ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Truck Driver Tickets & Fines

Updated on December 27, 2010

If You Thought CDL School Was Expensive, How About a $3000 Traffic Ticket?

If you are ever driving a big-rig through Rhode Island, then you need to know about the Pawtucket River Bridge. You've probably heard of it. I'm sure I did. But with all the information people throw at you through school and orientation at a new company, it's easy to glaze over, or forget even the stuff you heard.

I sure didn't remember anything about it until after the fact.

I was near Boston delivering a meat load on a weekend. Once we finally got the trailer unloaded I checked it out to see how dirty it was. It looked like they had slaughtered the animals right in the trailer! But on a Saturday afternoon in the Boston area, there aren't a lot of places to wash out a trailer.

My dispatcher sent me down to Rhode Island to get the trailer washed out. It was a straight shot down I-95 and I'd asked my student to call for directions. What he gave me was a little garbled and there was something about avoiding a bridge. The problem was, by the time I head the directions, it sounded like there was a bridge that was under construction, and possibly impassible.

Not wanting to waste my time on a detour that would only have me stuck on a bridge that I coiuldn't cross, I stuck to the main highway.

I never saw the signs. (Which is wierd, because I usually do see the no truck signs when I'm driving.)

After I crossed the bridge I got pulled over and the officer asked me about those signs I didn't see. He asked my student why he didn't see the signs.

Then he told us it was a $3000 fine for driving across that bridge!

Even as a trainer, $3000 is two week's pay for me, and a lot of solo drivers don't make quite that much in a month. That's a huge fine!!

But then you have to remember the I-35 bridge in Minnesota. I've driven over that one too, and luckily not on the day it collapsed.

 

I-35 Bridge Collapse

How Could I Miss the Signs?

Nobody is perfect, and I'm not really even a candidate. 

One thing I know about that day is that I was distracted.  I had a student driver on the truck with me and he was asking questions as we were driving.  Answering those questions is part of the training, which I took very seriously.  I may have turned my head to look at him right as we were passing the sign.

One way to help fix this would be multiple signs, and spaced well ahead of the recommended detour.  A sign right before an exit can be a problem even if the driver sees it, as they may need time to change lanes and exit safely.

Another problem is that I had never driven through Rhode Island before.  Not having been in the state I didn't know about the bridge to begin with.  But there are also small variations from state to state in the colors, sizes, and shapes of the road signs they use.  When you are new in a state (or country if you ever get sent up to Canada) the odd looking signs can be confusing at first. 

Signs are important.

And ordinary signs may be more useful than big flashy, off-colored signs. You train yourself to notice certain signs because of their standard size, shape, and color. Unusual signs can actually get screened out as irrelevant (just like a lot of billboards) when you are driving.

Still, I for one won't be driving over that stretch of I-95 in a big rig again until they get that bridge fixed, if ever.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)