Enjoying My Car

Posted on: 27 June 2019

An overweight load, with regards to road transporting, is one in which the weight exceeds what would normally be the legal maximum allowable weights for roadways and highways. Although a load may exceed the legally permitted weight restrictions, that load may still be transported as long as it meets other requirements. These requirements may vary in each state. This means any overweight load that is going to be traveling through more than one state will need to meet each legal requirement for every state that it is going to pass through. You can learn more about overweight loads by continuing on with this article.

Overweight loads come in many shapes and sizes

There are many different types of loads that fall under the overweight category. Although it is the actual weight that makes a load 'overweight', you can get a better idea of what an overweight load may be by comparing a load to some common ones that go over the legal weight standards. A few examples of commonly seen loads of this type would include prefab houses, large shipping containers, and large pieces of industrial machinery and equipment.

Overweight loads are determined on a state-by-state basis

A load that is considered to be overweight in one state may not be overweight in another. However, if you know that your load may be considered to be overweight in one state, then you need to do your own due diligence to ensure that it is either not considered to be over the legal weight, or to make sure you take all of the proper measures to legalize the load for the entire route.

 Requirements include special permits and sometimes more

Every state will have its own set of laws regarding how they handle overweight loads traveling on the roadways. You will need to take the appropriate steps prior to entering the state, or in the manner in which the state demands things to be done. In most states, you will need to pay a fee in order to obtain a special overweight permit that will allow you to travel through the state legally.

This permit will usually dictate the routes that you must stay on, as well as the times and dates that you can travel. This ensures you travel on roadways that can handle the weight and ensures you are traveling at times when you won't interfere as much with the regular traffic the routes see. Some dates may be completely excluded from permits. For example, overweight loads cannot travel on major holidays in most states, or even on holiday weekends.