Freight Facts and Figures 2008
Table 3-4. Commercial Vehicle Weight Enforcement Activities: 2005-2007
Federal and state governments are concerned about truck weight because of the damage that heavy trucks can do to roads and bridges. To monitor truck weight, approximately 200 million weighs are made each year, about 60 percent are weigh-in-motion and nearly 40 percent are static. Weigh-in-motion technology is used as a screening tool to determine which vehicles need closer scrutiny. Violations are taken from static weighs only. Less than 1 percent of static weights result in violations.
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All weighs | 230,464,926 | 229,435,113 | 217,444,117 |
| Weigh-in-motion | 136,380,657 | 142,587,134 | 132,257,618 |
| Static weighs, total1 | 94,084,269 | 86,847,979 | 85,186,499 |
| Semiportable scales | 493,574 | 422,860 | 425,731 |
| Fixed scales | 93,038,479 | 85,897,099 | 84,213,507 |
| Portable scales | 552,216 | 528,020 | 547,261 |
| Violations, total2 | 567,949 | 622,806 | 530,350 |
| Axle weight violations | 275,442 | 271,121 | 233,563 |
| Gross weight violations | 118,328 | 149,678 | 126,761 |
| Bridge weight violations | 174,179 | 202,007 | 170,026 |
| Permits, total3 | 3,625,898 | 4,598,227 | 4,827,668 |
| Non-divisible trip permits | 2,711,500 | 3,399,435 | 3,743,323 |
| Non-divisible annual permits | 233,160 | 250,505 | 332,148 |
| Divisible trip permits | 288,145 | 426,381 | 398,003 |
| Divisible annual permits | 393,093 | 521,906 | 354,194 |
1Static weights include the total number of vehicles weighed from semiportable, portable, and fixed scales.
2Violations include those from axle, gross, and bridge formula weight limits.
3Permits issued are for divisible and non-divisible loads on a trip or on an annual basis, as well as the overwidth movement of a divisible load.
Note:
Data are not complete for Indiana (2005), Pennsylvania (2005 and 2006), and South Dakota (2006 and 2007).
Source:
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Office of Freight Management and Operations, Annual State Certifications of Size and Weight Enforcement on Federal-aid Highways, as prescribed under CFR Part 657, personal communication, August 20, 2008.
To view Excel files, you can use the Microsoft Excel Viewer.
