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About ITD
About ITD
Leveraging Technology to Improve Safety
Innovative highway technology can improve road safety and enforcement activity. Every year, cutting-edge tools increase what’s possible. Learn about how the ITD program is helping make roadways safer, and how States can apply for grant funding to implement innovative ideas.
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Program Management
Program Management
Keeping States Aligned with ITD Goals
A State’s ITD program has many moving parts. ITD Program Managers play a critical role in making sure their State’s ITD program supports FMCSA’s mission. Learn about the different levels of ITD participation, the steps States take to be considered “Core Compliant,” and how Expanded ITD allows States to build on core capabilities.
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ITD Data
ITD Data
Exchanging Safety Data to Enhance Safety
Securely exchanging data between State CVIEWs and FMCSA’s SAFER database is the foundation of FMCSA’s ITD program. Learn about how States exchange data with FMCSA, and with each other, and steps States can take to ensure their data is of the highest quality possible. ITD users can also log in to conduct web queries of SAFER and other FMCSA web systems.
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Resources
Resources
Information to Help States Implement ITD
FMCSA is committed to providing States with the resources and information they need to implement effective ITD programs. Learn about the basics of the ITD program and how your State can get involved. ITD users can also log in to access recordings of previous webinars, conference materials, and web infrastructure technical specifications.
RESOURCES
To provide an additional opportunity for States to engage with their peers, FMCSA introduced the ITD State Spotlight in 2023. Every quarter, during an ITD Program Managers' meeting, a participating State presents their strategies to achieve their ITD goals, enabling other States to benefit from their experience and insights.
ITD State Spotlight: Kentucky
November 2023
The Kentucky ITD Team, which manages the State's ITD Program, walked other States through their collaborative approach to identify safety issues, apply for ITD funding, and implement solutions during the inaugural ITD State Spotlight in November 2023. Successful projects Kentucky has implemented with ITD grant funding include detection systems to ensure tire pressure meets safety standards and cameras that spot drivers using phones or failing to use seat belts behind the wheel.
Keys to Success
Collaboration and planning are key components of how the Kentucky ITD Team selects and implements new technology.
- Annual strategic planning meeting. The Kentucky ITD Team holds an annual strategic planning meeting that brings together approximately 25 officials from various branches of State government for a two-day brainstorming session. The group sets priorities for the next year, identifies potential projects, and takes part in team-building exercises—an essential part of an effective planning process. The State, using Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) Maintenance and Operations funds, pays the University of Kentucky's Transportation Center (KTC) to facilitate the meeting.
- Research and analysis. The Kentucky ITD Team and KTC research possible solutions to problems raised during the strategic planning meeting and analyze costs and benefits of available technology before selecting a solution.
- Grant applications. The Kentucky ITD Team identifies funding from State Planning & Research Funds and from FMCSA through High Priority-ITD, High Priority-Commercial Motor Vehicle, and MCSAP grants.
- Ongoing team input. Once the program receives funding, the team meets quarterly for status updates and to guide implementation.
- Implement solutions, track their effectiveness, and train. The Kentucky ITD Team uses data to track the impact of the new investments and identify areas for improvement. Inspectors and law enforcement officers also participate every year in ITD-specific classroom sessions and hands-on training using electronic (e-screening) tools in the field.
The Technology
Kentucky uses its data exchange system, the Commercial Vehicle Information Exchange Window system (CVIEW), and Kentucky Automated Truck Screening (KATS) software, along with e-screening tools and multiple databases to identify carriers for inspection and detect motor carriers that have lost their right to be on the road. The team says that e-screening tools, such as license plate readers and USDOT number readers, help the State identify more vehicles with out-of-service (OOS) orders and spot other violations than it had done prior to investing in the tools. Technology the State added recently includes:
- Tire anomaly systems that detect missing, mismatched, or underinflated tires. At one site, identification of vehicles with flat tires rose to 87 in June 2022, a sharp increase from the number of monthly violations spotted prior to installation of the system.
- Driver-focused cameras. One inspection site captured drivers failing to wear safety belts 118 times in 2022, compared with no violations recorded in 2021, prior to implementation of the cameras.
- Real-time data at roadside. All State and vendor applications use real-time data from FMCSA's Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) System, and Kentucky's CVIEW now uses real-time Federal OOS data, enabling quick enforcement decisions when screening motor carriers and vehicles.
Lessons Learned
The problem: Siloed technical development meant that new and old technology and systems might not work well together or work together at all.
The solution: The Kentucky ITD Team introduced a modular approach to development that ensures that new technology works well with existing systems and any other new system under development.
Fun Fact
Kentucky was an early adopter of CVISN, a precursor to the ITD Program, and as a pilot State created one of the first Program Plan and Top-Level Design (PP/TLD) guidelines for program deployment. Kentucky has remained active with the program ever since.