weigh station iphone app

Discussion in 'Questions To Truckers From The General Public' started by greymouthB, Jan 3, 2012.

  1. SmoothShifter

    SmoothShifter Defender of the Driveline

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    Feura Bush, NY
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    Same with Florida. A lot of the guys who want to skirt the scales will wait until they flip on the bypass lights and keep on truckin.

    Only problem is that if a user has no intention of stopping for 2 hours after they breeze past the scales, the update isn't going to happen, or it's now at least going to be old news.

    Drivers will get open and closed information from other drivers going the opposite direction off the CB while rolling down the road. Anything that requires you to stop and run through 10-18 to gears to use would not be productive in the long run. It's why drivers sign up for Pre-Passes and Electronic toll collecting. Stopping and starting costs money.

    Most drivers who are concerned with not visiting a scale have a good idea of the trends of open/close and are on the CB in plenty of time to adjust travel patterns if they do not want to stop. It's what this app is designed for, correct? Helping drivers avoid being weighed?

    Permanent stations can open and close rapidly, the closures are mostly due to the fact that they get busy. With Pre-Pass, and high speed lanes for non-Prepass trucks, they don't have to manually weigh each and every truck like in the old days. They run them across a high speed treadle which gets a rough axle weight, and if it is suspicious they pull you in for a manual weigh. Those treadles capture and calculate axle weight in milliseconds, and you either get a red or green light accordingly.

    No offense, but if you are going to design an app, it's not so cut and dried as "open and closed". You are up against a lot of technology, and a smart LEO would use that in his favor to bait an unsuspecting overweight truck into his trap. A scale-master wouldn't leave, drive 10 miles away, report it closed, and drive back. He would just hand the phone to a trooper and let him do it on his next tour.

    It's been a cat and mouse game for years. I would recommend you further educate yourself on the different types of methods used in CMV weight enforcement. I don't even know how your app would deal with a set of impromptu portable scales put in a parking area. That's how NY would weigh on the Thruway, and sometimes, they would pack and move shop to the other side just to keep everybody guessing.

    Good luck.
     
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  3. dlngr

    dlngr Bobtail Member

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    Oct 27, 2007
    Oglesby Il
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    I go past the I-280 scale at Moline,Il. usually twice a day. It will open or close at any time,wth no rhyme or reason. Some times it closes a half hour for lunch,some times not.
    Ask on the cb if it's open,and you will sometimes get 2 or 3 drivers saying it's closed,and 2 or 3 saying it's open..
     
  4. weirdpuckett

    weirdpuckett Road Train Member

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    A new regulation was passed recently in the FMCR that states that drivers may only use one hand to activate a blue toothe to use a cellular device but I think that your app could have a "voice activator" where a driver could "speak" the word "open" or "closed" right?
    Very wise invention BTW . .will get lots of use!
     
  5. Professional-Trucker

    Professional-Trucker Heavy Load Member

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    California
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    Highly illegal. For use on cell phones. But your idea is killer! I would like to at least be able to "try it out". Great idea though. Hey my gps has a similar feature- just thought you'd like to know....
     
  6. Roadmedic

    Roadmedic Road Train Member

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    Interesting except how will the phone know it is within 6 miles of the scale when the GPS is disabled?
     
  7. CajunTexMex

    CajunTexMex Light Load Member

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    Nov 23, 2008
    StL MO
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    Most phones can triangulate with resonable accuracy just by pinging towers. Mine can usually locate me with a quarter mile of where I am when I use Maps on Android. I leave GPS off all the time unless a program asks for permission to access a feature.
     
  8. fgb3

    fgb3 Light Load Member

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    Nov 2, 2011
    elba ny
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    you ever been down 83 going into maryland and ask if the scale was open? i guy says no locked up so you travel on and its open?....its a smarter than average dot guy on the cb lol thats what will happen to your app....great idea though but we already have this thing called a cb that works most of the time.im surprised that that is not illeagal already.i always thought that they should put open or closed on the gps unit when it tells you theres one ahead but according to rand mcnally they cant put open just the location. A great app would be locations of all stations(rest areas used,local parking lots used ect)good luck though ill keep following and see how far u get.
     
  9. 07-379Pete

    07-379Pete Crusty Commando-Pete

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    Campbellsville, Ky
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    Please quote all 50 states statutes were it states this would be illegal to use.
     
    Cetane+ Thanks this.
  10. Roadmedic

    Roadmedic Road Train Member

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    Recent law about using hand held phone. In addition covered under texting laws.
     
  11. rookietrucker

    rookietrucker Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    I would be interested in using your app/program. Is it possible to integrate it with any gps app ? I use googles gps NAV app on my Samsung Tab and would be a valuable tool to me. :yes2557:
     
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