What's the point of truck weigh stations?

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
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I find it curious how the laws on construction and use of trucks differs between Europe and the USA. For example:

The normal weight limit for an articulated lorry (semi) here is 44 tonnes (best part of 100,000lbs), while in the USA it is 80,000lbs (36¼ tonnes) To mitigate damage to the infrastructure, EU trucks must have six axles and air suspension to carry the maximum.

In the EU a lorry is limited to 18.75 metres overall (which is why all the cabs are as short as possible) while the USA allows the trailer to be 14.63 metres, but with no rule about the overall length.

Of course, on both sides of the Atlantic, the rules are vastly more complex than this. There are variations between states in the US, and countries in the EU, and loads of exemptions for special cases.

We have dynamic weighing on motorways (freeways) and they can trigger a sign telling an individual truck to pull over into a weigh station. They also have a ‘scoring’ system which targets hauliers with a bad rep.

The biggest problem for drivers, is that shipping containers are often heavier than the paperwork says, and this is no defence. An experienced driver will know from the way a truck handles if it is likely to be heavy, and will get it weighed, and if necessary part unloaded, before setting off.

When it comes to the unusual - we have our share. This load weighed in at 640 tonnes gross and the haulier concerned operates from a yard near my house.

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We have signs that tell truck drivers to pull into a weigh station, or to bypass it. Not being a truck driver, I don’t know how widespread they are.

Seeing this thread again, reminds me of last Spring when a truck’s load smashed into a local bridge and caused the bridge to collapse. I crossed the bridge in the same direction about 30 - 45 minutes or so before the incident. Skagit River Bridge Collapse.

This was not a weight issue; it was a size issue. The truck had the necessary permits, and was lead by a pilot car. The overhead trusses were arched, and a corner of the load hit the lower, outboard, section of the arch(es). I noticed recently that the arches have all been squared off, so that the height is constant across the beam.