Washington launches system to check compliance

The Washington State Patrol’s Commercial Vehicle Division is using a new tool to track trucker compliance.

Commercial vehicles passing WSP’s weigh-stations will be electronically screened for weight, size, registration and safety record to check to see how long the trucks have been on the road that day.

The Washington State Department of Transportation has installed automated cameras at 12 weigh stations and ports of entry that take a picture of the truck and license plate. WSP officers can check the time the truck crossed the locations and compare it to the truck driver’s logbook.

Over the past year, officers have determined that eight drivers involved in traffic accidents had falsified their logbooks, according to the WSP.

In August, officers using the new program at the Nisqually Truck Scale on Interstate 5 cited 98 drivers for serious logbook violations over four days.

 “The vast majority of the truck drivers on our roads are safe drivers and follow the rules,” said WSP Captain Darren Grondel, Commercial Vehicle Division Commander, in a news release. “But there are a few drivers out there who are irresponsible and this new computer program will help us get these drivers off the road by verifying logbook entries.”