Implementation and Effectiveness of Autonomous Enforcement of Overweight Trucks in an Urban Infrastructure Environment

Transportation agencies have been enforcing illegal overweight trucks at the weighing stations and by the Police enforcement units. It was found that only 8.6% of the actual overweight trucks are cited at the weight stations in New Jersey. Thus, current and traditional approaches for the enforcement of illegal overweight trucks are considered ineffective in reducing the damage cost to the infrastructure network including road pavements and bridges. The damage cost has been estimated at a high cost for various agencies and transportation departments and the burden grows heavier every year. There is an urgent need to employ autonomous enforcement systems to reduce the number of overweight trucks in a more ubiquitous and efficient manner than the current mode of operation. Currently, there are various available advanced technologies that can be integrated to implement autonomous enforcement system. However, it requires additional efforts to collect data on its performance to help support legislative efforts in various jurisdiction. It is also critical to study the type of sensors and systems and their overall performance with regard to their long- term durability aspects.