Introduction
An advanced-technology Integrated Safety and Security Enforcement System (ISSES), now deployed at three commercial vehicle inspection sites along interstate highways in Kentucky, was evaluated from the point of view of system performance, potential effects on inspection selection efficiency (choosing the highest-risk trucks from the stream of commerce), user acceptance, and costs. The deployment was part of the Kentucky Commercial Vehicle Safety Applications (CVSA) program.
Highlights of the results include the following:
- The KVE inspectors at the Laurel County (London) Interstate 75 northbound weigh/inspection station were not using the ISSES to any great extent during the period of the field study. According to interviews with inspectors and with staff from the KTC, the ISSES hardware was functioning satisfactorily, but the state’s current enforcement staffing levels—and an organizational emphasis on the quantity of inspections completed, as opposed to the rate of OOS orders issued—prevent inspectors from having the time or incentives to make effective use of the information being displayed by the ISSES.
- Although they were not yet integrated with any state or national data sources, the portions of the ISSES under evaluation in this study appeared to be performing as designed.
- The system has the potential to reduce commercial vehicle related crashes, injuries, and fatalities substantially if deployed more widely and if connected with current and historical sources of safety and inspection data.
- The users at the Laurel site were positive toward the ISSES and appeared to recognize its potential, but regarded it as more of a developmental test or research device than as a tool that they wanted to use immediately in their day-to-day commercial vehicle inspection and law enforcement duties.
Details of the results with supporting methods, analysis, and data are presented in a separate technical report (USDOT 2008).