dard bearer to address the movement of trucks in all parts of the state. Without it, the overweight penalty for that last five miles can be enormous: $5,000 to $7,000 in some cases just for the over-gross violation not to mention the penalties for over-axle violations. TxDMV is currently also studying the
ability of a carrier to obtain a 2060 permit on a per trip basis, presumably at a lower cost, as an alternative to being required to purchase an annual permit. As the oil and gas exploration indus-
try expands and contracts, more and more counties are looking for ways to maintain county roads that were never designed to handle the volume of truck traffic and weights that are now traveling down them. To address their needs, counties are
putting local ordinances into place requir- ing some type of weight permit and or road use agreement. While these ordinances are not valid if the truck has the 2060 Tolerance Permit, it’s imperative that trucking companies know their rights. The Texas Transportation Code states
that if a vehicle has a 2060 permit, then a commissioner’s court may not issue a per- mit or charge an additional fee for or oth- erwise regulate or restrict the operation of the vehicle because of weight. It also states that it cannot require the
owner or operator to execute or comply with a road use agreement or indemnity agreement, to make a filing or application, or to provide a bond or letter of credit other than the bond or letter of credit already prescribed in the law. Most Texas counties do not have the
manpower to patrol their roads for “ordi- nance compliance” so there are occasions where those counties reach out to the Texas Department of Public Safety to send in a task force of commercial vehicle enforce- ment troopers for a few days to assist and help ensure trucks are in compliance with size and weight. Each month, the Department of
Motor Vehicles Enforcement staff reviews all overweight citations issued by TxDPS. If they see a trucking company is getting sev- eral overweight citations, TxDMV may schedule an internal review of the trucking company’s records to find out if other
Winter 2015 49
trucks are being overloaded and are just not being caught. If TxDMV finds more overweight
loads without permits, an administrative penalty may result. The law was changed last session to include penalties for any shipper that is seen to be habitual in over- loading a carrier or providing false weights to that carrier, in addition. “The industry is changing, freight
volume is steadily on the rise and the Texas Miracle is seeing to that, particularly in the areas of energy production,” said John D.
Esparza, TXTA president and CEO. “But more importantly the technology is avail- able to make compliance more convenient for all stakeholders.” “The biggest challenge we may have
now is coming up with the political will to make real changes to how we fund our highways so we can meet the demands of all this growth. Passing Proposition 1 on the ballot this fall was a good start but just scratches the surface, particularly since it provides funding only for state roads and not county roads.”
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