HIGH-SPEED TRUCK SCAN PASSES TEST.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Daily News Staff Writer

A sensor system that weighs trucks at high speed, allowing them to avoid time-consuming inspections, has proven successful during a test run at the CHP's truck stop in Santa Clarita and will be expanded throughout the West, state transportation officials said.

The PrePass system, developed by Lockheed-Martin/IMS, allows preapproved trucking companies to install monitors and bypass the Castaic Truck Inspection Facility on the Golden State Freeway if their rigs check out OK when they pass sensors 2 miles south of the station.

``Only companies that have good records are approved for this,'' said Officer John McElhinney of the California Highway Patrol, which operates the facility on the northbound freeway. ``It saves us time, it saves them time. More power to them if they've kept their records clean. It means less time waiting in line.''

With PrePass, approved trucks pass sensors in the two right lanes of the freeway approaching the weigh station. A green light will flash on the monitor in the cab of a truck if its length, gross weight and inspection credentials check out. Truckers who see the green light can pass the inspection station. If the light is red, truckers must stop for inspections.

``It's helped out a lot in just getting trucks through,'' said Lockheed-Martin spokesman Terry Lynam. ``The stop could mean a delay from up to 10 minutes, even 45 minutes. This really helps keep them moving.''

Inspectors are familiar with rigs approved for the program, and if they suspect a trucker is passing without the electronic inspection, they give chase, he added.

Customers range in size from one-truck owner-operators to 1,000-truck fleets.

The local station as well as one in Gorman and five others statewide have been part of the yearlong test program, Lockheed-Martin/IMS officials said.

Five other states in the West have joined PrePass, and more than 30 weigh stations are expected to be equipped with the electronic bypass service by the end of this year, said John Van Berkel, chief of Commercial Vehicle Operations and Permits for the state Department of Transportation.

Benefits of the electronic system include improved driving time, improved highway safety because fewer trucks are slowing to pull into weigh stations, and reduced emissions and greater fuel efficiency as fewer trucks stop, idle and restart, CHP officials said.

``PrePass has been an excellent tool for reducing traffic congestion at inspection facilities and improving driving time for the industry,'' Lee Denno, chief of the Enforcement Services Division of CHP, said in a press release.

It also allows inspectors to focus their resources on trucks in greatest need of inspection, officials said.