Higher overweight truck fines went into effect last week in Maine, and they're causing some controversy.
The new law calls for trucks that are more than 10 percent above the legal limit to be assessed much stiffer fines - up to five times the previous rate, as much as $6,000.
Loggers and the truckers who serve them say it's extremely difficult to gauge the weight of a load of logs in the forest. One log can make a 2,000-pound difference. They are lobbying the state Legislature to change the rules so that they target grossly overweight trucks, not innocent miscalculations.
About 1,200 timber land owners have threatened to shut down their property to public access, including 3,000 miles of snowmobile trails, if something is not done.
Wednesday, the House Transportation Committee did make some changes to the law, specifying that weight-related fines on trucks registered to carry 100,000 pounds of special commodities such as forest products will be based on the amount of excess weight over 100,000 pounds. The state police had previously interpreted the law to mean that fines for six-axle trucks would be based on the amount of weight over 90,000 pounds, even if the truck was registered to haul more.
This clarification angered some truckers, who felt it was a special exception for six-axle tractor-trailers and put five-axle and four-axle straight trucks at a disadvantage.
The new law calls for trucks that are more than 10 percent above the legal limit to be assessed much stiffer fines - up to five times the previous rate, as much as $6,000.
Loggers and the truckers who serve them say it's extremely difficult to gauge the weight of a load of logs in the forest. One log can make a 2,000-pound difference. They are lobbying the state Legislature to change the rules so that they target grossly overweight trucks, not innocent miscalculations.
About 1,200 timber land owners have threatened to shut down their property to public access, including 3,000 miles of snowmobile trails, if something is not done.
Wednesday, the House Transportation Committee did make some changes to the law, specifying that weight-related fines on trucks registered to carry 100,000 pounds of special commodities such as forest products will be based on the amount of excess weight over 100,000 pounds. The state police had previously interpreted the law to mean that fines for six-axle trucks would be based on the amount of weight over 90,000 pounds, even if the truck was registered to haul more.
This clarification angered some truckers, who felt it was a special exception for six-axle tractor-trailers and put five-axle and four-axle straight trucks at a disadvantage.
media brand
0 Comments
See all comments