OLYMPIA, Wash. - Tens of thousands of commercial vehicles pass along Washington's roads each day. But how safe are those big rigs that often travel right beside you? Now, the Washington State Patrol has a new tool to help answer that question.
State troopers plan to place a thermal imaging camera in the ground to help pinpoint problems on vehicles that pass through weigh stations. So far, the Washington State Patrol and the Washington State Department of Transportation have tested the technology, and the state agencies are impressed with the results.
Victor Bagnall with WSDOT helped during the testing process.
"We were putting, I am going to guess, roughly 1 in 8 or 1 in 9 trucks out of service that had bad brakes. In my opinion, it's pretty amazing," said Bagnall.
Right now state troopers inspect vehicles at weigh stations, sometimes randomly. Safety focuses include making sure the vehicle is not overloaded, the tires look good, and the brakes work. Inspections can take up to an hour.
With the thermal imaging camera, pictures of the underside of a semi will show up on a computer. The images will show if brakes are hot or cold. Troopers can look at the image and pinpoint a truck that might have bad brakes. By applying this technology, it will make the inspection process more efficient, according to Trooper Andrew Stoeckle.
"Our time is going to be better spent in getting the trucks that have the defect, so it is a very exciting tool. We are really excited to get the system up and running," said Trooper Stoeckle.
The plan is to start using the camera at select weigh stations starting in March.
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