I learned something new last week about states that don't participate in the SSR program (Single State Registeration Program). Oregon, does not recognise International Registeration (IRP) or IFTA. You have to have them but they don't do much good other than save you from additional fines.
I passed through the Port of Entry from Idaho to Oregon at Ontario, Oregon and was passed through. Later at a weigh station in Pendelton, Oregon I was stopped and asked for my Oregon permit. I showed IFTA and IRP certificates and was told that was not what they were looking for.
After a few minutes of discussion, I was informed that I was getting a $425 citation for not having a trip permit. I also had to buy a trip permit. The permit was $36.
Apparently, Oregon likes to collect their road tax up front because truckers are too dishonest to file quarterly fuel tax reports. They like to collect it up front. If you are passing through the tax is .20 cents per mile, dropping off it is around .13 cents per mile. Or, you can file a $2,000 bond and file monthly mileage reports. Bandits are alive and well in Oregon.
The weigh master took up 2 hours of my time including me having to call a 24 hour hotline to get a permit faxed to the truck stop at the bottom of the hill. I wonder how much it costs the state to man that service 24/7???
A few days later I called the court house and discussed the ticket with a clerk. Apparently, this little dramma plays out many times a day with unsuspecting drivers being the bad guys.
The clerk forgave the ticket because I purchased the permit immediately. She asked how they, the state, could prevent this in the future. The answer was obvious, "Join the rest of the world and do it the easy way."
Hopefully, someone will read this and be able to save themselves some time and aggrivation in the future.
There is so many useless regulations and procedures out there on the road....it's a wonder we have time to drive after all of the paper work is done.
