No Wait on Weight
32 Overdrive DECEMBER 2009 C ou rt es y of H E LP In c. W eigh-station bypassing transponders are opera-tional in the majority of the lower 48 states. So are transpon-ders for electronic toll collection, in states with toll roads. These time- and cash-saving tools are available for next to nothing and useful in most over-the-road owner-operator applications. I wouldn't be without it, says owner-operator Ray Lawson of his PrePass transponder. Not every owner-operator can cash in on toll discounts. Still, with rates ris-ing on lanes in states facing big budget-ary pressures, and with new toll roads emerging yearly, electronic collection often provides access to the best rates via discounts, as Lawson knows. But he lauds his toll-collection device not just as a cost-savings tool but as a time-saver as well. As more toll facilities imple-ment open-road tolling, long queues at toll booths are disappearing. Says Lawson, who is leased to Supe-rior Carriers, Coming from Baltimore, that last toll [station] on the Pennsyl-vania pike can be backed up forever, but I just go right through it has a dedicated lane just for E-ZPass. Delays at this weight station in Virginia are diminishing since the introduction of the PrePass bypass system. No wait for weight Backlogs at weigh stations and toll booths are a thing of the past for efficiency-minded owner-operators who use automated bypass and collection transponder technology. By TOdd diLLS