Six States Now Allowing Weigh Station e-Inspections through Drivewyze

With e-Inspection, carrier and driver credentials, as well as HOS data, are transferred wirelessly from the Drivewyze platform

Momentum is growing across the country with electronic inspections (e-Inspections) at weigh stations. That’s the word from Drivewyze, the leader in connected truck services and operator of the largest public-private weigh station bypass network in North America.

Kansas, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Utah are now piloting expedited in-station e-Inspections at select weigh stations. According to Brian Heath, President and CEO of Drivewyze, 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.     

According to Heath, 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,” said Heath. “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 (ELD). 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,” explained Heath. “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. 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.” 

Carries 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,” added Heath. “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. 

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