Oregon truck weigh scale bypass program hits milestone
The Oregon Green Light Program ushered the 25 millionth truck to bypass one of the state’s preclearance sites on Friday, the Oregon Department of Transportation said.
The program, launched by ODOT in 1999, allows trucks that qualify for the preclearance program to bypass inspection and scale locations equipped with the Green Light System. The trucking companies and drivers must be in good standing, and the trucks must not be due for periodic mechanical inspection.
As a qualified truck approaches a preclearance site, its transponder gives the driver a “green light” to bypass the ODOT inspection station.
The 25 millionth bypass took place at 10:33 a.m. March 30 at the Woodburn station on southbound Interstate 5. The truck was a 2017 Freightliner belonging to Premier Oxygen LLC operating out of Grants Pass.
The Green Light program has many benefits:
* It saves the trucking industry money in terms of fuel consumption and drivers’ time.
* It speeds delivery time for trucking companies’ customers
* It reduces exhaust emissions by reducing low-speed engine idling and acceleration to resume highway speed.
* It saves taxpayer money by focusing ODOT inspection staff and resources at inspection sites.
* It saves time for other motorists by reducing the potential for highway backups on the inspection site off-ramps
* The reduced potential for highway backups also improves safety for all motorists
According to the most recent estimate, the program has generated these savings since its beginning in 1999 through Dec. 2017:
* Truck fleet operating cost savings: $263,362,258
* Travel time savings: 2,070,458 hours
* Carbon dioxide reduction: 47,479,743 pounds
* Nitrous oxide reduction: 265,027 pounds
* Carbon monoxide reduction: 79,506 pounds
* Hydrocarbon reduction: 33, 119 pounds
* Particulate matter reduction: 16,572 pounds
For more information on the benefits to Oregon Green Light Program – and how to sign up – visit http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/MCT/Pages/GreenLightProgram.aspx
