Weigh Station sensors now monitor the condition of your tires on I-81

The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles is looking to expand current road sensor technology aimed at detecting unsafe tires. 

The Tire Anomaly and Classification System (TACS) is a series of sensors set up at weigh stations that identify flat, mismatched, or underinflated tires on tractor trailers traveling the interstate. 

The first of these sensors along Interstate 81 in Virginia were installed at the Stephens City Motor Carrier Service Center near Winchester in June of 2020 and have since helped to detect and remove 13,000 unsafe tires from tractor trailers traveling the roadways, reported WFXR News.

“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,” said DMV Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb, the Governor’s Highway Safety Representative. “The hard working folks at DMV’s motor carrier service centers take very seriously the role they play in keeping our highways safe; TACS gives them another tool with which to work.”

The DMV is now looking to install these TACS sensors at the Troutville Motor Carrier Service Center on I-81 near Roanoke and the Alberta Motor Carrier Service Center on I-85 this year.

“DMV’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.”