Iowa troopers nab tractor driver for overweight violation

Iowa State Patrol Commercial Motor Vehicle Unit (ISP-CMVU) says that a tractor driver hauling rocks for non-agricultural purposes was majorly overweight.

In a Tuesday Facebook post, ISP-CMVU said:

“If it fits, that does not always mean it should (or can) ship!

The tandem on this setup was about 40,000lbs over allowed weight on the trailer and 40,000lbs over allowed gross weight. Please always do your part to protect the roads we all need to make it from point A to point B!

Note: this combination was, in no way, being used for agricultural purposes.“

The post spurred a large number of comments from confused Facebook users.

“Yep it’s heavy but it’s a bigger axle and tires then what’s on a truck. It’s a gross load dump box. Looks like they have a big enough tractor to pull/stop it. It’s agriculture…. guess I need more info. I’m glad we have laws to protect our roads and saftey but I’m not grasping this one. I would of full sent this load on that equipment,” said one user.

“The width of those tires what’s the actual psi? I’d bet good money it’s less than a loaded semi. Revenue enhancement is the sole reason for this situation,” another said.

“Been pulled over and weighed twice in a tractor and grain cart. It’s under their jurisdiction but it’s bs. Those tires have way more ground contact than a semi truck tire which the laws were written for,” said a Facebook commenter.

ISP-CMVU followed up to clarify:

“Maybe we need to provide some clarification. While this is a tractor, it is not being operated by a farmer or for farm use. Weight limits vary greatly for farm use tractors and construction use.”

You can view Iowa DOT’s vehicle weight regulations starting on page 17 of the document here.