NCJ Number
66170
Journal
Police Research Bulletin Issue: 33 Dated: (AUTUMN 1979) Pages: 11-17
Date Published
1979
Length
7 pages
Annotation
IN VIEW OF THE BRITISH POLICE FORCE'S REQUIREMENT THAT THERE BE PORTABLE EQUIPMENT TO WEIGH HEAVY GOODS VEHICLES AT UNPREPARED SITES, THE POLICE SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT BRANCH (PSDB) IS MONITORING THE STATE OF THE ART.
Abstract
IN AREAS WHERE PUBLIC WEIGHBRIDGES ARE SPARSE, POLICE ENFORCING THE WEIGHT LIMITS FOR HEAVY GOODS VEHICLES (HGV) ENCOUNTER SUCH DIFFICULTIES AS HAVING TO COMPENSATE FOR COSTS OF THESE VEHICLES GOING OUT OF THEIR WAY TO BE CHECKED. EXPERIMENTS HAVE SHOWN THAT, IN PRINCIPLE, IT IS FEASIBLE TO WEIGH VEHICLES AT UNPREPARED SITES WITHIN 1 PERCENT OF ACCURACY, PROVIDED THE SITE IS NOT SLOPING SEVERELY AND THAT THE WHEELS ARE IN THE SAME PLANE. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF COMMERCIALLY PRODUCED PORTABLE WEIGHING UNITS THAT COULD BE USED FOR STATIC WEIGHT SCREENING (SUITABLE FOR OPERATION IN LAY-BYS TO ALLOW THE SELECTION OF ONLY THOSE HGV'S LIKELY TO BE CAUSING AN OFFENSE). SOME MAY HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR STATIC DIRECT ENFORCEMENT EQUIPMENT (MORE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, AND 'FAIL-SAFE' THAN THE FORMER IN PROVIDING COURT EVIDENCE). WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE HYDRAULIC UNIT, ALL THE EQUIPMENT USES THE STRAIN GAUGE TECHNIQUE. ALL THE UNITS ARE TOO HEAVY AND BULKY TO BE CARRIED AS PART OF NORMAL POLICE VEHICLE EQUIPMENT. AT PRESENT, THE COSTS OF ESTABLISHING A STATIC VEHICLE SCREENING CAPABILITY WOULD PROBABLY BE AROUND 3,000 BRITISH POUNDS FOR EQUIPMENT, PLUS COSTS OF A LARGE VEHICLE AND THREE OFFICERS. COMMERCIAL EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN PURCHASED BY THE PSDB AND POLICE TESTS ARE CONTINUING. THE ATOMIC ENERGY RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT (AERE), HARWELL, IS DEVELOPING A UNIT INCOPORATING A PEIZO-ELECTRIC TRANSDUCER. THIS COULD RESULT IN LIGHTER STATIC SCREENING EQUIPMENT AND PERHAPS EVENTUALLY A DYNAMIC WEIGHT SCREENING DEVICE. SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE VARIOUS TYPES OF EXISTING DEVICES ARE SUPPLIED, TOGETHER WITH REFERENCES. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--MHP)