2. As you may know, the overall goal of the IVHS-CVO program is to concentrate inspection resources on the trucks that need to be inspected and to "electronically clear" those trucks that, based upon information available to the inspection officer, are in safe operating condition, Until very recently, most, if not all, of the IVHS-CVO activity and demonstration projects, such as Help-Crescent in the West, and Advantage 175 in the Midwest and South, have concentrated on Weigh-in-Motion (WIM),and AVI (credentials) technologies. While these are of course important and necessary to the overall MHS-CVO goals, they do not directly deal with specific safety functions and criteria. Safety, as you might understand, is of paramount concern to the enforcement community and is the primary issue we are focusing on with respect to IVHS-CVO as plans and programs are developed to deploy it as a national program. Thus, we have been encouraged by recent actions of FHWA-OMC in funding two safety operational tests for commercial vehicle Out-of-Service Defect Repair verification as a criteria for electronic safety clearance. One involving the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin, and one involving the state of Idaho. We understand there is a possibility that additional tests relating to Out-of-Service verification may be undertaken. 3. We view inspection information, as close to real time as possible, as a basic and primary safety threshold for any type of electronic clearance program. Roadside information on carrier history is certainly an important part of the equation for a reasoned decision to electronically clear a truck. But by itself, without driver and vehicle specific information, it is not adequate. We are encouraged by these recent actions taken by the FHWA-OMC as well as by the organization of an IVHS-CVO Task Force within the OMC. We feel that this Task Force will help continue to ensure proper emphasis on safety in the overall IVHS-CVO program. Certainly, this is in keeping with the top three goals of Secretary Pena which include improved safety of all transportation modes. I should also point out that CVSA has recently established its own IVHS Committee to further define this safety equation, to define more clearly the financial benefits to the States of IVHS-CVO, and to ensure the proper education and training of roadside enforcement personnel as this IVHS program takes shape. In addition to safety, I would like to address another important aspect of !VHSCVO. It is the fact that IVHS is really a new way for government, both federal and state, to conduct business as much as it is new technology. Most of the 4. technology is here, but we have a considerable way to go in terms of breaking down institutional barriers and "doing business" with the motor carrier industry in a different way. This means barriers among agencies within a state as well as among states, and between states and the federal government. A lot of progress has been made in this area, largely as a result of a special program initiated by the FHWA in which grants were made to every state to study "institutional" barriers and recommend ways to overcome them. We are pleased to see that the FHWA has announced a second round of Institutional Study grants, and that to be a recipient of any federal funds for such a study, a state must designate a State CVO representative for this effort, a position CVSA has championed for some time. This requirement is an important step forward, and one that hopefully will set a precedent for any future federal funding relative to IVHS-CVO programs. It will go a long way toward ensuring that IVHSCVO has top priority in all states. Mr. Chairman, we realize that you are not specifically focusing on IVHS in this particular hearing, but we felt that it was important to place it on the Committee's agenda, comment on it briefly from our perspective, and to suggest that in time you may want to focus more directly on VHS-CVO and the progress being made in that arena. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have and to provide any additional information on VHS-CVO that you may request. |