This bill establishes a weigh-in-motion monitoring program in New Jersey, to be implemented by the Department of Transportation (DOT) in consultation with the Department of Law and Public Safety (DLPS). The program will utilize weigh-in-motion systems to monitor vehicle weights as they approach bridges identified as having poor conditions, as per the National Bridge Inventory. The DOT will determine the locations for these systems based on bridge conditions and documented violations. Importantly, the bill mandates that records of individual vehicle and personal information collected by these systems are not to be retained or disclosed for unrelated purposes, and these records will not be considered public records.

The legislation outlines the responsibilities of law enforcement officers regarding vehicle weighing, including the authority to require drivers to stop for measurement. It specifies penalties for violations, including fines based on excess weight and provisions for redistributing weight to avoid penalties. The bill also introduces new legal definitions and procedures for enforcement actions and notifications generated by the monitoring systems, including automatic recording of violations and the issuance of warning notices during the initial operation of the program. Additionally, the DOT and DLPS are required to publish annual reports on the program's operations and develop rules and regulations governing data handling and enforcement actions, with funding sourced from the Transportation Trust Fund Account.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 39:3-84.3