Leo stopped me

[attackone]

Hope everyone here had a great 4th. So I was driving my deuce on the garden state parkway on Sunday when what did I see in my mirrors, flashing red and blue lights(fire works began early). He told me that my truck exceeds the weight limits of the road. I have my truck registered as a antique. I thought that would make me exempt from the rules. I have seen pics of fellow SS members and their trucks on the garden state parkway. Do any NJ members know who is right. He did let me off with a warning at least. Help please before I try to drive on the road again.

 

[Katahdin]

From a NY Times article:

In New Jersey, the Garden State Parkway has different rules depending on where you are. There are no truck restrictions south of Exit 105 because trucks need to use the parkway to service the commercial needs of the area. North of the exit, vehicles with gross vehicle weight ratings (including passengers and cargo) more than 7,000 pounds are banned. But state troopers are unlikely to ticket a family Suburban, which can weigh about 8,500 pounds fully loaded, ''with soccer balls hanging in the rear,'' said Capt. Kevin Burke of the New Jersey State Police.

 

[rosco]

He was trying to be nice - don't try to pick a fight with him. He must think your not exempt and you can drive someplace else.

 

[attackone]

I have nothing against him but the laws are stupid. My suburban empty weighs in at 6800 plus if I tow my boat it weighs 6400 empty do the math. also they let the buses to Atlantic City run up and down, so what damage are they doing to the road. I did say he let me with just a warning, just trying to find out about the laws that's all

 

[frodobaggins]

It's the quantity of heavy trucks that would cause damage. That's why they have the rule. An exemption would be nice for larger antiques though. Maybe you could get a conversation going with the powers that be.

 

[attackone]

Good luck talking to the "powers that be" HERE IN THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF NEW JERSEY, here you are guilty until you are proven innocent.

 

[Capt.Marion]

Maybe you could get a conversation going with the powers that be.

You've obviously never been to New Jersey...


To the OP, I'd stay off of it. You're over the weight limits, plain and simple. And unlike Suburbans and crap, you LOOK the part, too, in a big ole truck. Kinda stinks, but, hey, beats a ticket. The parkway's purpose is to give passenger cars and passenger-bearing vehicles (buses, minivans, private vehicles, etc as opposed to tractor-trailers) a nice road to drive on apart from all the commercial traffic. That's why they don't ticket the suburbans, etc... Similar to the Taconic, except the TSP is nice enough to be simply commercial vs non-commercial.

 

[Flyingvan911]

My 8 passenger E-150 has a GVW of 8,600 and GCVW of 13,000. I wonder what they would do to me?

 

[emr]

The law is not stupid at all, they are there for a reason, and antique tags do not give U a right of way on the parkway above 105, now with that said, in the past i did it a few times and was very well prepared to play dumb, (it works for me sometimes) ...But i new then and i know now it is against the law, accept the fact he is right and just move along.I am sying this with all good intent, these trucks give no one a right of way anywhere anytime, we must abide by the rules, this is a cargo truck and your suburban is a passenger vehicle , truthfully I can not see at all how u think they are at all the same any way anyhow. all I am saying is understand U must follw the rules and no matter how u feel U should not have to....

 

[emr]

My 8 passenger E-150 has a GVW of 8,600 and GCVW of 13,000. I wonder what they would do to me?

This is easy , if it is registered as a passenger vehicle u are fine, as a vehicle like U describe can be driven in NJ in a carpool" situation and the driver needs NO CDL and NO special plates, that is why the parkway is there like correctly said above. Now if U put commercial plates on it U now become in the commerce area and are NOT alowed in these areas. simpl and understandable. because U have left the standard plate and basic passenger rules.... it really does make sense. I was wrong when i did it in my deuce but i was yunger then and thought I should get away with it, i did a few times, but i got a little more mature and realize the rules are there for a reason. When flying down the parkway at 65 a deuce is the last truck that should be on that very fast passenger road, but there are those who think when they do it its different, it is not, I say this with all respect and in general conversation.

 

[emr]

You've obviously never been to New Jersey...

Actually that is not true either, I have puttgether convoys on the parkway and thru the lincoln tunnel with our trucks, we were always given the OK by the state police on the parkway with no hesitation , and the lincoln tunnel port authority police offered a police escort and have been giving us one thru right to the parade line up in NYC for 7 years now, They are just like U and me,U are messing with there Job when one decides to do stuff with out getting an ok first, and even more so on a freeway like the crazy busy parkway,U got a brake he did not have to give U one He is in the right. I will also say If u do it again u are setting yourself up to be seen as a renagade with no respect for the law, actually that is what this is all about, Not respecting the law is bad for us all. I hope u can read this and understand where I am coming from, just good advise to follow, and a little more info on how it works... Good Luck...Randy

 

[BEASTMASTER]

the deuce was designed as a multi purpose vehicle. it can carry cargo, but the major use was for troop transport.

 

[nhdiesel]

Well being an armchair lawyer...lol...I'll toss out what I see. I don't have the actual law to go by, but if the quote from the newspaper article is correct, everything above 7000 gvw RATING is banned in certain areas. It says nothing about what it is registered as, what it actually weighs empty or with just a driver, or what kind of cargo it can carry. Look at the data plate on the vehicle, if the GVW is over 7k, stay off that section of road.

NH has some foolish laws with regard to the actual data plate weight. For example, the trailer you are towing (weight RATING, not actual weight) can not exceed the trailer rating of the vehicle pulling it. So you can't pull an empty 2k lb. trailer that is rated at 7000 gvw behind a truck rated for a 5000 lb. trailer.

You also can't get out of CDL or other requirements by registering a vehicle for less weight. My friend went through this when he registered a 12,600 gvw rollback truck for 9999 lbs. He was stopped and ticketed for not having a medical card, fire extinguisher, flares, etc. which are required for 10k+ vehicles. He was registered non commercial, and just used the truck to haul his small tractor (loaded weight under 10k lbs.) When my friend claimed the registered weight, the DOT officer opened the door and pointed to the data plate and told him that is all they go by.

Laws can be useless, biased, and meaningless...but if you violate them, you don't have a leg to stand on. This is coming from someone who has been on both sides of many-a-law in my earlier days.

Jim

 

[mikeroot2]

attackone. Your SUV weighs about 7000lbs. Your deuce about 14000lbs. They do not compare in any way. The deuce sticks out like a sore thumb. It begs for attention. Play it safe and stay off, he'll be looking for you next time. My opinion is that it is better to avoid a ticket then to fight and beat one.

nhdiesel. This armchair lawyer would call falsifying you GVWR to purposely skirt around the laws fraud

 

[nhdiesel]

Here the registered GVW is mainly for tax purposes. I don't see why if someone is willing to register a vehicle for less, and not load past the GVW, that they should have to pay for weight they are never going to use. But the law is the law. By the way, according to our law, the housewife who borrows her husband's pickup to run to Home Depot for some stuff for her garden needs a medical card, roads flares, and other items. But those vehicles are ignored, while the guy hauling his garden tractor gets busted. If laws are going to be enforced, enforce them equally. 99% of 1-ton pickup owners in this state have no idea about the laws regarding their trucks.

But by your definition, wouldn't it also be fraud to drive a 3/4 ton Suburban or van on a highway that they are banned from, and get away with it just because they look like the 1/2 ton version? Again, the law is the law.

Jim

 

[akonitony]

All the powers that be need is a few problems with civi-driven MVs to make them difficult or impossible to register. I would hope to never give them any ammunition. In the town where I live in Florida, High Springs that is, there is a law against using Jake brakes. Even though non of my trucks have one of these, I am very cautious when taking off from stoplights, etc so as to not make too much noise with the open exhaust. I plan to mod the exhaust soon, but then I buy another truck on GL before I get the muffler. Anyway, I would just be careful not to tee-off any authorities with a MV, otherwise it could be game over for our hobby.

 

[mikeroot2]

But by your definition, wouldn't it also be fraud to drive a 3/4 ton Suburban or van on a highway that they are banned from, and get away with it just because they look like the 1/2 ton version?

Jim

The laws are there because if they weren't the abuse would get out of hand. Sometimes people, including the DOT forget that.

I can only go 60 MPH in the right lane in Michigan in a commercial vehicle and the huge commercial buses fly by at over 70 in the left lane. NEVER seen one pulled over yet. They weigh 40,000lbs and have 30-60 people on them. My truck weighs 14,500lbs and has only the driver in it. You tell me what one would do more damage in an accident. I agree the laws should be enforced equally, but they NEVER will be.

I didn't say that I agree with the laws. I was just razzing you, one armchair lawyer to another. The prosecution rests, your witness.

 

[akonitony]

Legal's never been my scene. If you do try to get away with it and get pulled over, one possible excuse to tell the LEO might be you accidently got on before you realized it, and was just looking for the next exit.

 

[attackone]

First off I'm not mad the the police at all, I was trying to find out from fellow members if he was correct. This was the second time I drove on the parkway and now I know I cant so I won't. Like I said he just gave me a warning and that's that, Just because I own a deuce doesn't give me any special rights I know this. I said it before though the laws a funny, suburban+boat=13200lbs deuce=13000 whether i drive my suburban or my deuce I have the same responsibility on the road.

 

[tamangel]

from Wiki:

"Commercial trucks with a registered weight of over 7,000 pounds (3.18 tons) are not allowed to use the northern parts of the Parkway . All trucks must exit at exit 105, just past the Asbury Park Toll Plaza. From Tinton Falls to the southern end of the Parkway at Cape May, trucks are allowed, but must pay additional tolls. Buses are allowed for the entire length of the Parkway.[12] The "truck" ban includes all vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (the vehicle's maximum fully-loaded weight including fuel, passengers and cargo) over 7000 pounds, which encompasses dozens of large passenger vehicles, such as the Chevy Suburban, which can weigh in at 8,500 pounds, though in practice police do not ticket such vehicles."

Garden State Parkway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

although in this 2007 Newspaper article, it says:
"North of the exit, vehicles with gross vehicle weight ratings (including passengers and cargo) more than 7,000 pounds are banned. "

no differentiation for Commercial vehicles..

I like this comment:

"Trucks are banned north of exit 105. The "truck" ban includes all vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating over 7,000 lbs.
--No, "truck" stands for commercial. Troopers are not "ignoring" the rule. Just like expressway, "cars only, no trucks" again refering to commercial large trucks. Live here, breathe here, fortunate to have an anal long time NJ trooper as an in-law. "
from an RV site:RV.Net Open Roads Forum: IS The Garden State Parkway Really OK For MH's

NJ Vehicle Code definition for a commercial vehicle:
http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Commercial/Commercialvehicle.htm#11

sounds like it will be time for numerous 'teachable moments'...

Mike