LEDUC, Alta. — Safer highways and smoother movement of transport cargo are the goals of a new partnership between the Alberta government and transport companies in the province.

Commercial carriers with exemplary safety records can save time and money, by utilizing an automated system that allows them to bypass Albertas vehicle inspection stations.

Transportation firms participating in the Partners In Compliance (PIC) program are fitted with an automated vehicle identification system that identifies the carrier and issues bypass signals as they travel past Albertas vehicle inspections stations.

Partners In Compliance is an innovative program that recognizes premium carriers who achieve and maintain an excellent safety and compliance record, said Mayne Root, executive director of the Alberta Motor Transport Association.

When a PIC carrier drives by an inspection station, a roadside wireless detector reads the in-cab transponder and the equipment inside the station identifies the trucks serial number, licence and also displays a picture of the vehicle. The vehicle does not have to stop.

The automated vehicle identification technology is being used in other jurisdictions, but Alberta is the first province in Canada to use it province-wide. Industry and the provincial government worked together in a public-private partnership. The provincial government supplies the infrastructure for the automated vehicle identification system and industry administers the transponder program.

Allowing members of the Partners In Compliance program to bypass inspection stations means that more time is spent on commercial carriers that may not be in compliance with provincial regulations, said Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette. This program is a great example of the kind of results that are achieved when industry and government work together to help make Albertas roads safer.

Commercial vehicles belonging to the PIC program will not have to stop at a vehicle inspection station 98% of the time, thus saving $2,800 per vehicle in travel time and fuel consumption, based on 300 trips per year.

The other two per cent of PIC carriers will be randomly selected and must report to the scale when requested.

The provincial government provided over $2.5 million and the federal government contribution is over $290,000.