THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The transport department plans to rely more on technology to reduce the delay faced by freight vehicles to cross the checkposts. The department is considering the installation of seven weigh-in-motion bridges as an alternative to conventional static weighing stations to detect overloading. The new weighing bridges automatically detect overloading in vehicles passing through border roads and give alerts at multiple levels. It would also help in creating a digital record of vehicles with a history of rule violations.
The new mechanism proposed is expected to reduce the complaints of corruption and delay at checkposts. “The weigh-in-motion bridges provide a real-time record of the vehicle passing through the road. It not only reduces the waiting period, but also alerts the enforcement wing about overloading vehicles,” said an officer. “The technology-enabled bridges are expected to improve the revenue collection of the state.
Overloading is also a cause of concern as these vehicles result in accidents and also damage the roads,” he said. The freight operators have also welcomed the move. “At present drivers of commercial vehicles have to wait for a long time at the checkposts to get clearance from the officers. Often, the discretion of the officers gives a chance for corruption.
The weigh-in-motion bridges help address these issues,” said Lorry Owners Welfare Federation general secretary K Balachandran. He, however, said that the association opposed the earlier move to install weighing bridges before toll gates. Instead, it wants the government to entrust the task with the enforcement authority posted at the chek posts.
The department plans to install a weigh-in-motion bridge at one location in the initial phase and monitor its performance before deciding on the rest of the bridges. The department recently started all services of MVD checkposts online to bring in transparency and efficiency. All five services for vehicles crossing the borders including tax and permit payments have been made online since October 21.
However, freight operators complained that accessing online services was not always smooth. The checkposts offer facilities to access online services for those who could not do it by themselves. The state has 19 checkposts. The checkposts at Amaravila, Aryankavu, Kumily, Walayar, Gopalapura, Iritty, Muthanga and Manjeswar are the busy ones.