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Automated Truck Screening to Increase at Kentucky Weigh Stations

Kentucky's Automated Truck Screening Project usage is about to almost double at interstate weigh stations.  There are currently five systems deployed at weigh stations throughout the state.  The technology allows for automated license plate readings that can be used to determine if a truck has delinquent taxes or regulation violations. 

State Division of Motor Carriers Assistant Director Brian Beaven says truck traffic in Kentucky and other parts of the eastern half of the U.S. is about to increase. "A lot of that to do with the widening of the Panama Canal for much larger containership," said Beaven. "They expect that to make a huge increase on the trucking traffic coming in from the eastern ports of the United States."

There are 14 truck weight stations across Kentucky.  Beaven says four additional automated truck screening systems are expected to be up and running by the end of the year.  "We can screen for safety issues.  For instance, a trucking company has a high driver or vehicle out of service rate, we can flag that to bring it to the officer's attention.  We also can screen for federal out of service orders," added Beaven.

Beaven says the automation system replaces workers who have to read numbers off moving trucks as they pull into the weigh station.