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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: Nebraska
August 2024
Nebraska is taking trucks with unsafe tires off the road while maximizing enforcement staff and maintaining the flow of commerce. The State leveraged ITD funds to deploy an enhanced e-screening system that features a tire anomaly detection system (TADS). The TADS has proven to be extremely accurate, and tire-related out-of-service (OOS) rates have increased significantly since deployment.
Keys to Success
Located in the middle of the country, Nebraska is bisected by 455 miles of the east-west corridor I-80, where two out of three vehicles are CMVs. On average, 3 million CMVs travel this stretch of I-80 each year, most passing through from out of state. Predictably, these high traffic volumes pose a significant challenge to carrier enforcement.
The TADS is integrated with license plate readers and USDOT number readers to create a system that enables the State Patrol Carrier Enforcement Division to screen all CMVs at mainline speeds. This limits the ramp traffic to trucks with possible or probable violations and acts as a force multiplier for staffing.
Nebraska deployed these systems at six sites in three phases with ITD grants awarded in 2018, 2020, and 2021. The first two sites were installed in 2020, with two more in 2022, and the last two in late 2023. Before TADS deployment (2018-2020), an average of 6.5 OOS-level tire violations were issued at the six sites. With TADS deployed at all six sites, Nebraska estimates that an average of 230 such violations per site will be issued by the end of 2024.
The Technology
As a truck travels over in-ground sensors on the mainline highway, the TADS conducts a differential test to identify the amount of pressure the tires put on the road and determine whether any tires are undersized, underinflated, or flat.
The moment a tire issue is observed:
- Information and images that enable positive identification of the truck visually and by USDOT number and plate number.
- Visual identification of the suspect tire group.
An officer physically checks the identified tire group, determines the specific problems, and takes appropriate action.
The State reports that the TADS is 99% accurate in identifying an anomaly and, of those identified, a very high percentage are flat tires.
Lessons Learned
The TADS system can outpace officers. The system is so efficient that, depending on staffing levels, at times officers may spend most of their shift dealing primarily with system-generated tire violations.
Local tire services run out of tires and technicians. A State planning to deploy a TADS should consider informing local tire shops and service providers so they can prepare for increased business.
Integrating new equipment with old infrastructure proved problematic. Older and worn fiber connections impacted data transfer and incurred unplanned time and money costs to repair or replace.
Vendor costs increased during program implementation. Bid-to-completion time spanned almost three years. With cost increases of 15% to18% over that time, the State had to provide funding to complete two of the projects.