Trucks with Pre-Pass approval are close to getting the go-ahead to bypass weigh stations in eight states: Wisconsin, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Indiana, North Carolina, Michigan and Montana.
HELP Inc., a public-private company working with trucking enterprises and state safety organizations to improve highway safety, is the non-profit provider of PrePass. Partnerships with 31 states have resulted in bypass technology and equipment for weigh stations.
Newer equipment, including weigh-in-motion scales, has already been installed in Missouri and New Mexico. HELP will upgrade these weigh-in-motion scales in Montana and incorporate the scales as well as PrePass in Arkansas. Missouri will see advanced sensors and electrical networks for their scales to provide heightened accuracy.
According to HELP, these improvements offer carriers an advantage. If the scale displays gross and axle weights within appropriate limits, the driver can ditch the static scale at the weigh station.
HELP Inc. CEO Karen Rasmussen said these advancements come as the price of diesel fuel jumps nationwide. Yet safety has, and will remain, a top concern.
“Safe weigh station bypassing means significant fuel savings that flow directly to a carrier’s bottom line,” Rasmussen said. “Meanwhile, states have a primary responsibility to ensure those operating on their roads are safe.”
She said this allows drivers to function quickly with less stops or delays and officials to prioritize those fleets that do need extra scrutiny.
Along with these updates, HELP provides electronic toll payment with PrePass Plus to further streamline driver’s routes. And to assist with hours-of-service compliance, there’s PrePass ELD.
Across the U.S. almost 570,000 fleets take advantage of the PrePass weigh station bypass, including 44 new locations throughout Oregon and the NORPASS states (Alaska, British Columbia, Connecticut, Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Quebec, South Dakota, and Washington).
The new sites in the eight states are:
Indiana: Seymour NB I-65
Michigan: Grass Lake EB and WB I-94, and Pontiac SB I-75
Montana: Ramsay EB I-90
North Carolina: Charlotte SB I-85, Gaston County NB I-85 and Mt. Airy NB I-77
New Mexico: Texico WB US60/70/84
Oklahoma: Love County NB I-35
