Improve the effectiveness of commercial motor vehicle enforcement officers by integrating the function of roadside electronic screening systems with consolidated vehicle and driver safety compliance databases.

Evaluation results and recommendations for Michigan commercial vehicle enforcement strategies and facilities

Date Posted
05/24/2017
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Identifier
2017-L00767

Evaluating Michigan Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Strategies and Facilities

Summary Information

In Michigan, weigh station practices and commercial motor vehicle enforcement strategies were investigated based on lessons learned from other states and Canada. Site visits of existing Michigan commercial motor vehicle enforcement sites and a review of current and past reports by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Michigan State Police (MSP) revealed that existing facilities and operations could be improved. The outcome of the investigation provided recommendations to MDOT and MSP to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the state’s commercial motor vehicle enforcement activities.

Lessons Learned

Consider implementation of systems that integrate enforcement technologies and consolidate data to enable electronic identification and verification of safety compliance of commercial vehicles. This has the potential to improve efficiency by ensuring that officers focus their inspection resources on those vehicles, carriers and drivers most likely to present a significant safety risk. Fixed and mobile systems should be considered for implementation.



Periodically review commercial vehicle traffic and routes to see where mobile weight enforcement should be applied. The decision to maintain a given enforcement site should be based on potential violation rate and coverage.



Use mobile screening as a supplemental strategy focusing on potential bypass routes with higher potential violation rates. This strategy, supplemented with mobile systems of integrated technologies and data consolidation, have the potential to provide the necessary deterrence on routes unsuitable for fixed weigh station (e.g., those locations with higher violation rates, but commercial vehicle average daily traffic (CADT) less than 2,200).



Implementation of enhanced enforcement technologies were expected to minimize the number of overweight trucks on Michigan’s roadways and reduce costly pavement damage with little additional cost to the trucking industry.