I drive I-95 every day, and in the last week, I saw two odd things - both involving wide loads:
First, I saw a wide load pulled off to wait in line at a weight station. But as I passed him, I soon discovered his front escort kept on going! It was like Sponge Bob was driving or something! Not a care in the world…is this the norm?
Second, I passed a wide load where the front escort was a good mile or more ahead of the truck! Literally, the truck was nowhere to be seen! What purpose does that serve? The only thing I should add was about another mile ahead was a second wide load for the same trucking company, but it had its own rear escort. Was the “front man” for the 2nd truck doing the right thing? - Jinx
Right. Once you pass a wide-load escort vehicle in the opposite lane you are presumeably on alert for the appearance of the wide load and can avoid it.
However, I do think the front escort continuing blithely down the road when the load stops at a weigh station is a little odd.
I have seen these escorts that have tall poles that stick up to the height of the load. In this case the lead vehicle needs to far enough in front of the load that the truck hauling the load can either stop or take the previous exit so they can go around a low bridge.
I knew a guy that had a 50 foot boat trailered from Portland to Seattle for some repair work. At several places on the highway, the truck had to take an offramp and detour around a low bridge.
With cell phone and radios, the lead truck does not have to with in sight to preform its job.
When I first saw this thread, I thought it was going to be about an escort service specializing in large bottomed ladies. No kidding, that’s what came to mind!
Was it an edge-of-state weigh station ? Sometimes the pilot car company or contract switches between states. And for lot’s of purposes the weigh station at the near the border of the state counts as out-of-the-state, so his job may have been simply been done and, and the rig will pick up a different escort at the border, or the next state weigh station a mile or two down the road across the border.
