Working With A Permit Service When Hauling Over-Sized Loads

Truck drivers that frequently haul over-size loads or loads that are extremely heavy have to deal with laws and regulations that go beyond the normal traffic laws. The loads often need special permits to move over public roadways and the process of getting the right permits can be hard to navigate if you are not familiar with it. 

Permit Responsibility

For trucks carrying these heavy or over-size loads, the permits required may be obtained by the freight company for the driver or trucking company but it is the responsibility of the driver to make sure the permits are in place before the truck moves. If the truck driver is carrying an unpermitted over-size load, the driver is going to have to shoulder the biggest part of the responsibility. 

In the eyes of the law, the driver of the truck needs to know what he is carrying, the weight and height of the load, and the laws that regulate it. If the driver is an owner-operator, the responsibility is solely on the driver and any penalties resulting from a violation will fall on them.

Obtaining Permits

The process of obtaining permits can be time-consuming and often the driver or company that owns the truck will use an over-size load permitting service to help. For loads that cross state lines, a permit has to be issued for each state and the regulations may not be the same in each of the states the truck passes through.

A permit service can work with each state to get the permits in place ahead of the load and pass them on to the driver. Not only does this save a lot of time, but the permit service also has the experience and resources to get through the process much faster than the driver or the trucking company.  

Permitting Fees

The overweight permits that the truck requires to move these large loads come at a cost. Each state that requires a permit is going to also have a fee associated with that permit. Using a permit service streamlines that part of the process for the driver or company. The permit service will roll all the fees and the service fees into one invoice that can often go directly to the permit service. 

The cost for a service like this is going to vary from company to company so you will need to talk to a couple permit services to determine which one you want to use. If you are considering hauling over-size loads, find a permit company early in the process so when it comes time to move the first load, you only need to make a call to get the permits in place.