E-Inspection Demonstration Showcased Alternative Compliance Program

In a drive-by demonstration at the West Friendship Weigh Station and Inspection Site in Maryland, on June 17, industry stakeholders observed trucks and buses electronically communicating with weigh station systems as they approached the facility, without ever having to slow down. Critical safety data on both vehicle and driver, including driver ID, electronic logging information, and the weight of the vehicle, were shown communicating in real-time while the vehicles remained in motion – representing the first commercial application of its kind in the world.

Brian Heath, President of Burlingame, CA-based Drivewyze, Inc. said, "An ‘e-Inspection,’ as we call it, is the first commercial vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) solution for large trucks and buses to leverage GPS and telematics technologies to augment traditional roadside safety inspections."

According to Captain Norman Dofflemyer, Commander of the Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, state weigh and inspection sites are the front line in reviewing a carrier and driver’s safety profile through Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) scores. "If the carrier or driver has a solid safety record, and is not overweight (scales are at station sites), we can wave them through at the inspection site," he said. "If we see a borderline case, or poor CSA score, we may inspect driver information and logbooks, plus do a vehicle inspection.

"With all of the vehicles coming into the weigh station – and we see some intrastate delivery trucks three or four times per day – systems and inspections can get clogged. It’s inefficient. There is a better way to do this."

"(Our product) is a transparent, neutral platform that allows state agencies to reward safe truck and bus companies (as indicated by CSA scores), with bypass opportunities," said Heath. "Based on carrier, vehicle, and driver-level data, and a state’s bypass criteria, trucks are told to either bypass or report to the weigh station. Aside from a two percent random inspection, most fleets with high safety scores can enjoy bypass rates of up to 98 percent."

NAFA Fleet Management Association
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