April 5, 2002--JEFFERSON CITY -- Motorists may soon see an unexpected sight – trucks driving right past Missouri weigh stations. An innovative public/private partnership approved today by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission will use the latest technology to allow commercial vehicles to bypass weigh stations, saving time and money and making roadway travel safer for everyone.
This new technology, called PrePass, is an electronic program that allows participating truck operators to be pre-screened as they approach weigh stations. Sensors at the weigh-station verify whether a truck driver has a satisfactory safety rating and is current on registration fees, fuel taxes and insurance. This information is passed along to a small transponder attached to the driver’s windshield. Truck drivers see a green or red light and hear a tone inside the cab telling them to pass or stop. It just takes a second, and assuming all is well, the drivers keep traveling, saving time and money.
“PrePass will help us handle truck traffic more efficiently,” says Kevin Keith, chief engineer of the Missouri Department of Transportation. “Besides keeping the public safer and ensuring our roads don’t suffer deterioration from improper weights, this technology will relieve traffic congestion around weigh stations by reducing the number of commercial vehicles that have to pull off the highway. Traffic on our highways can run more smoothly and safely.”
Currently in Missouri, vehicles must stop at every open station to weigh and provide information to ensure vehicle registrations are in order and the proper fees are paid. This takes drivers’ time and lost time can mean lost money.
The 19 weigh stations that will use PrePass monitor nearly all truck traffic entering the state, and were also selected because they receive the most traffic – typically more than 300,000 commercial vehicles each per year. Missouri weigh stations are owned and operated by MoDOT, and inspections are conducted by Highway Patrol officers. The new technology could be installed and working by the end of the year.
“Although not all states have fixed weigh stations, we have them on interstates and U.S. routes for safety reasons,” Keith says. “We can help ensure trucks aren’t going over set weight limits and meet all regulations.”
The motor-carrier industry will also benefit from carrier incentive programs to comply with safety regulations and credential requirements.
PrePass is operated by Heavy Vehicle Electronic License Plate (HELP), Inc., a non-profit partnership between motor carriers and government agencies that is funded from revenues generated from the services it offers to motor carriers. HELP will provide the state with computer hardware, transponder readers and database and technical support at no cost to the state. To recover the more than $10 million price tag, HELP charges motor carriers 99 cents each time they can bypass a weigh station, up to $3.96 per day. A green light incurs a charge only if the weigh station is open.
The PrePass system has been installed in 23 other states, including most of Missouri’s neighboring states. Nationally, about 190,000 trucks are registered to use PrePass.
The 19 locations will also have weigh scales installed on highway lanes enabling them to weigh the trucks as they pass. Weigh-In-Motion scales placed before the weigh stations allow PrePass-equipped trucks that are also within weight limits to proceed.
“Besides having safer traveling conditions and getting their goods quicker, taxpayers will also benefit because it will be easier for the state to identify the trucks that don’t comply with insurance, tax and weight standards,” Keith says. “This saves state time and resources because staff won’t have to manually check all trucks.”
Avoiding future rehabilitation costs for the weigh stations to extend entry and exit ramps, upgrade static scales and other replacement and rehabilitation could save Missouri an additional $40 million in future costs.