Commercial Vehicle Services - Electronic screening
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Electronic screening
Source: WSDOT Commercial Vehicle Services Office
Note: A truck's transponder or license plate is read each time it nears an open weigh station. WSDOT assumes five minutes, 0.55 gallons of fuel and $8.68 in operating costs saved per bypass, based on a 2007 report. Based on these assumptions, each bypass provided an average economic benefit of $10.08 in 2020 and $10.49 in 2021.
WSDOT's electronic screening assesses commercial vehicles in motion
WSDOT's electronic screening system uses technology along state highways to examine commercial vehicles for violations while they are in motion. This helps the Washington State Patrol target their enforcement efforts on high-risk carriers.
Limiting the number of vehicles pulling into weigh stations to primarily high-risk carriers increases the likelihood of WSP locating vehicles that need to be removed from service. It also saves both time and money for safe and legal carriers who are required to stop less frequently.
Performance analysis
2022
Weigh station e-screening provides $35.2 million in economic benefit in 2022
Weigh station bypasses created $35.2 million in economic benefit in 2022 by helping commercial vehicle drivers avoid an estimated 230,000 hours of travel time and an estimated 1.7 million gallons of diesel fuel. On average, each bypass saved freight carriers five minutes and approximately $11.42 in operating and fuel costs by allowing truck drivers to keep traveling at highway speeds instead of pulling off the highway to stop at weigh stations. The amount of diesel saved helped reduce carbon dioxide emissions statewide by approximately 38.1 million pounds in 2022.
WSDOT's electronic screening system processed over 5.8 million commercial trucks and directed those equipped with a transponder or identified by license plate to bypass open weigh stations over 3.1 million times in 2022. This was about 12% more than the 2.7 million green lights given in 2021.
2021
Weigh station e-screening provides $28.9 million in economic benefit in 2021
Weigh station bypasses created $28.9 million in economic benefit in 2021 by helping commercial vehicle drivers avoid an estimated 230,000 hours of travel time and an estimated 1.5 million gallons of diesel fuel. On average, each bypass saved freight carriers five minutes and approximately $10.49 in operating and fuel costs by allowing truck drivers to keep traveling at highway speeds instead of pulling off the highway to stop at weigh stations. The amount of diesel saved cut carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 34.1 million pounds in 2021.
WSDOT's Electronic Screening System screened over 5.5 million commercial trucks and directed commercial trucks equipped with a transponder or identified by license plate to bypass open weigh stations over 2.7 million times in 2021. This was about 5% more than the 2.6 million green lights given in 2020.
2020
Weigh station bypasses provide approximately $24.7 million in economic benefit in 2020
Weigh station bypasses created roughly $24.7 million in economic benefits in 2020 by saving an estimated 204,000 hours of travel time and an estimated 1.3 million gallons of diesel fuel. On average, each bypass saved freight carriers five minutes and $10.08 in operating and fuel costs by allowing truck drivers to keep traveling at highway speeds instead of pulling off the highway to stop at weigh stations. The amount of diesel saved cut carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 30.2 million pounds in 2020.
WSDOT's Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks program gave commercial trucks equipped with transponders the green light to bypass open weigh stations over 2.4 million times in 2020. This was about 33% more than the 1.8 million green lights given in 2019.
2019
Weigh station bypasses provide approximately $19 million in economic benefit in 2019
Weigh station bypasses (green lights) created roughly $19 million in economic benefit in 2019 by saving an estimated 153,000 hours of travel time and anestimated one million gallons of diesel fuel. On average, each green light/bypass saved carriers five minutes and $10.36 in operating and fuel costs. The reduced diesel usage from the bypasses cut carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 22.7 million pounds in 2019.
WSDOT's Innovative Technology Deployment program gave commercial trucks equipped with transponders the green light to bypass open weigh stations approximately 1.8 million times in 2019. This was about 9% fewer than the two million green lights given in 2018.
2018
WSDOT helps trucking industry save time and money while reducing pollution
Weigh station bypasses (green lights) created roughly $20.1 million in economic benefit in 2018 by saving an estimated 168,000 hours of travel time and an estimated 808,000 gallons of diesel fuel. The reduced diesel usage cut carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 18.1 million pounds. WSDOT gave commercial trucks equipped with Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) transponders the green light to bypass open weigh stations 2.02 million times in 2018. This was 101% more than the 1.01 million green lights given in 2017. The primary reasons for the increase were:
- The number of green lights in 2017 was lower than usual because four of the 11 weigh stations statewide that provide electronic screening were temporarily closed in 2017, while only one weigh station was closed in 2018; and
- The total number registered transponders increased to 223,306 commercial vehicles in 2018, up 101% from 111,111 vehicles in 2017. This was due to allowing transponders from additional states or provinces to be registered for use in Washington in 2018. This change outweighed a 26% drop to WSDOT transponder sales, which decreased from 5,944 sold in 2017 to 4,411 sold in 2018.
WSDOT calculates economic benefits using industry standards of five minutes avoided travel time and 0.4 gallons of fuel saved for each bypass. The economic benefit in 2018 was $9.95 per bypass, up from $9.74 in 2017 due to higher average diesel fuel cost. Commercial trucks must be equipipped with a Washington-registered transponder to bypass weigh stations.