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Highways England backs trials of new tyre monitoring system
19 April 2021
A year-long trial of the WheelWright quartz senor system by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), backed by Highways England, found that one in twelve tyres were underinflated and identified 5,000 overweight vehicles on a monthly basis.
Highways England’s commercial vehicle incident prevention team (CVIPT) first backed a pilot of the system with Keele Services on the M6, before running trials with John Lewis in Milton Keynes, AW Jenkinson Transport in Penrith, and the DVSA check site at Cuerden, on the M62. These trials are partly to thank for CVIPT’s receipt of the Highways England chairman’s award and the excellence in safety innovation award.
The sensor system can provide reports on tyre pressure, tread depth, tyre temperature, tyre condition and weigh in motion data. The system involves the collection of data via high-intensity strobe lights, all-weather cameras and drive-over pressure instruments.
Highways England’s chief highway engineer Mike Wilson said, “We are constantly looking for ways to ensure everyone who travels or works on our network gets home safe and well and CVIPT can be very proud of the work they are doing to help us achieve this.
“The awards that the team have won not only endorses their work, but also the companies and partners helping to bring forward the ground-breaking innovations employed to embed improved safety in the commercial vehicle sector.”
DVSA director of enforcement Marian Kitson said, “We’re really pleased that vehicle safety has been recognised in this way, and that DVSA and Highways England continue to work in partnership exploring new and innovative ways of ensuring the compliant operation of commercial vehicles on the roads network.”
We at Marshall Leasing are always interested in the latest technology designed to improve driver safety, and trust that you find this information useful. If you would like to speak with our team of expert fleet managers, please get in touch with us at info@marshall-leasing.co.uk or by calling 01480 414541.
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