OTA Dispatch Issue 2 2018

35 www.ortrucking.org Issue 2 | 2018 T he trucking industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country. We can all agree that many of the regulations are warranted to ensure the safety of our drivers and the motoring public. Unfortunately, however, many of these regulations lead to violations and citations, which lead to penalties and fines, which reduce your bottom line. I am often contacted by clients that have overweight citations in Oregon with presumptive fines in the thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. Fortunately, there is a “legal loophole” that will most often get these overweight fines lowered to only $100. The Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) provide presumptive fines for violations of maximum weight requirements. For example if you have a load that is more than 10,000 pounds over the maximum weight requirements, you are facing a fine of $600 plus $0.30 per pound of excess weight. These presumptive fines are found in ORS 818.430. What many people do not know is that ORS 818.430(3) provides one of my favorite legal loopholes. That subsection states: [T]he fine imposed ... shall be not more than $100 if a person charged with an offense punishable under Schedule II produces in court a second valid variance permit issued under ORS 818.200 (Authority to issue variance permits) authorizing a loaded weight equal to or greater than the actual loaded weight of the vehicle, combination of vehicles, axle, tandem axles or group of axles upon which the citation was based. In plain English, this means that if you were cited for violating an existing overweight permit, but could have obtained a valid overweight permit for the load, you can reduce the fine to only $100. But you must do a few things in order to obtain the reduction in the fine. First, you must actually obtain a valid overweight permit. Most often you will already have done this at the time of the citation in order to continue moving the load. If you did not, then you can obtain a valid overweight permit for the load and the route after the fact. Second, you need to produce the valid overweight permit in court. Yes, this means that you will need to request a hearing and appear in court. Be prepared not only with the valid overweight permit, but also with a copy of the statute (ORS 818.430(3)). Most often, if you explain the situation and show the statute, along with the valid overweight permit, to the officer before being called by the Judge, the officer will support your request for a reduction in the fine. Even if the officer is reluctant, calmly explain the situation to the Judge, cite the statute, and provide a copy of the valid overweight permit to the Judge. Sometimes it will take a bit of talking things through with the judge to get him to go along with the reduction. Stay calm, be courteous, and most Judges will reduce the fine. If not, you can always appeal. There are some limitations to the use of this legal loophole. You will notice that the reduction of the fine only applies to offenses punishable under Schedule II. Schedule II is applicable when you are operating in violation of an overweight permit. Meaning you must have obtained an overweight permit prior to transporting the load, but were cited for either taking the wrong route, improper load configuration, etc. You will not be able to use this loophole if you simply violated the maximum weight limits without an overweight permit issued prior to the time of the offense or for violating posted weight limits; those are punishable by the penalties set forth in Schedule I and Schedule III of ORS 818.430 respectively. And yes, this will only work in Oregon. Penalties and fines are virtually unavoidable in the trucking industry. However, hopefully you can use this statute the next time you are facing a significant overweight citation and walk away only paying $100. It’s not magic... it’s the law.  $100 Overweight Citations? It’s Not Magic... It’s the Law!  By Kevin Anderson, Attorney at Anderson & Yamada I am often contacted by clients that have overweight citations in Oregon with presumptive fines in the thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. Fortunately, there is a “legal loophole” that will most often get these overweight fines lowered to only $100.