Anyone gotten a warning for Overweight Vehicle?

pans858

New Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Location
Western NC
First, Greetings, and thanks in advance for any help. I’ve just registered, and am sending this to several forums where I see similar topics have been discussed.
I got a ticket in NC for a very slightly overweight vehicle/trailer combination (dealership made an error on the weight registration and provided an affidavit); I am appealing. The state’s prosecutor stated that warning tickets are not given for this violation (not true) and the judge gave me 30 days to see if I could find any documentation that warning tickets have ever been issued in lieu of a citation. She prefers to see written warnings rather than hear of oral warnings. If you know of anyone who’s gotten one, could you pass that along? Not trying to reopen old discussions, or even discuss this event, just need to find out if anyone ever got a warning for overweight instead of a ticket.
By the way, I’m non-commercial, just an F250 w/17’ tandem enclosed trailer. SHP says they can give warnings for anything, as we know, but they would not provide examples. One weigh station guy suggested talking to truckers to see if I could find an example. If you know of anyone who ever got a warning instead of the green stamps, how about chime in?
Thanks
 
How exactly were you overweight? Do you not have a weighted tag?
 
russ0943 said:
How exactly were you overweight? Do you not have a weighted tag?
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Yes, the dealer issued a weighted tag for less weight than they were supposed to-that's the heart of the issue and that's why they provided an affidavit affirming they made an error. My issue is not that I was not overweight with regard to the weighted registration...without going into the legal arguments, on appeal, the judge seems in agreement that a warning ticket would satisfy the criteria of SHP policy and be more appropriate in this particular case, but has put the burden on me within a 30 day extension to prove that there is precedent for this. NCSHP is in agreement that this is allowable, but they will not provide copies of other warning tickets and do not have stats on warning tickets for this particular violation. SO...I'm not trying to discuss or argue anything here; just trying to find some evidence that someone somewhere has gotten a warning versus a citation for overweight. Simply put, no need to go off on any tangents, does anyone know of someone who got a warning but not a ticket for overweight? If so how about chiming in? Thanks
 
rockcity said:
wouldn't a writtne warning be public record, same as a written ticket? If so, search the public records
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Sure it is, NC legislature even set up a division to track the stats. Problem is that particular violation falls into the "Other" category, so it's not trackable. One of the DMV folks said the only way they could find that particular infraction (on warning tickets) would be to get the hard copies from each district and go through them one at a time reading the notes. Needless to say they ain't gonna do that.
 
Curious, do you have a lawyer, or are you flying solo? A big part of being found guilty is intent to commit a crime. I guess, with proper representation, that applies to weight tickets to. Seems you ought to get that thrown out in five minutes.
 
im bored so

ive read soo much in the past 30 mins about nc statutes and googling the subject.
not sure what all applys
so far

http://law.onecle.com/north-carolina/20-motor-vehicles/20-118.1.html
My understanding of these is that you can unload to meet the limit with out penalty. Kinda think that just means before you can leave.


http://law.onecle.com/north-carolina/20-motor-vehicles/20-118.html
This one towards the bottom talks about the fines, dont see anything about a warning.








upon further reading ive found nothing about warnings being given. I'll talk to some of my friends that haul alot and my SHP friends and see if I can find someting out.
 
Thanks for all the replies...trust me I've done what can be done. You're right on nearly all points, but practicality does step in. No need to hire an atty for a non-points violation, where the fee would exceed the fine. NC is required to keep stats, but there is an exclusion on their releasing personal info, thus no public access to the actual documents. Also, my expectation was that this would be thrown out in the first appeal; I have been astounded at the veracity with which the states attorney has tried to convict. By the way, the appeal process is not really that-I expected a conversation with one or two folks and some willingness to look at the individual facts and evidence. Instead, this is more of a civil proceeding with a young attorney with the AG office doing all he can to convict, and the judge, who works with the attorney on a regular basis, doing the listening. I have been astounded at the amount of certified mail, notarized docs, and expense (mostly to the state) in all this. Fortunately the judge seems willing to rule in my favor...but the young attorney actually represented that officers are not permitted to write warnings for "statutory" violations!?! Of course I objected to that and she has allowed me 30 days to provide proof that it is allowable and that there is precedent. I have since contacted quite a few NCSHP/DMV and weigh station folks and find that it is, of course allowable to give verbal or written warnings for any offense. Thing is, the documentation is harder to find. Honestly, one of the primary reasons for me to appeal is that the officer was a major jerk, and challenged me several times to appeal it as he was writing it up. Naturally I feel obligated to take him up on that. So thanks for all the suggestions, but at this point, really all I need is just to find the proof that warnings have been given for this.
 
i have been pulled and warned..no paper issued just a nice "up your tag asap because your over the limit...and nice jeep"


Best of luck on your seARCH

Fight tha power!:huggy:
 
Did they actually weight you ? What were the weights. I've seen trucks be over just on being full of fuel and sitting to burn off fuel gets em under.

FWIW: Registration paperwork for the last 3-5 years clearly spell out that you need to have (paid) enough weight to cover the truck/contents and any towed trailers (+contents)

That said, when I bought a 01 PSD when the weight BS was just starting, the dealer sent me home on my swapped over car tag... Idiots.

We've had several threads on this topic. Some choose to under declare and take their chances. Some have been stopped. I'm paid up for 15k, some states are very strict about this stuff.

This is just another revenue stream for the state that is relatively profitable and not overly painful (points) for the person stopped (at least for non-commercial).
 
Just so we are clear here - what you are really aksing for/needing here is BOTH (a) somebody that has received a warning for this AND (b) a copy of that wanring citation paper?
Good luck w/ that. I've received a few warnings in my life, most of them did not come w/ any paper, and those that did, the paper was in the trash within 24hrs.
Lets be honest, why would anyone keep that?
Other other option then woudl be that if somebody did receive one, could then go to that courthouse and look it up - but that still means you'd need to know the date at least in order to track down that single citation.

Personally, i think that your only shot here is (a) continue aksing until you find an SHPO who will be willing not only to confirm this but point you to some kind of doc, or you could be slick and record te hconversation over the phone, and play that back to teh judge (hahaha cheesy, yes)... or (b) plan a day at the local courthouse and start flipping through stacks. The county clerk should be able to get you teh stack of "others" (that's their job), at least that will narrow it down.
 
I dunno why I save about everything, I've got a few over the speed limit warnings saved at home...never been hit for overweight (knock on wood).
 
"Just so we are clear here - what you are really asking for/needing here is BOTH (a) somebody that has received a warning for this AND (b) a copy of that wanring citation paper?"
-------------------------------------------
Ideally, yes. At least a location and date. But your other points are the obstacles to this, of course.
To the previous poster, yes, they did weigh me, I don't think it possible to give this ticket without weights...sort of like a ticket that says "He looked like he was speeding, maybe about 69 in a 55 zone."
 
What a waste of your time and resources. I don't understand why the D.A. won't drop it. I also don't see any good reason for the judge to make you jump through hoops like this. He should use some common sense and throw it out. A judge's job should be to make sure justice is done. Why would any judge continue to pursue charges when he has already stated that a warning ticket would be more appropriate? He has the power to fix it, but it sounds like he doesn't want to assert his own authority. It's like they take it personally that they have to "win" every case in some way rather than just admit that it is a no harm no foul situation and move on to bigger and better things.

At this point I'd probably just explain the situation to the judge, note that you did everything within reason to comply with his request, and ask him to dismiss the charge. If he won't I'd ask the dealer to reimburse you for their mistake; threatening bad press if they don't offer to do so.
 
Fart said:
What a waste of your time and resources. I don't understand why the D.A. won't drop it. I also don't see any good reason for the judge to make you jump through hoops like this. He should use some common sense and throw it out. A judge's job should be to make sure justice is done. Why would any judge continue to pursue charges when he has already stated that a warning ticket would be more appropriate? He has the power to fix it, but it sounds like he doesn't want to assert his own authority. It's like they take it personally that they have to "win" every case in some way rather than just admit that it is a no harm no foul situation and move on to bigger and better things.
At this point I'd probably just explain the situation to the judge, note that you did everything within reason to comply with his request, and ask him to dismiss the charge. If he won't I'd ask the dealer to reimburse you for their mistake; threatening bad press if they don't offer to do so.
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Well spoken, exactly as I feel. Since that's what I did tell the judge, I guess that's why I got the chance to prove that warnings have been used before. Anyway, it was such a small amount of overweight it's only a $112.00 fine...just the principal of the thing has got me going. This was a repo 08 F250 bought at a Honda dealership, I'm sure they don't deal with weighted tags much (ever) and obviously did not know the regs, but since they didn't do anything purposely, no need to punish them as well. Believe it or not, the state's prosecuting attorney (little slimy, perhaps) actually suggested that I had grounds for an "action" against the dealer. Just not in my nature, I guess.
 
My question about the weight was more to the part about how much over ? Weather it was a mobile unit vs weight station, were you possibly in a potential margin of error on a road side setup.

Sorta like a cop writing a ticket for 57mph. Judge would likely treat that differently than say 80mph. A judge might agree that warnings are more common at 57 than 80.

Sue everyone... :)
 
pay the $112 and move on. maybe try to split it with the dealer. An 08 F250 isn't cheap and I bet the dealer made a decent $$$ on the sale. Their mistake, they should cover it anyway.
 
yager said:
My question about the weight was more to the part about how much over ? Weather it was a mobile unit vs weight station, were you possibly in a potential margin of error on a road side setup.
Sorta like a cop writing a ticket for 57mph. Judge would likely treat that differently than say 80mph. A judge might agree that warnings are more common at 57 than 80.
Sue everyone... :)
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I knew where you were going with this all the time, but in the interest of staying on topic, didn't and won't go into the long story. To answer the question though, since the dealer made a 3000 lb error on the tag, I was nearly 3000 lbs over. I don't fault the cop for not believing me, even though the tag was only three days old, but I do fault him for being a jerk. Again, just trying to find someone with a warning for overweight, vs a ticket. Nuff said, thanks again for trying to find weaknesses for me.
 
I see all you points, and you have my admiration for stayin gso upbeat and on-target about this.
Personally I think think that, if you cannot get it thrown out and must pay the $112, it really is not unreasonable at all to go a politely ask teh dealer for compensation, at least going half-sies with you. Actually asking for half is a very reasonable thing to do. Not "I'm goin gto sue yer ass" but just "Look, you admitted this was your mistake, I'm willin gto share the burdon". Actually I think a dealer stepping up like that (come on thsi is chump chaneg for them anyway) would go far for their charactar. Clearly they are owning up to teh fault and tryin gto make amends by providing teh affedevit already.

Re: the judge... this guy may actually be pretty wise/slick. One part of a judge's job is not only to "see that justice is served" but also see that there is a decreased chance of this happening in the future. Aside from him clearly trying to be lenieant on you w/o stepping outside of his bounds, in many ways, this guy is also using you to "advertise" this problem of over-weight towing.
Think of all the discussion going on here, all teh people you have talked to... how many folks have had this issue ("get the right tags, or it could cost you") brought to their attention, beside of this ruling of his? It's like a free campaign of sorts. Alsmot like the judges that make theifs stand on street corners w/ big signs announcing their offense. we all think it's funny, but now we know - getting caught can really suck.

Just more food for thought!
 
I'm curious to see how much you were over.


ETA: I'm tagged enough to cover my rig and few spare parts. But when I load up with tools,camping gear and dogs and food, I'm a good 5-600 pounds over. To retag to cover what I do once a month is a real pisser.
 
kaiser715 said:
... A big part of being found guilty is intent to commit a crime... Seems you ought to get that thrown out in five minutes.
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x2. I got a concealed weapon charge tossed on that one. Seems if the dealer signed this affidavit about the tag mistake, you should be clear. You're probably not getting out of this one, and the judge knew that before sending you on this wild goose chase.
 
Kota4bye said:
I'm curious to see how much you were over.
ETA: I'm tagged enough to cover my rig and few spare parts. But when I load up with tools,camping gear and dogs and food, I'm a good 5-600 pounds over. To retag to cover what I do once a month is a real pisser.
Click to expand...


For your first answer, see 2 posts previous. But for your concern about the 5-600 over, your most likely ok, depending on the mood of the officer if you get weighed. Here's why...NC classifies the weighted registration in 1000 lb increments. Thus, by statute, less than 500lbs over does not count, but more than 500 lbs over requires the next weight class. Thus you automatically have a 500 lb "cushion". I also expect that's one reason why we see some verbal warnings, but as I'm discovering-not many written warnings.
 
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