OVERWEIGHT COAL TRUCKS ARE BACK - Other Haulers Have Different Standard

(01/24/2005)

Overweight coal trucks have re-appeared, after some compliance to increased weight limits passed by the West Virginia Legislature in 2003. The PSC says the trucks are overloading again and more tickets are being written. Lawmakers created a 15-county network of roads, mainly in southern West Virginia, where coal trucks with special permits can haul up to 120,000 thousand pounds. Weight limits on those roads were previously between 65,000 and 80,000 pounds. Coal truck climbs Red Jacket Mountain in Mingo County (Hur Herald Photo) Still, the PSC wrote only 115 tickets last year, with fines totaling $42,000. The 2003 legislation was a compromise between safety and industry interests, with some trucks running with 180,000 pounds or more. "If you couldn't see your load you were considered running legal," said Owen "Ted" Berry of the West Virginia Natural Resource Transporters Association. That prior rule only spurred truckers to buy rigs with higher and higher walls, Berry said. The new system was supposed to have three trucks hauling what was the load for two. Meanwhile, the rest of the hauling industry in the state is being held to a different set of weight standards, with lower weights being enforced on bridges. In the 15 coal counties, the weight limits have essentially been ignored.

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