A weight on your mind

This article looks at products currently available for weigh-in-motion (WIM) checking of lorries. Weighing can be carried out on low-speed weighing stations, static scales or portable weighing pads, but these systems are expensive. High speed WIM is usually based on piezo or quartz sensors in the roadway. Data monitored and defined in WIM is used in design and planning of road surfaces: individual vehicle records and regular summaries of axle loads are stored in a database for standard formatting. Onboard accurate weighing of a vehicle can be used by freight operators to gain maximum loading while avoiding weight penalties. Further technology is being developed to determine the impact of heavy vehicles on the environment as a whole, and in the development of intelligent transport systems. Lower-speed weighing with very high accuracy is gaining acceptance in commercially developing countries.