byalex
If you’ve ever done any traveling on an interstate highway, you’ve seen the green signs pointing the way to a weighing station for large trucks. The truck scales at these Williamsport stations serve a few different purposes, but the main purpose is to ensure that large trucks are not exceeding the legal maximum weight limit.
Truck scales also serve to calculate the tax to be levied on a particular truck based on the vehicle’s weight and the weight of cargo being shipped. The maximum shipping weight varies from one state to the next, but the average weight is about 34,000 pounds. A Scale Company Williamsport builds these scales so the state can calculate the amount of wear and tear each truck causes, and tax accordingly. Taxes paid are put back into road building and maintenance.
There are several different kinds of truck scales in use, but the most common and popular is the load cell scale. This type uses strong materials such as steel to build each cell that makes up the scale, and a strain gauge is attached. Electrical current goes through the strain gauge, and the current changes each time weight is pressed upon the cells. The strain gauge records the amount of current, and the junction box uses that number to determine the weight of the truck on the scale.
The second most frequently used kind of truck scale at a highway weighing station is that which uses the bending plate system. This is similar to the load cell weighing system, except that the scale doesn’t measure weight with cells, but metal plates and strain gauges. Trucks are driven onto the scale, and the stress placed upon the plate is measured by the strain gauge and used to calculate the vehicle’s weight.
Most drivers, shipping companies and loading dock workers have been doing their job long enough to know how much can be loaded onto a trailer without exceeding weight regulations. An overloaded truck can not only cause delays, but it can damage roads and even put lives at risk. Truck scales Williamsport like those made by a scale company in Williamsport can help drivers abide by the rules of the road and keep everyone safe.