Variation in truck restriction signage

[hotdogPi]

I've seen a lot of different truck restriction signage in Massachusetts on Google Street View as a side effect of my internship.

No trucks pictogram: No trucks allowed, but how exactly is a truck defined?
Weight limit 2½ tons: Pretty straightforward.
No commercial vehicles over 2½ tons: you're fine if it's not a commercial vehicle.
No commercial vehicles 2½ tons or over: If your vehicle is exactly 2½ tons, pay attention to the exact wording of the sign.
No trucks over 2½ ton capacity: So if you have an empty truck that can hold 20 tons, but currently weighs less than 2½ tons, it's not allowed.
Commercial vehicles over 2½ tons restricted: Is this a complete prohibition or just a very strong suggestion?

I think there are also a few signs that allow commercial non-trucks over the intended weight limit.

Then you have "except deliveries", "11 PM - 7 AM", buses also excluded, and other modifications, but those are much more straightforward.

I've seen multiple types of signs for the same road. If they differ in meaning, how do you know which one applies?

Another question: The weight limit for a particular road segment is 2½ tons. Two 2-ton vehicles are on the road at the same time, one in each direction. Are roads (and bridges) typically built to handle this?

[kphoger]

No trucks pictogram: No trucks allowed, but how exactly is a truck defined?

By statute.

[hbelkins]

Not quite what you're looking for, but on three-lane interstates, Kentucky signs the left lane restriction as "Trucks Use Right 2 Lanes."

West Virginia is more direct, and the wording is better: "No Trucks Left Lane."

[michravera]

I've seen a lot of different truck restriction signage in Massachusetts on Google Street View as a side effect of my internship.

No trucks pictogram: No trucks allowed, but how exactly is a truck defined?
Weight limit 2½ tons: Pretty straightforward.
No commercial vehicles over 2½ tons: you're fine if it's not a commercial vehicle.
No commercial vehicles 2½ tons or over: If your vehicle is exactly 2½ tons, pay attention to the exact wording of the sign.
No trucks over 2½ ton capacity: So if you have an empty truck that can hold 20 tons, but currently weighs less than 2½ tons, it's not allowed.
Commercial vehicles over 2½ tons restricted: Is this a complete prohibition or just a very strong suggestion?

I think there are also a few signs that allow commercial non-trucks over the intended weight limit.

Then you have "except deliveries", "11 PM - 7 AM", buses also excluded, and other modifications, but those are much more straightforward.

I've seen multiple types of signs for the same road. If they differ in meaning, how do you know which one applies?

Another question: The weight limit for a particular road segment is 2½ tons. Two 2-ton vehicles are on the road at the same time, one in each direction. Are roads (and bridges) typically built to handle this?

As long as the two trucks aren't on top of each other, it's DESIGNED to be OK. A road with a 2.5 ton weight limit is designed to handle trucks parked bumper-to-bumper and side-by-side. Low weight limits (such as 2.5 or the 3 ton limit more common in California) are usually designed to be about noise and commercial activity than about design issues on the road.

[1995hoo]

When you mention weight limit signs, this one always comes to mind for me because I've passed it so frequently over the years. During high school I worked at a building a short distance east of this sign and I always passed it on my way to work. When I was a kid, these same signs were posted on the classic Virginia white wooden posts, but those days are long gone. (If you look at the old Street View images here, you can see in 2011 there was a wooden post, though not painted white, and by the time of the 2012 image it had been replaced with a metal pole.)

https://goo.gl/maps/jMdoKgCixRk8qeXMA