Trucks Pack on Illegal Pounds

More American truckers are carrying illegally heavy loads, looking to offset diminished manpower and skyrocketing fuel prices—and light fines encourage cheating, the Christian Science Monitor reports. With road damage at issue following August's Minnesota bridge collapse, 30% of trucks are reportedly overloaded—and each of the 8 million tractor-trailers on US roads has the impact of 5,000 cars.

But the heat might not be on its way: Overloading drivers are willing to risk getting caught—sometimes dodging weigh stations altogether—because fines are lenient. "What we're experiencing is that [trucking companies and drivers] are consciously making a decision to run heavier and taking the risk of being caught instead of paying extra manpower costs or buying additional vehicles," one policeman said. (More roadways stories.)