Driving on a highway beside a long line of semi-trucks can be stressful. Unless you have experience driving a semi-truck yourself, you may not know exactly what semi-trucks are capable of or what regulations govern them. For example, did you know that both state and local laws determine how heavy semi-trucks can be? These laws exist because of the dangers of overweight semi-trucks on highways.
Braking Distance
Overweight semi-trucks present a danger to motorists and their drivers because of the increased mass. A truck carrying more than its approved load will need more room to brake. Sudden stops in traffic can cause semi-truck drivers to swerve, which may lead to the driver losing control of the truck.
Truck Damage
Semi-trucks can handle a lot of friction, but only up to a certain point. Too much friction causes heat to build up, leading to tire blowouts and permanent damage to the truck’s brake and steering systems. Overloading a semi-truck might seem like a good idea in the short term, but the lasting damage to the vehicle can be expensive.
Unsecured Loads
If a semi-truck is carrying an overweight load, there’s a good chance that its load isn’t properly secured. Any movement may cause the load to shift around during transport, unbalancing the vehicle. Combined with the possibility of tire blowouts and trouble braking, an unbalanced semi-truck is harder to control and therefore incredibly dangerous.
The Business Costs of Overweight Vehicles
To be on the safe side, businesses should install weigh-in-motion scales that allow for weighing moving trucks. Using weigh-in-motion scales helps you avoid the hidden costs of overweight semi-trucks including:
- Fines and/or jail time for drivers
- Fines for your business
- Late deliveries
- Poor PR
- Damaged customer relationships
Infrastructure Damage
All bridges and overpasses have a weight limit that determines how much they can safely support at any one time. On highways, overweight semi-trucks are dangerous because they can cause bridges to collapse. The weight of these massive vehicles also causes potholes and warping at a rate much faster than regular cars.
Motorist Collisions
The most dangerous part of driving an overweight semi-truck is how it threatens human lives. Each of the previous points contributes to the collective dangers that motorists face when driving near overweight semi-trucks. Damaged brakes, unbalanced loads, and infrastructure damage all present opportunities for semi-trucks to harm people, including their drivers.
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