Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Anne Ferro viewed an Oct. 14 demonstration of new technologies expected to help state law enforcement do truck inspections.
The showcase was at the Roadside Technology Corridor on Interstate 81 in Tennessee’s Greene County.
One technology scheduled for demonstration was Wireless Roadside Inspection, which can be used at a fixed site or mobile vehicle. WRI can conduct up to 25 times more vehicle inspections annually than the current, in-person inspection process. Inspectors can obtain driver and carrier identity, vehicle condition and hours-of-service violations while the vehicle is traveling at highway speed.
The WRI program will complete the pilot testing phase in 2011.
Other projects scheduled for demonstrated were:
• Smart Infrared Inspection System, which detects brake, wheel and tire problems by comparing infrared thermal images of wheels when it enters a weigh station. It later will use software to read thermal images and alert law enforcement if an inspection is needed.
• Performance-Based Brake Tester, which provides an accurate assessment of a vehicle’s brake force and overall performance.
The corridor is located at operational weigh and inspection stations along I-81 and I-40 in Tennessee. The corridor project started in 2007 at the Greene County Commercial Vehicle Inspection Station, on southbound I-81. Another corridor location is at the scales on eastbound and westbound I-40 near Knoxville.
The FMCSA is conducting the testing with the Tennessee departments of Safety and Transportation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee.
