EDMONTON, Alta. – Partners in Compliance (PIC) has been awarded for its use of smart transponders to expand weigh station bypass opportunities for the Alberta trucking industry.

PIC, an Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) initiative, received the award from the Intelligence Transportation Systems Society (ITS) of Canada with its top award for projects on three levels – larger metropolitan, provincial, and federal levels.

“This award honors the Alberta Justice and Solicitor General Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Branch (CVEB), Alberta Transportation, and the Alberta Motor Transport Association for their forethought in adopting a smart transponder-based system, which allows them to sustainably grow the Alberta PIC program bypass,” said Janneke van der Zee, general manager of ITS Canada. “It’s clear from the results that provincial officials made a good decision in choosing this technology for providing weigh station bypasses. It fulfills ITS Canada’s objective in achieving the highest and best possible use of the latest technology to improve efficiency of the Canadian highway transportation system and the safety of the motoring public.”

Drivewyze has been a big reason for the expansion of the bypass program in Alberta. As Brian Heath, president and CEO of Drivewyze, pointed out, the number of weigh stations with bypass have nearly tripled in the province from 23 to 56, with nearly 56,000 participating PIC member trucks taking advantage.

“Our technology can stand on its own or as an addition to the existing technology commercial vehicle enforcement agencies use in offering weigh station bypass,” Heath said. “By utilizing the cellular network and the GPS-based geo-fencing capabilities Drivewyze offers, the Alberta PIC program not only delivers more bypass opportunities at more locations for members, but also opens the door to other future freight mobility and safety initiatives.”

Drivewyze is also working toward providing PIC members access to driver safety notifications and electronic inspections in the near future, something PIC director Andrew Barnes is looking forward to.

“I think this award confirms and reinforces the belief we held 18 months ago that partnering with Drivewyze would provide our members a great opportunity to leverage the work they do in meeting the program requirements,” said Barnes. “With all of the additional technology truck fleets have had to install with recent changes in HOS compliance, it’s good to see how Drivewyze can help PIC members and their drivers further leverage that technology as they work to maintain Alberta’s highest roadway safety ranking.”

The bypass program also helps those on the enforcement side.

“The addition of Drivewyze will help our commercial vehicle inspection officers automate the processing of PIC members, so they can conduct inspections while still lowering the volume of trucks entering and exiting weigh stations,” said Jacquie Daumont, acting chief of the Alberta Justice and Solicitor General, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Branch. “As a result, they’ll be better able to deal with ever-increasing truck traffic in the province.”