Weigh-in-motion to make Scottish debut...
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TECHNOLOGY designed to detect overweight trucks as they drive along the road is to be used in Scotland for the first time.
Transport Scotland,the national transport agencysis to set up weighin-motion equipment on major routes, following its successful use in England. The technology uses weight sensors built into the road surface which then trigger cameras fixed to overhead gantries.
A spokesman says:-The camera itself will not provide legal evidence of overloading,but the information will be used to guide enforcement teams further down the road.They will be equipped with weighing equipment and can stop lorries identified by the camera." Transport Scotland says a single overloaded truck can cause as much damage to main roads as thousands of cars. A particular problem is believed to be trucks arriving at ports with two full fuel tanks, putting extra weight on the second axle and causing more damage to the roads Most of Scotland's motorway system was built in the 1970s: expensive repairs are likely to be needed in the near future.
Weigh-in-motion equipment was first introduced by the Department for Transport and Vosa in 2005 in England, when £2m was earmarked for the system to be introduced at up to 20 sites (CM 15 December 2005).