PrePass

PrePass is an intelligent transportation system (ITS) service that electronically verifies the safety, credentials, and weight of commercial vehicles at participating state highway weigh stations. Because they comply electronically, commercial carriers enrolled in PrePass are authorized to bypass these facilities rather than pull in for manual inspection.

PrePass is available to motor carriers at nearly 300 facilities in 28 states, including: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. [http://prepass.com/map.htm]

History

Conceived in 1983, Heavy Vehicle Electronic License Plate (HELP) pioneered the nation’s foremost intelligent vehicle-highway system (IVHS) initiative for commercial vehicle operators (CVO). The HELP program evolved through several phases including concept exploration, feasibility, project development and technical study.

The Crescent Project, the final phase of the HELP program, was intended to demonstrate the integrated technologies that today form the basis of PrePass: Automated Vehicle Identification (AVI), Automated Vehicle Classification (AVC) and Weigh-In-Motion (WIM).

With federal financial support from the U.S. Department of Transportation, HELP’s Crescent Project formally began in 1991 and involved six U.S. western states and one Canadian province which formed a geographic “crescent” from the Pacific Northwest to Texas.

Following the successful completion of the Crescent Project, state partners were eager to deploy the technology. However, at the time, federal funds were not available for deployment, leaving interested state parties without a means of utilizing the proven concepts.

As a result, the HELP established a public-private partnership to raise funds to make the new technology available commercially. Heavy Vehicle Electronic License Plate, Incorporated (HELP, Inc.) exists today as a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit partnership governed by a Board of Directors that consists of an equal number of state official and motor carrier directors.

The PrePass service began in 1995 with five sites in California. As of September 1, 2007, the PrePass system had grown to 279 operational sites in 28 states.

Installation of the basic PrePass equipment at many state inspection facilities is funded by HELP, Inc. and provided to states without the use of public funds. Motor carriers who voluntarily participate fund the system with monthly service charges.

Technology and Functionality

The only equipment required for a truck to participate in PrePass is a vehicle-specific transponder, mounted on the interior windshield with double-sided tape or dual-lock strips. These devices are similar to the transponders used for electronic toll collection. As a PrePass vehicle approaches an equipped facility, an electronic "reader" on a boom over the freeway interrogates the transponder. Information associated with the transponder is then validated against state-required safety and credentials requirements. Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) technology is also used at many locations to verify the truck’s configuration and ensure its axle and gross vehicle weights are within acceptable limits.

As the truck passes beneath another electronic “reader” nearer the inspection point, the in-cab transponder receives a signal indicating whether the vehicle is authorized to bypass. If the vehicle’s credentials, safety, and weight data are all in order, a green light advises the driver to bypass the facility. If the vehicle is required to pull-in for inspection, a red light alerts the driver to stop for processing, just as trucks without PrePass do.

Only motor carriers that provide valid operating credentials and have an acceptable safety history are allowed to participate in PrePass.

Enrollment Qualifications

To enroll in PrePass, a carrier must submit an application and provide copies of certain standard operating credentials (e.g. Vehicle Registration Cards, IFTA License, etc). Customers pay for system costs through monthly service fees that allow them an unlimited number of bypasses. There are no charges for the PrePass transponders, no application or enrollment fees, and no long-term contracts.

Additional Services

PrePass "^Plus"
A service that utilizes a “fusion” transponder to allow vehicles to pay toll fees electronically at "E-ZPass" facilities, in addition to bypassing PrePass facilities.

GatePass
A program designed by PrePass that automates entry and exit gates to motor carrier terminals using a PrePass transponder. GatePass identifies approaching trucks and grants access or egress to approved vehicles while logging each truck and/or trailer by date and time.

AgPass
Enables participating, qualified carriers to bypass Agricultural Interdiction Facilities throughout the state of Florida. Provided through a partnership with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).

See also

* NORPASS
* E-ZPass

External links

* [http://www.prepass.com Official site]

__NOTOC__