New virtual weigh stations worth a try

Our View

New virtual weigh stations worth a try

Living next to two of the busiest interstate highway systems in the country and attempting to share our roads and highways with the enormous number of tractor-trailer trucks on a daily basis makes us totally aware of the problems they cause.

As motorists and being sandwiched between two tractor- trailer trucks at speeds of well over 50 miles-perhour in an attempt to navigate our way in Crittenden County can definitely be a challenge.

Policing these big rigs is also a daily challenge for the Arkansas authorities, especially dealing with the common problem of catching drivers of these rigs who are overweight and trying to evade checks on their loads.

This cat-and-mouse game exists not only in Arkansas but on highways across the country where long-distance truckers often are suspected of taking detours to bypass weigh stations.

Those of us who live in high truck volume areas such as Crittenden County regularly see big rigs traveling on local roads that are off the beaten path.

We have seen over time a big increase in the number of tractor-trailer trucks now using Highway 64, particularly Walmart trucks, and have also noticed how officers with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department have become more visible.

For years highway police have used portable scales and spot-checks on these alternate routes to nab drivers trying to evade checks on their loads as well as their driver’s log.

This particular method has had mixed results and are considered low-tech and man-hour-intentsive.

Well, things are about to become more interesting especially for big rig drivers traveling Highway 64.

We’re now told the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department received bids recently on its first “virtual weigh station,” an unmanned set of computerized scales and cameras that can capture a range of information on big rigs and feed it to nearly patrol officers in an instant.

The department opened a low bid of $904,515 from Township Builders Inc. of Arkansas to install the virtual weigh station. The money comes from a grant the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration awarded the department.

Experts are saying this has the potential to fundamentally change the way truck size and weight standards and regulations are enforced in not only Arkansas but also throughout the country.

The positive aspect of all this is the fact the trucking industry has no problem with the technology. The virtual weigh station works through plates that will be installed under the eastbound lanes of U.S. 64. We’re told the department has no immediate plans to install the virtual weigh stations anywhere else in Arkansas.

We applaud state officials for being progressive enough to make every possible effort in keeping our highways safe and are particularly pleased to know that the very first such devise will be placed in an area familiar to us.

It will certainly be interested to see just how effective it is in catching operators of these big rigs violating the law.