Truck Hauling Overweight Load Fined $8,300, Police Say

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The Lower Saucon Township Police Department is keeping the proverbial heat turned up on overweight trucks traveling on–and potentially damaging–local roads, in violation of posted weight limits.

According to a post published on the department’s Facebook page Friday, the LSPD currently has two officers who are certified in vehicle weighing and measuring–Charles Werkheiser and James Connell.

Werkheiser’s expertise was put into practice Wednesday, police said, when he and Officer John Bowlby inspected two trucks, one of which was determined to be overweight by 29,000 pounds (more than 14 tons).

An inspection of one of the trucks also uncovered a slash in one of its tires, which was photographed during the inspection.

The trucker whose load was determined to be overweight was issued a citation that carries a fine of $8,300, police said.

Lower Saucon Township officers patrol on special assignment specifically in order to monitor township roadways that have weight restrictions, the department said.

If a truck is suspected of being overweight, it is escorted to the parking lot of Se-Wy-Co Fire Company, where portable scales are utilized to determine the vehicle’s weight.

“Protecting roadways and bridges, which are vital assets to the commerce of Lower Saucon, is an important part of modern policing,” the Lower Saucon Township Police Department said.

 

The amount of truck traffic on roads in the eastern part of the township could increase in the near future, as a result of commercial development in Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII, in Bethlehem.

A recently-imposed weight restriction on a Bingen Road bridge has also resulted in a detour for some truckers traveling through the township.

For more information about the damage that overweight vehicles can cause, visit http://www.governing.com/…/transporta…/Too-Big-The-Road.html.

Photos by Lower Saucon Township Police Department