Originally posted by gaweidert I have decided to hijack this thread and veer it off course.
Good luck with that!
Here, check this out!
(Apologies that the video is long, fast forward to about the 3 minute mark. That is where all the action is)
They will let anyone drive a Big Truck these days, huh? What a Moron. I have driven over 750,000 miles in Big Trucks, and seen a lot of really stupid stuff, but this Idiot is unbelievable.
For those who didn't watch the full video, here is a summary:
The video chronicles a driver in a Big Truck, making what should have been a routine pass through a Georgia DOT Weigh Station.
Most trucks today carry a transponder that has a red and green light. If a motor carrier has a good safety rating, and has one of these transponders most of the time the trucks in a given fleet will get a green light. There is a percentage of all trucks in a fleet that will always get a red light and have to make a pass through the scale.
All US states and Canadian provinces operate their scales in a manner that is unique to them, none being consistent from one jurisdiction to another. Georgia is weird in that at times they will red light every truck, and make them all pass through. Georgia is unique in that there are usually two, and sometimes 3 lanes through the scale. The lanes are controlled buy lights overhead that direct drivers to whatever lane the officers desire. The far left lane is the bypass lane; the right, or center lane is the only one with an actual scale that weighs the trucks and trailers; and the sometimes 3rd lane, on the far right is used for very wide oversized loads, and at times an officer may desire to actually walk out and have a closer look at a truck and trailer (Georgia Revenue Rangers are the laziest and fattest I have ever seen. They will usually only walk as far as it takes to get into their cruiser.)
There are also cameras everywhere, height and width sensors, and some scale bars on the offramp that leads to the first lane split. They know how much the truck and trailer weigh, how high and wide it is, how long, and the license tag has been read and the registration info relayed to a monitor by automated software.
They even have quick scan x-ray equipment to make a fast check of what is inside van and reefer trailers, or under the tarps on flatbed loads.
So anyway, the driver of the truck you see the back of in the video has been given the red light and must make a pass through the scale. He immediately slows to about 40 mph while still on the interstate (Georgia Chicken Coops have very long ramps, so there is plenty of time to get the truck slowed down to the first speed reduction, just prior to the first split, 35 mph.). At the first lane split he is given the arrow that directs him to the right (center) lane, but instead he takes the left (bypass) lane. Clearly the Creeper Cops want to have a chat with this driver, i.e., invite him in, and oh, please bring your logbook, permit book, truck and trailer registration, and load manifests.
Mr. Confused Trucker is now moving along the bypass lane at a fairly slow rate. With a 35 mph speed limit, most drivers zip through at about 40 to 45. At the last control point adjacent to the Chicken Coop there is a loudspeaker, and the driver is directed to park his truck and come inside.
Instead this Moron stops.
Now by design the Georgia scales do not have a lane that splits to the parking area in the back from the bypass lane, but a savvy driver can take a bit of a look out the blind (right side) of the tractor, cut across the front side parking area, and nip into the back.
So after the Dipstick decides he better do something besides just sit there clogging up traffic and pissing off the Creeper Cops. Believe me, it is easy to get the Fat and Lazy Georgia Creeper Cops Pissed off, and they know the rulebook by heart. They are not afraid to get out the ticket book, start writing tickets, and brother, they will find a reason to shut a truck down.
Even if there isn't.
So don't piss them off.
Well after getting off to a great start with the Georgia DOT scale in the video, and making lots of friends among his peers waiting so patiently behind him, Mr. Supertrucker decides he better find his way to the back parking area so he can fulfill his obligation to the invitation for an audience with the nice men inside the Big Brick Building (remember what I said earlier about how they are pained to even walk out to their car).
And what does he do?
He makes a blind right u-turn, and runs his tandems right over the hood of a pickup.
Nice, huh?