The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky., reported Saturday that a state crackdown on overweight coal trucks may be having a side effect — truckers speeding to fit more loads in a day's work.

Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement Commissioner Greg Howard said the number of overweight trucks in Eastern Kentucky has dropped since the crackdown. "At one time, if we weighed 100 trucks, 99 would be overweight. Now if we weigh 100 trucks, we might find 10 that are overweight," Howard said.
Officers began strictly enforcing weight limits in June, sparking intermittent labor strikes by drivers who demanded more money per ton from coal operators to offset the losses of smaller loads. Truckers complained they couldn’t afford fuel and insurance unless they violated the weight limit. Coal companies increased the amounts they paid the truckers, and officers began citing coal companies caught overloading coal trucks.
Now, according to Howard, police are reporting that properly loaded coal trucks are increasingly caught speeding.
Bill Caylor, president of the Kentucky Coal Association, said speeding among coal truck drivers hauling lighter loads shouldn't have come as a surprise.
"We told them that would happen," Caylor said. "We were worried not just about truckers driving faster but potentially working more hours where you would have the fatigue factor coming into play."
Caylor said speeding in the huge rigs could have dire consequences on Eastern Kentucky highways.
"You can't place that blame on the coal operator," he said. "This is something that falls solely on the shoulders of the truckers, and the law needs to be enforced, period."