BILL NUMBER: S6414
SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the weigh in
motion demonstration program on interstate route 278 in Kings county;
and to amend chapter 773 of the laws of 2021, amending the vehicle and
traffic law and the public officers law relating to establishing a
demonstration program on interstate route 278 in Kings county to
enforce vehicle weight restriction on such interstate by means of
mobile or stationary weigh in motion systems, in relation to extending
the provisions thereof
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To extend and update the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway weigh in motion
violation monitoring system pilot program
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of this bill amends subdivision (a) of Section 385-a of the
Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) to reflect a number of necessary updates
to the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT)'s weigh in
motion (WIM) program on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE):
Paragraph 1 of subdivision (a) of VTL § 385-a is amended to require DOT
to enter into a memorandum of "agreement" rather than a memorandum of
understanding with New York State DOT to operate up to 16 WIM violation
monitoring systems on the BQE.
Paragraphs 2 and 3 of subdivision (a) are amended to require NYC DOT to
conduct a calibration check on the WIM sensors on an annual basis rather
than every six months, in line with other automated enforcement programs
operated by DOT.
Paragraph 4 of subdivision (a) is amended to allow DOT to promulgate
regulations for the monitoring of the WIM systems and detail how DOT
should respond to system alerts that indicate a potential malfunction of
a WIM sensor. The current language in this paragraph only requires DOT
to monitor and take action to correct a WIM sensor when it receives an
alert, despite the fact that DOT continually evaluates the systems using
data analysis of many different variables. The current language also
requires DOT to create a range for evaluating WIM data according to the
WIM system manufacturer, despite the fact that the manufacturer does not
necessarily provide such range or standards for monitoring.
Subparagraph (iii) of paragraph 6 of subdivision (a) is amended to allow
NYC DOT to upload pictures of license plates into a shared database
which other entities such as the MTA, New York State Thruway Authority,
NYPD, and New York City Sheriff's Office use to try to decode scrambled,
distorted, or obstructed plates. This amendment will allow DOT to
participate`'in a photo exchange with other entities to compare and
identify vehicles when an operator attempts to evade automated enforce-
ment by obstructing a plate.
Subparagraph (iv) of paragraph 6 of subdivision (a) is amended to
require DOT to install signs that a WIM system is in place in advance of
the location where the sensor will be placed rather than at specific BQE
entryways. Subdivision (b) of § 385-a of VTL is amended to clarify that
the WIMs are put in place to capture violations of 10% or more above the
legal gross vehicle weight limit or 20% or more above the legal axle
weight limit rather than for violations of exactly 10% or 20% respec-
tively.
Subdivision (b) is further amended to strike the prohibition on DOT
issuing notices of violations (NOLs) for vehicles convicted of an under-
lying violation of § 385 of VTL or where a vehicle is operating with an
overweight permit. These conditions are instead added as an affirmative
defense against prosecution under subdivision (n) later in this section
of VTL. Section 385 is the section of VTL that provides fines of up to
$4,700 for overweight trucks but is enforced via in-person ticketing by
a police officer or state trooper rather than an automated WIM system.
Subdivision (c ) is amended to remove the definition of "manual on
uniform traffic control devices" as this phrase is not used anywhere
else in the section.
Paragraph 1 of subdivision (g) is amended to allow DOT to issue an NOL
in 45 days rather than 14 in the case of an in-state vehicle owner whose
license plate is obstructed, concealed, or distorted.
Paragraph 2 of subdivision (g) deletes a requirement for the NOL to
contain the vehicle's US DOT number, which not every vehicle has and
which also doesn't correspond to specific vehicles.
Paragraph 3 of subdivision (m) clarifies an existing reporting require-
ment that was meant to have DOT report on violations for trucks by cate-
gory of 10% above the vehicle weight limit vs. 20% above the axle weight
limit.
Paragraph 10 of subdivision (m) deletes a requirement for NYC DOT to
report on total capital spent on the repair or reconstruction of the BQE
in the vicinity of Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street, as the BQE is
already defined to mean such vicinity in paragraph 5 of subdivision (c )
of this section, and DOT is already required to report on capital BQE
expenditures in this paragraph.
Section two of this bill extends the BQE WIM another five years, to
December 1st, 2030.
Section three of this bill sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill makes necessary updates to Section 385-a of the Vehicle and
Traffic Law, which authorized a weigh in motion (WIM) violation monitor-
ing system for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) in New York City, to
reflect the modern application of this program and remove conflicting
and outdated language in the original statute. Additionally, this bill
empowers NYC DOT to coordinate with other entities to capture license
plates that have been obstructed, concealed, or distorted in order to
evade automated enforcement.
Overweight trucks, especially those with severely overloaded axles, can
cause serious wear-and-tear on aging infrastructure, hastening the need
for expensive repairs and rehabilitation. When BQE Central was first
constructed in the 1940s, truck weight limits were approximately 11
percent lighter than current legal loads. Earlier NYPD weight enforce-
ment along the BQE had found that some out-of-compliance trucks were
exceeding the 40-ton (80,000 lbs) maximum weight limit by 100% or more.
In place since November 2023, the BQE WIM program has led to a stunning
64% reduction in overweight vehicles along the triple cantilever section
of the highway between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street where it is in
effect. Prior to the launch of the WIM pilot, a monthly average of 7,777
overweight trucks traveled the triple cantilever section of the express-
way. During the first seven months of automated enforcement, this aver-
age dropped to 2,769. The share of overweight trucks has declined from
6.3% of all trucks on the roadway to a mere 1.9% since the launch of the
WIM violation monitoring system.
This bill will extend this successful pilot another five years while
improving its enacting statute to reflect modern technology and the way
that the City administers and adjudicates this program in practice.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate