A trucker’s morning went from bad to worse when an attempt to change two blown tires ended with a massive citation and 12 out of service violation orders.
According to the Pepin County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began on September 7 around 9:30 a.m. when officers were called to the scene of a disabled semi on U.S. Highway 10 near the Pepin/Pierce County Line west of Durand.
Tow Truck Driver Calls Police For Obvious Weight Violation
The disabled truck had reportedly left St. Paul, Minnesota, on the evening of September 6 around 7 p.m. in order to deliver a load to Neenah, Wisconsin. Only an hour after departing, the truck had blown two tires and became disabled.
The driver called for assistance that night, but the repair truck was unable to lift the disabled semi because of its weight.
In the morning, a second repair crew came out. This crew required the assistance of a heavy duty tow truck in order to try to lift the disabled semi enough to change the tires. This attempt to lift the truck also failed.
At this point, the weight of the truck was clearly an issue, so the tow truck driver contacted to Pepin County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office brought the Wisconsin State Patrol along to assist.
By this point a second tow truck had been called in — this time a bigger 50 ton rotator tow truck. This tow truck was able to raise the disabled semi enough to change the blown tires, but “due to the extreme flexing of the frame and the potential for a catastrophic failure of the trailer frame system extra blocking and jacks had to be used to support the center the trailer while it was being lifted.”
After the tires had been changed, Sergeant William Berger of the Wisconsin State Patrol weighed the truck using portable scales and found the gross weight to be 165, 900 pounds.
According to a release from the Pepin County Sheriff’s Office, “all of the tires on the semi-tractor and trailer, with the exception of the steering tires, were significantly exceeding the tire manufacturer’s maximum tire weight rating. Some of the tires were carrying more than double the allowable weight allowed by the tire manufacturer’s rating.”
Piling Up Citations and Violations
The truck driver was issued a number of citations and violations for the incident, including:
- A citation for failure to place the required emergency warning devices. Police say that the truck was disabled for 10 hours, partially blocking the roadway, and no warning devices were placed and law enforcement was not contacted.
- A citation for an 85,900 lb. axle group overload. The bond amount for this citation was $20,287.86.
- A citation for exceeding the tire weight ratings.
- Nine axel weight warning were issued.
- Twelve out of service violations for tire weight rating limitations.
- Warning to the truck driver for Reckless Driving.
Police escorted the semi four miles to an area where it could be offloaded.
The identity of the truck driver and the motor carrier involved in the incident have not been released.