About Us
Conceived in 1983, Heavy Vehicle Electronic License Plate (HELP) pioneered the nation’s foremost intelligent vehicle-highway system (IVHS) initiative for commercial vehicle operators (CVO). The HELP program evolved through several phases including concept exploration, feasibility, project development and technical study.
The Crescent Project, the final phase of the HELP program, was intended to demonstrate the integrated technologies that today form the basis of PrePass: Automated Vehicle Identification (AVI), Automated Vehicle Classification (AVC) and Weigh-In-Motion (WIM).
With federal financial support from the U.S. Department of Transportation, HELP’s Crescent Project formally began in 1991 and involved six U.S. western states and one Canadian province which formed a geographic “crescent” from the Pacific Northwest to Texas.
Following the successful completion of the Crescent Project, state partners were eager to deploy the technology. However, at the time, federal funds were not available for deployment, leaving interested state parties without a means of utilizing the proven concepts.
As a result, HELP established a public-private partnership to raise funds to make the new technology available commercially. HELP, Inc. exists today as a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit partnership governed by a Board of Directors that is comprised of an equal number of state official and motor carrier directors.
The culmination of HELP, Inc’s efforts is PrePass – an intelligent transportation system that electronically verifies safety, credentials, and weight of commercial vehicles at participating state highway weigh stations, commercial vehicle inspection facilities and ports of entry. Installation of the basic PrePass equipment at many state inspection facilities is funded by HELP, Inc. and provided to states without the use of public funds. Motor carriers who voluntarily participate fund the system with monthly service charges.
HELP Inc. continues to explore new lines of service – such as PrePassPlus, GatePass, and AgPass – that satisfy their mission to deploy intelligent transportation systems that benefit the public, government, and motor carrier industry.
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