed 146,800 pounds, nearly twice the limit on state roads of 73,500 pounds. The accident seriously injured a woman.
From Sept. 20 to Oct. 19, state weight enforcement officers found that 86 percent of the coal trucks they stopped on state highways 94 and 3 weighed more than the legal limit. A third of the overweight trucks were nearly twice the limit. This week, a truck was cited for weighing 182,000 pounds.
Some companies have told enforcement officers that they have parked their trucks since last week's accident prompted increased enforcement. "They tell us they can't haul legal and make money," Cam Lewis, head of weight enforcement for the state Division of Highways, told The Charleston Gazette.
Lewis would like to be able to go after the companies that knowingly send or receive the overweight coal trucks. He wants the state Legislature to give his inspectors the authority to examine shipping logs and cite the companies responsible for the overloaded trucks.
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