In its first month issuing oversize and overweight permits, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles set a record for the number of permits issued, TxDMV announced Monday, Feb. 27. TxDMV issued 58,514 permits in January, outpacing the previous high of 57,139 that was set in August 2011 when oversize and overweight permits still was part of the Texas Department of Transportation. The state legislature moved the permitting process to TxDMV on Jan. 1.
Since Sept. 1, the start of the state’s fiscal year, more than 325,000 oversize and overweight permits were issued, an increase of 20 percent from the same time period the previous year. If the permitting trend continues, the TxDMV could issue 700,000 permits this fiscal year, an all-time high for Texas. The record year for oversize and overweight permits prior to the recession was 2008 when 580,415 permits were issued. Activity slumped beginning in 2009 before bottoming out in 2010 with only 500,522 permits issued.
Truck loads more than 80,000 pounds, 14 feet high or 8½ feet wide require an oversize or overweight permit. The Texas Permitting and Routing Optimization System (TxPROS) that launched in August allows oversize and overweight haulers to secure their permits online 24/7 along with a route – if needed – that is safe for their load. TxDMV said the system is the first of its kind in the country and is easy enough to use so that more than 60 percent of permits are being self-issued by customers through TxPROS.
