Certification Requirements for WIM - NIST Handbook 44

The certification requirements for the WIM systems used in Direct Enforcement are currently not covered in the NIST Handbook 44 which is used by Dept of Agriculture inspectors to test the various equipment. The NCWM membership voting on the handbook update may not be aware of the enforcement community’s recognition of the need for such a standard even if not all jurisdictions currently have the authority to use direct enforcement.

The current overweight enforcement practices at the stationary weighing stations, combined with using mobile enforcement units, are ineffective in substantially reducing the percentage of overweight vehicles. With direct weight enforcement there is an opportunity to not only deter overweight vehicles on the nation’s infrastructure, but to automate the inspection tasks of officers, freeing them up so they can do more inspections for other safety issues related to Commercial Motor Vehicles. The NIST Handbook 44 that is utilized for testing of equipment used in enforcement needs to be updated to ensure national standards for WIM systems used in direct enforcement. These standards would then catch up to international codes that exist for this type of equipment.

1. We request a letter of support from the CVSA as early as pratical to ensure that the membership voting on the handbook update is aware of the enforcement community’s recognition of the need for such a standard even if not all jurisdictions currently have the authority to use direct enforcement. 2.We request sharing of supporting documentation with the CVSA membership so that members can reach out to their respective Dept of Agriculture and provide recommendation. The Dept of Agriculture and those involved in enforcement on behalf of the jurisdiction cast the vote in person at the annual meeting in July.