Auditor says truck weight enforcement is lax

September 25, 2003
By: Aidian Holder
State Capital Bureau

A new report says the Highway Patrol isn't doing enough to keep overweight big rigs from tearing up Missouri roads. Aidian Holder reports.

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Missouri law says that most trucks can't weigh more than 80,000 pounds, but State Auditor Claire McCaskill says the Highway Patrol is lax in enforcing the rule.

Chief among the problems McCaskill cites are predictable hours at weigh stations, allowing overweight trucks to sneak through without weighing in, along with too few random checks and sloppy record keeping.

But Capt. Chris Ricks argues the Highway Patrol is putting its resources where they'll do the most good.

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Contents: Ricks says daytime shifts have more traffic, so that's when they usually have the stations open.

McCaskill also said two weigh stations inflated their numbers because staffers were concerned about loosing their jobs.

From the state Capitol, I'm Aidian Holder.


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