Office of the Governor
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, November 27, 2001
For More Information: Bob Mercer or Mike Mueller, 773-3212

Truckers Face Penalties Totaling More Than $39,000 For Hauling Grossly Overweight Loads On South Dakota Highways

(Pierre) -- Five times in the past eight weeks, the state Highway Patrol has found trucks hauling grossly overweight loads on South Dakota highways.

Together, the truckers face penalties exceeding $39,000. Two of the truckers face fines and costs of more than $10,000 apiece.

The latest incident was Nov. 20, when the Highway Patrol on U.S. 14 in Pennington County near the Ellsworth Air Force Base commercial gate noticed a truck hauling dirt with the lift axle in the up position on the trailer. The truck, driven by Anthony Phipps of Hot Springs and registered to Harris Jess of Hot Springs, was found to be 13,550 pounds overweight. The total fine and costs were set at $10,298.50.

On Oct. 31, the Highway Patrol stopped a truck that appeared to be heavily loaded on S.D. 28 near Willow Lake. The truck, loaded with corn, was found to be 10,000 pounds overweight. Because the truck was traveling 55 m.p.h., the load didn’t qualify for the 10 percent overweight allowance on loads from the field. (The highway speed limit to qualify for the allowance is 50 m.p.h.) The truck was driven by Kenneth Lusk of Willow Lake and registered to Gary Wiseman of Willow Lake. The fine and costs were set at $3,886.

On Oct. 25, the Highway Patrol at a roadside inspection site on U.S. 18 in Fall River County noticed the tires squatting on a truck hauling hay. The truck, driven by Wylie McGuire of Lance Creek, Wyoming, and registered to McGuire Livestock of Lance Creek, Wyoming, was found to be 12,750 pounds overweight. The fine and costs were set at $4,917.25.

On Oct. 8, the Highway Patrol stopped a self-propelled crane on U.S. 212 at Watertown. The crane, driven by Daniel Hill of Watertown and registered to Gray Construction of Watertown, was found to be 16,750 pounds overweight. The fine and costs were set at $12,698.50.

On Sept. 24, the Highway Patrol stopped a truck hauling soybeans on S.D. 115 between Harrisburg and Canton. The truck, driven by Rodney Miles of Lennox and registered to Steve Euger of Sioux Falls, was found to be 10,100 pounds overweight. The fine and costs were set at $7,711.

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