July 11th， according to Fast Technology， police on patrol discovered a yellow-plated truck suspected of exceeding its load capacity on June 23rd afternoon. The truck， registered in Hebei Province， was found to be equipped with an illegal “air suspension” device.
Upon inspection， officers found that the driver could activate a hidden mechanism from the cabin， which would lower auxiliary wheels， or “air wheels，” beneath the chassis. This system is designed to lift the primary axles off the ground when approaching a weighbridge.
The tactic exploits the method by which weigh stations operate. For long vehicles like semi-trailer trucks， a rolling weigh-in is typically used， where only the wheels passing over the scales are registered. By deploying the “air wheels” outside the weighbridge area， the truck effectively reduces the weight registered on the scales， thereby circumventing overload detection and reducing toll fees， which are often based on weight.
The driver， identified as Mr. Sun， admitted to illegally installing the device to evade weight checks. Subsequent testing revealed the truck was declared to carry a maximum of 36 tons but was actually loaded with 89 tons， an staggering overload of 147%.
In response to this serious violation， the police imposed a fine of 1500 Yuan and a deduction of 6 demerit points from the driver’s license. The “air wheel” device has since been removed from the truck， and the vehicle has been handed over to the Zhuozhou Transportation Management Station for further action regarding the illegal modification.
It is worth noting that “air wheels” are not the sole method employed by some drivers to cheat weight regulations. Another common technique is “jumping the scale.” This involves the driver aggressively accelerating or decelerating the vehicle as it passes over the weighbridge. The sudden change in momentum， utilizing principles of inertia， is intended to shift the vehicle’s center of gravity and create an illusion of reduced weight.
