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Please Explain Bridge Law??

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Citori_cx

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Why is the 41 foot max such a crucial number?? Seems axles sets spaced further apart stress a bridge less than super close together? If you lay down on ice you are less likely to fa through it than standing up. How does the science fall apart if your tandems are 42 feet past the kingpin??
 
Citori_cx said:
Why is the 41 foot max such a crucial number?? Seems axles sets spaced further apart stress a bridge less than super close together? If you lay down on ice you are less likely to fa through it than standing up. How does the science fall apart if your tandems are 42 feet past the kingpin??
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Hah! You are probing the murky depths of the minds of civil engineers for "reason" and "clarity".......Good Luck! ....and bring a shovel, hip boots, and a strong lantern......

I presume you're talking about the inner bridge limit of 41 feet of axle center to axle center. I think that's what it is....It's been a while since I hauled steel,, and had to think about such things.
And here in Pennsylvania,.....it's an arcane science....with inner and outer bridge limits, spread axles, and tri-axles......

I Think the reasoning is because the further you stretch the axles out.......the more weight is stressed on the individual axle......not the grouping....
Whereas.......if you keep the axles grouped, the individual stress on each axle is less.....but the overall gross weight allowable for that group is less.

This is why spread axle flats can legally put 20,000 per rear axle....if the inner bridge is short........but if the axles are a "group"..(tandems).......you can only put 34,000 on it....You gain an extra 6,000 in Gross Axle Weight with a spread.
Tri-axles in Pennsylvania are GVW'ed to 73,280.......even though all the axle groupings are close together.

Bridge laws vary from state to state......and sometimes change without warning......depending on which businesses have lobbied the State Legislature to benefit their particular need at that moment.....

And I'll bet you thought it was about Safety........Hah!
 
Citori_cx said:
Why is the 41 foot max such a crucial number?? Seems axles sets spaced further apart stress a bridge less than super close together? If you lay down on ice you are less likely to fa through it than standing up. How does the science fall apart if your tandems are 42 feet past the kingpin??
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There is no explaining bridge laws, as every DMV officer has a different explanation of it.
 
canaryinthemine said:
Ahhh,.....But like what Bro. Othertrucker said......the "street" interpretation will vary wildly,....especially if there's a....fine involved.
Thank you for posting that.......I believe, except for some of the exclusions, it's similar to Pennsylvania's.
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Some of the street interpretations are based on many ,assuming, they know what the law actually reads.
 
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