Bypass app keeps drivers moving in the US and Canada

PHOENIX, Az. – As a truck driver, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to bypass those pesky weigh stations that seem to appear so often during your daily route?

Drivewyze, an intelligent transportation systems developer, may be able to help cut down the number of stops a driver incurs from weigh stations with its bypass app, Preclear.

Not only does this service work for bypassing weight stations in the US, but as Marc Pitcher, director of sales strategy and operations for Drivewyze, explained, effective Jan. 31, the company became the official technology partner for Alberta’s Partners in Compliance (PIC) program, meaning PIC members in good standing have bypass opportunities at 25 participating weight stations and inspection sites in the Wild Rose province.

Integrated into an Omnitracs electronic logging device (ELD), or supplementary ELD, the software sends a notification to the driver when they are two miles out from a weigh station. A pre-clearance request is sent at one mile out and the driver gets their in-cab notification whether to bypass the station or pull in.

Randy Rhines, CIO for Melton Truck Lines, said the service has worked for his company, which boasts 1,100 active flatbed, long-haul trucks, which has seen a 40% increase in the number of stations they have been able to bypass – 14,000 this past January alone.

“Any time you can get from point A to point B quicker is important,” Rhine said, adding that late deliveries can prove to be costly.

Tim Conner, personnel director for Brooks-Dehart Furniture Xpress, concurred, saying his company has saved over $11,000 thanks to less delays using the bypass service.

Conner went so far as to say that he couldn’t remember the last time one of his drivers was awarded a weigh station bypass using a transponder, but was getting them with frequency using the Drivewyze app.

One of the knocks that has been voiced with the use of a bypass program is that it takes successful inspections away from carriers, which in turn helps increase their score and standing as a company.

Addressing the concern, Pitcher said the reality is that even companies with a high safety scores are granted a weigh station bypass 30%-40% of the time, meaning they will continue to undergo several inspections that will help maintain their scores.

Pitcher added that the bypass service does what it is intended: it awards fleets for operating safety and having a good track record.

The criteria that determines whether a driver can bypass a station is based on the truck, not the driver, so fleets are encouraged to utilize the software where they feel it is appropriate.

Drivewyze continues to make attempts to expand its bypass service in Canada and the US.

“We don’t just add states, which is exciting,” Pitcher said, “we add more locations within states.”

Currently, there are over 600 Drivewyze approved locations in 39 states. No infrastructure is required for the service, as it is a cloud-based program that uses geofencing technology.

Drivewyze’s head office is located in Edmonton, Alta.

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A university graduate with a degree in English, I have worked in the media and trucking industries as a writer, editor, and now as western bureau chief of Today's Trucking and TruckNews.com. I have several years of management experience in journalism, as well as hospitality, but am first and foremost a writer, both professionally and in my personal life, having completed two fiction novels.
derek@newcom.ca
@DerekClouthier


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