BILL NUMBER: S6383
SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the public officers law,
in relation to authorizing covered agencies and authorities to use
weigh-in-motion technology to automatically enforce vehicle weight
limits on their facilities
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Expands statutory authorization for the use of weigh-in-motion (WIM)
technology to help keep overweight vehicles off of bridges and highways
and to improve overall traffic flow.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one adds a new section 385-b to the vehicle and traffic law to
authorize the use of weigh-in-motion technology by the State Department
of Transportation, Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, Bridge
Authority, Thruway Authority, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,
and the New York City Department of Transportation, on agency or author-
ity facilities including roadways, bridges, and highways. Agencies and
authorities will promulgate rules and regulations for WIM to automat-
ically enforce truck weight limits on their facilities and impose mone-
tary penalties on the owner of a vehicle for failure to comply with
gross vehicle weight limits or axle weight restrictions.
Section two adds a new paragraph (v) to subdivision 2 of section 87 of
the public officers law regarding recorded images, information, and
data.
Section three sets guidelines for covered agencies or authorities that
seek to implement a weigh-in-motion program, regarding public notice.
Section four subjects the purchase or lease of equipment for a demon-
stration program to the general municipal law.
Section five sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATIGN:
Overweight vehicles can cause greater stress on road structures, short-
ening their lifespan and decreasing overall reliability and safety.
Traditional permanent roadside stations to weigh and inspect trucks are
not as reliable for ensuring that overweight vehicles do not use certain
roadways.
This bill would respond to those challenges by utilizing weigh-in-motion
(WIM) technology to capture axle weights and gross vehicle weight as
vehicles drive over them. WIM technology can provide cost-effective,
real-time data to focus efforts on non-compliant vehicles. Previous
efforts by the Legislature to address these issues include legislation
enacted in 2021 (S2740B/A2316) Kavanagh/Simon, Chapter 773 to establish
a demonstration WIM program on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) and
a 2023 (S6246/A6225) Gounardes/Simon, Chapter 253 to provide calibration
checks for WIM systems on the BQE.
Allowing public agencies and authorities to utilize WIM technology is an
important step to preserve our State's infrastructure and would prevent
premature degradation of our roadways, bridges, and highways.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S6383: 87 public officers law, 87(2) public officers law