Commercial vehicles are the lifeline for many communities with respect to the transport of goods and services. Commercial vehicle weights and dimensions, credentials, and inspections are essential to ensure that the highways are made safer and the roadway infrastructure is protected from truck overload damage. ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) assists with these processes to improve safety, increase efficiency and productivity, reduce pavement damage, and decrease air pollution. This paper explains how ITS technologies are used in the Maritime Provinces to accomplish these objectives. This paper reviews operational systems in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. The ITS technologies include Weigh-In-Motion (WIM), License Plate Cameras (LPC), Side View Cameras (SVC), and tracking sensors. Mainline WIM Systems are examined in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and Virtual Weigh Stations (VWS) are discussed with respect to Newfoundland and Labrador. The Mainline WIM Systems screen commercial vehicles on the main highway and vehicles which exceed weight limits are directed into the Vehicle Compliance Stations for further weighing and checks. Vehicles are tracked by sensors and cameras to ensure that the vehicle operators are following instructions. In Newfoundland the VWS installation is used for long term monitoring and control of potential violators and to collect WIM data on commercial vehicles. The vehicles are weighed as they travel across WIM Sensors and images are captured by License Plate Cameras and Side View Cameras. For the covering abstract of this conference see ITRD number E220308.
Abstract