DALLAS – Kansas, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, Virginia and Utah are now piloting expedited in-station e-Inspections at select weigh stations using Drivewyze, operator of the largest public-private weigh station bypass network in North America.
Brian Heath, president and CEO of Drivewyze, said there is unprecedented interest from both state agencies and trucking fleets wanting to participate in the modernization of roadside inspections.
The program is currently operating in a phase one deployment that expedites CSA-crediting Level III inspections in station.
Drivewyze will deliver more information on phase two of the program that builds toward a vision of an in-motion Level VIII inspection in the coming months.
Phase one is already delivering material benefits to participating agencies and fleets and is a solid step forward in Drivewyze’s goal to revolutionize roadside inspections.
Heath said e-Inspection is dramatically reducing the time it takes to conduct traditional Level III inspections through automation, as it eliminates unnecessary manual data entry and duplication in traditional inspection processes.
“Traditionally, officers need to screen carrier and driver data against multiple back-office systems, each requiring a different login and manual data entry,” Heath said. “The process is time-consuming for officers as they juggle access and data entry into multiple federal and state systems. Credentials are often entered multiple times into unintegrated systems, which wastes time; and officers are only human, so it’s natural that errors occur in the process.”
With e-Inspection, carrier and driver credentials, as well as HOS data, are transferred wirelessly from the Drivewyze platform, which is embedded in the vehicle’s onboard Electronic Logging Device. Officers don’t need to collect this information manually, nor do they need to manually enter the information into multiple screening and inspection systems.
“E-Inspection streamlines the officer’s workload by automatically entering, screening, and pre-populating inspection forms, allowing officers to focus on compliance,” Heath said. “This dramatically reduces the time and errors that can happen with traditional roadside inspections.”
Heath said drivers also have pain points with errors and inefficiencies in traditional inspections.
“One example is HOS data transfers which require a specific set of processes unique to each ELD platform,” Heath said. “Drivers, who are often already nervous at being pulled over, can make mistakes with unpracticed HOS file transfers, waste time resolving manual data entry or process errors, or worse, receive unnecessary violations for non-compliance when transfer issues are not resolved. E-Inspection automation eliminates errors, reduces driver stress, curtails needless violations and recoups almost 30 minutes of drive time per inspection.”
Carriers participating in e-Inspections are seeing immediate benefits.
“E-Inspection is a win–win for law enforcement and industry,” said Daniel Patterson, director of safety at Western Express. “It’s more efficient for the driver and helps eliminate data entry mistakes by both the trooper and driver.”
“Fleets benefit from e-Inspection because of reduced operating costs, improved drive time, improved driver satisfaction and reduced data Qs,” Heath said. “We’ve seen e-Inspections reduce the time for a ‘clean’ Level III inspection from close to 30 minutes, sometimes more, to only a few minutes.”
Any fleets subscribed to Drivewyze PreClear weigh station bypass service can request to participate in the e-Inspection pilot project. Drivewyze’s ELD partners are continuing with software updates so fleets can opt-in to this option. Currently, fleets using Platform Science and Geotab platforms can access and utilize e-Inspections, and Trimble support is currently in development.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
