Auditors say Louisiana ‘not effective’ at enforcing truck weight limits and illegal weigh station bypassing

A recent performance audit accuses the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) and Louisiana State Police (LSP) of failing to properly enforce truck weight and size regulations.

In an August 5 report, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor found that LSP and DOTD are failing to effectively enforce weight restrictions on large commercial trucks, resulting in “trucks that are potentially overweight and oversize but lack required permits are driving on state highways and bridges, illegally bypassing weigh stations, and contributing to the deterioration of road conditions and the overall driving environment.”

More Money, Fewer Truck Weighs: Auditors

Specifically, the report found that “DOTD’s Weights and Standards Stationary Enforcement program weighed fewer trucks, identified fewer violations, and issued and collected fewer penalties from fiscal years 2023 to 2025 despite increasing its staff and budget.”

Weigh Station Bypassing & Closures

Auditors also accused DOTD of failing to enforce illegal weigh station bypassing.

As part of the investigation, auditors visited six Louisiana weigh stations and found that 15.6% of trucks (733 of 4,703) were illegally bypassing, resulting in the possible loss of “state significant revenue in fines that DOTD could use to maintain Louisiana’s roads.”

DOTD reportedly instructed its police force to start issuing tickets for illegal weigh station bypassing in May 2026. However, “DOTD has safety concerns with pulling over trucks that illegally bypass because it does not have access to criminal background checks. Without this access, DOTD stated that it is unsafe for its officers to pull over trucks and issue tickets for illegal bypassing or conduct mobile inspections on state highways.”

Auditors also said that there were frequent weigh station closures since LSP transferred operational authority of the facilities to DOTD in 2023. According to the report, “DOTD has a goal for interstate weigh stations to be open 18 hours a day, six days a week, subject to available staffing. However, in October 2025, DOTD’s 10 operational weigh stations were open for approximately nine hours each day.”

Limited Ability To Collect Overweigh Fines

Auditors also pointed to limited ability for DOTD and LSP to collect fines from out-of-state carriers under current state law.

“As of October 2025, DOTD had assessed but not collected $1.06 million, and LSP had assessed but not collected $941,934 in penalties for size and weight violations during fiscal years 2023 through 2025. Neither LSP nor DOTD comprehensively track whether unpaid penalties are owed by in-state or out-of-state carriers,” the report states.

The report points out that neighboring states issue misdemeanors and even jail time for repeat size and weigh offenders.

Other issues uncovered by the audit include confusion over enforcement jurisdiction by LSP and DOTD with respect to truck weight enforcement, failure to use “virtual weigh station” technology, and “fragmented” DOTD enforcement data.

Agencies Respond To Auditor Recommendations

Both DOTD and LSP responded to recommendations from auditors to improve truck weight compliance.

DOTD says it plans update policies and procedures for weight enforcement by September 1, 2026 and to begin usage of mobile scales by October 1, 2026.

LSP said that it is “noteworthy that several of the deficiencies identified in the audit report were not present prior to the 2022 transfer of stationary weigh station operations from LSP to DOTD” but said that troopers remain committed to working with DOTD “to enhance commercial motor vehicle enforcement where operationally feasible.”

LSP also said it supports working with lawmakers on new statues that would give the agency more power “to provide stronger enforcement and collection mechanisms for repeat and/or severe size and weight violations by out-of-state carriers while ensuring due process and promoting consistent compliance.”