NCSL · • Enforcer brings efficiencies to the job of weighing and identifying trucks as they roll...

NCSLSurface Transportation

Reauthorization Working Group

Miller Nash Conference Room

34th Floor U.S. Bancorp Building

Friday, June 13, 2008

OregonOregonGreen LightGreen LightCVO ProjectCVO Project

OREGON DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONMOTOR CARRIER TRANSPORTATION BRANCH

OregonOregonGreen Light ProjectGreen Light ProjectMainline Preclearance Systems

Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) Scales Automated Vehicle Identification (AVI)

SystemsTransponders

Travel Advisory SystemsDownhill Speed Information SystemsRoad Weather Information Systems (RWIS)

Automatic Vehicle Automatic Vehicle IdentificationIdentification

Overheight Overheight detectordetector

WeighWeigh--InIn--Motion Motion single load cells single load cells and axle sensorsand axle sensors

MainlineMainline PreclearancePreclearanceOregon Green Light System Checks:

Truck Size, Weight, HeightTransponder Signal to Identify Vehicle

Records Related to Registration, Tax, and Safety Inspections

LOAD CELL INSTALLATION

AXLE SENSOR INSTALLATION

LOOP DETECTORS COMPUTER

AVI / HEIGHT DETECTION

ODOT DESIGNED ODOT DESIGNED ROTATING POLEROTATING POLE

Mainline Preclearance

TranspondersDedicated Short-Range Communications

O R E G O NO R E G O NGREEN LIGHTGREEN LIGHT

Data once collected manually is now received automatically through WIM / AVI technology

location, date, timenumber of axles

axle weights, axle spacingvehicle length, total weight

transponder ID numbervehicle record numbervehicle lane of travel

vehicle speed

Green Light BenefitsGreen Light BenefitsBenefits of Participating in Green LightGreen Light:

Carriers Save TimeSave Time by Avoiding Unnecessary Stops

Carriers Save MoneySave Money: Improves Driver Retention & RecruitmentReduced Labor Costs Better Fuel EconomyLess Vehicle Wear and Tear from Pulling off and Reentering Weigh Stations

Enhances SafetyEnhances Safety by Bypassing Weigh Stations at Highway Speeds

Green Light BenefitsGreen Light BenefitsState Government — Where taxpayers demand efficiency and cost savings:

Mainline preclearance avoids cost of building bigger weigh stations

Data once collected manually is now received electronically, freeing employees

The WIM/AVI provides:Automated highway planning dataPavement management informationEffective deployment of regulatory staff

Green Light Success Story

• Now serving 4,100 companies with 40,900 transponder-equipped trucks.

• In 2006, weigh-in-motion and transponder systems at 22 weigh stations allowed trucks to avoid unnecessary stops a total of 1,353,591 times.

• Truckers saved $13,265,192 in operating costs, 112,800 hours of travel time.

• Green Light is on track to preclear its 8-millionth truck in April 2007.

Accomplishments

Weight Restrictions

Vertical Clearance

Horizontal Clearance

Technological Conceptsfor

Preserving Bridges and other Weight Sensitive Roadways

– Virtual Weigh Stations• Fixed sites (either existing or new)

– Photo WIM• Portable sites

Virtual Weigh Stations

– Virtual Weigh Stations use Weigh In Motion (WIM) technology with a video capture system to collect images of vehicles exceeding size and weight limits.

– The system can store data for post-processing, or can transmit images immediately of potentially violating trucks to remote locations or mobile enforcement units.

– Virtual Weigh Stations use permanently installed sensors at either new or existing WIM locations

Photo WIM Concept– Same concept as Virtual Weigh Stations, with

the exception that the sensors may be portable, and installed temporarily, for practical use at bridge locations and other weight sensitive roadways.

– Images captured of overloaded vehicles for post enforcement efforts or immediate transmission to remote locations or mobile enforcement units.• Possible Civil Penalties• Due Cause for Additional Audit/Inspection

Virtual Weigh Station(Communication Options)

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WIM WIM CabinetCabinet

Local NetworkLocal NetworkConnectionConnection

ModemModem

Internet

RF ModemRF Modem

To nearby weigh station To nearby weigh station (real time)(real time)

Download at a later timeDownload at a later time

Wireless Communication Wireless Communication (CDPD Modem)(CDPD Modem)

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Camera Camera systemsystem

Information may be sent to a fixed display system,such as a PC screen, or a portable, wireless devicesuch as a PDA.

Web Based Virtual WIMVehicle data for Real Time or Post Enforcementactivity can begathered either by:

• date

• vehicle record number

Web Based Virtual System

To review information for a specific truck,

simply click on the image

Web Based Virtual System

The Vehicle Detailscreen provides a time-stamped recordthat includes:

• axle configuration• axle spacing• overall length• individual axle weight• tandem/tridem weights• total GVW• vehicle speed• any associated warnings

• A potential cause of damage to Oregon bridges is over-laden trucks. In additionto being a tool for enforcement, a Virtual System may also be used to warn drivers directly .

• By combining Virtual WIMwith existing Green Lighttechnology, warning systemscan be designed to redirecttrucks that may exceed a bridges’ recommended weight capacity

Virtual SystemBridge Protection

OVER WEIGHTLOAD

WHEN LIGHTSFLASH

OVER WEIGHTLOAD

Assess the problem

From 2001 through 2006:

• Truck miles traveled increased 8%.

• Truck crashes increased 33% and the crash rate increased 23% — from 0.598 to 0.735 per million miles traveled.

• Truck-at-fault crashes increased 32% and the truck-at-fault crash rate increased 22% —from 0.323 to 0.394 per million miles traveled.

Truck-at-fault crashes have been increasing for several years.

Focus on the driverA 2006 crash causation study found that drivers of large trucks and other vehicles involved in truck crashes are 10 times more likely to be the cause of the crash than weather, road conditions, vehicle performance, and other factors.

Rally the partners

Law enforcement officers working under the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) are key to the effort to reduce truck-at-fault crashes. State Police troopers take the lead, but 55 other agencies have non-compensated agreements and 33 actively perform inspections and other enforcement work.

Help enforcement officers

Safety specialists and enforcement officers must have ready access to safety information to effectively do their job. Oregon has its own remarkable tools – Real Time, Enforcer, OSCAR.

ENFORCER• Enforcer brings efficiencies to the job of weighing and

identifying trucks as they roll through• weigh stations or get precleared by Green Light weigh-

in-motion systems. At static scales,• it allows motor carrier enforcement officers to quickly

enter license plate numbers and then• collect each truck’s weight information. The software

also automates the citation process• by allowing officers to enter weight- or vehicle-related

violation details on the computer screen• and print a copy of the citation to hand to the driver.

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ENFORCER software for recording weighings.

Real Time software• Real Time collects the details of all enforcement

activities and makes that available to inspectors• and enforcement officers anywhere in the state. With

Real Time, officers can call up records• of citations, warnings, and scale crossings (weigh station

event data) for any specific period of• time. They can query the database by truck license plate

number or carrier file/authority number.• Inspectors routinely use this software when verifying a

driver’s logbook.

Enforcement Data Collection

RealTime software for creating reports.

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Warnings and Citations can printed from ENFORCER based on information from weighing.

Automatically saved and uploaded to mainframe computer about every 4 hours .

Oregon Truck Parking IssuesOregon Truck Parking Issues

Why do so many truckers spend the night parked on highway on- and off-ramps?

What’s the problem?

What’s the solution?

A 1998 report by the FHWA identified a problem at public rest areas

A check of 1,487 public rest areas on Interstate highways in 48 states, and direct observation of usage on a 200-mile segment of I-81 from Virginia to Tennessee found:

• Of truck parking available on the segment of I-81, 20% of spaces were in public rest areas and 80% were in truck stops.

• During the day, half of the rest areas were full or overflowing. At night, 8 in 10 were full or overflowing.

1998 report also notes other issues

• Trucks often park on Interstate shoulders and ramps to avoid parallel parking spaces that some drivers say are difficult to use.

• Truck parking capacity at rest areas is reduced by recreational vehicles and cars parked in truckparking areas.

• Approximately 42% of the 1,487 rest areas have a time limit on truck parking, but only 1 in 10 of these facilities report that the limits are “always” enforced.

1998 report – rest area vs. truck stop

• “. . . truck drivers tend to use rest areas for their short-term parking needs, and truck stops for long-term parking needs.”

• “. . . accessibility to parking facilities had some influence on driver choice of a place to stop. Drivers who value accessibility tended to prefer public rest areas.”

• “. . . safety features were positive attributes in explaining capacity utilization of truck parking spaces, and a major reason why drivers prefer truck stops.

A 2000 study by the NTSB identified a problem and called for further study

• “. . . not enough adequate truck parking spaces are available to accommodate traffic patterns in certain locations.”

• “. . . the lack of available truck parking or the truck drivers not knowing where parking would be available can negatively impact safety.”

• “Some truck drivers . . . need to be made aware of all available parking, both in advance of and during trips.”

A 2002 study mandated by TEA-21 confirmed supply / demand issues

• A shortage of parking at public rest areas may exist in 35 States and a shortage of total parking may exist in 12 States.

• A driver survey found 23% of the demand for parking is at public rest areas, but only 10% of the supply is there ― 50% said parking is rarely or almost never available at rest areas.

• The estimated growth rate of truck parking spaces at public rest areas is below the estimated growth in demand for these spaces.

But in terms of inventory, the 2002 study found adequate parking supply

“. . . parking areas for trucks and buses along major roads and highways are more than adequate across the nation when both public and commercial parking facilities are factored in.”

A 2003 Transportation Research Board report summarizes state actions

State strategies for managingincreasing parking demand:

• Expanding or improving public rest areas

• Educating or informing drivers about available spaces

• Making better use of the private sector and private truck spaces

“. . . most parking supply is located in commercial truck parking lots and plazas, and the overcrowding problem concentrates in public rest areas.”

October 5, 2006 5:34 a.m. Interstate 5, Exit 278Flipper Transport truck parked on southbound on-ramp in heavy fog with no lights on or warning triangles posted.

October 5, 2006 6:25 a.m. Interstate 5, Exit 263Flame Transportation truck parked on north-bound freeway side of on-ramp, at Pilot Truck Stop exit, partially blocking view of traffic entering I-5, in heavy fog with no lights on or warning triangles posted.

Example project using ITS

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Users completed 98,572 transactions and records inquiries in the 1st quarter 2008

15,356 companies have signed up for Trucking Online, including 4,604 Oregon firms.

Records Inquiries

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2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Transactions

Tax Receipt Renewal Transactions by Renewal Year:

2004 – 1,3442005 – 28,1522006 – 75,9142007 – 116,3372008 – 133,077

QUESTIONS ?

Gregg Dal Ponte, AdministratorMotor Carrier Transportation DivisionOregon Department of Transportation503-378-6351Gregg.L.dalponte@odot.state.or.us