
Virginia DMV To Deploy More Tech Targeting Truckers With Tires in Need of Repair
Richmond, VA — The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (VDMV) will be installing technology that identifies unsafe commercial motor vehicle (CMV) tires to more weigh stations in 2022.
The Department first installed the technology — called Tire Anomaly and Classification System (TACS) — at the Stephens City Motor Carrier Service Center along Interstate 81 near Winchester in June 2020.
TACS enables weigh station technicians to identify CMVs traveling with flat, missing, mismatched or under-inflated tires and call the driver into the station to arrange for a repair.
An average of nearly 1,200 unsafe tires are detected each month using the TACS technology, VDMV stated.
“Tire blowouts can cause serious crashes. By detecting unsafe tires, most times before a truck driver even knows there is a problem, we can prevent crashes from occurring and save lives,” VDMV Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb, the Governor’s Highway Safety Representative, stated.
Since TACS was first installed near Winchester, VDMV stated it has removed 13,000 unsafe tires from CMVs traveling along I-81.
Additionally, VDMV has announced plans to install TACS to the Troutville Motor Carrier Service Center on I-81 near Roanoke and the Alberta Motor Carrier Service Center on I-85 in 2022.
“VDMV’s motor carrier service centers put the most innovative technology to work to keep truck drivers — and all motorists — safe,” said Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine. “Bringing TACS on board is yet another commitment toward innovative solutions to make the Commonwealth’s roads safer.”
VDMV operates 13 permanent motor carrier service centers and 12 mobile crews throughout Virginia.