Another eye on the road

Tractor-trailer and RV drivers aren’t quite sure what to make of the new Washington State Patrol van topped with a rotating space-age ball.

Their CB radio chatter, overheard by WSP officers north of Deer Park, reveals theories ranging from government spying to law enforcement attempts to crack down on human smuggling across the Canadian border.

The patrol purchased the $500,000 “thermal eye” van and equipment with a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant, but conspiracy buffs may be disappointed to learn it is being used for the more practical purpose of identifying trucks with bad brakes.

Using heat-sensitive equipment, the van – the only one in the state – will be in the Spokane area through next week and is being used primarily at weigh stations north of Deer Park and on Interstate 90 near the Idaho state line.

The goals are increasing safety and speeding up inspections by identifying vehicles most likely to have equipment violations, said officer Nicholas Hopper.

“We can now take a look at the equipment, and if everything is OK, get the freight moving,” he said.

An officer controls the cameras and heat sensors using a joystick inside the van. A black and white television image glows white where the vehicles are hot. That should be on tires and brakes, said Officer Steve Erickson, who likened it to a big video game.

But the stakes are a bit higher.

When brakes show up dark on the monitor, that means they probably aren’t working.

That’s definitely bad.

On one particular occasion last week, some brakes on a produce truck appeared onscreen to be black as night.

“Just like that, another truck to be inspected,” said Hopper after reviewing the image.

Trucks aren’t taken out of service just because of a thermal eye image. They are physically inspected by an officer. But using the thermal eye van allows the officers to better determine which trucks to inspect.If a physical inspection turns up serious equipment violations, the trucks are taken off the road until repairs are made.

The heat sensors aren’t sensitive enough to detect most human body heat, and will pick up people only if they are leaning against the inside of the truck.

The thermal eye van will eventually be used to determine if trucks are carrying radioactive equipment and to transmit license plate data to see if trucks are stolen, said Hopper.

The van’s rate of correctly identifying vehicles that need to be taken off the road is 44 percent, said Hopper. That compares with a much lower out-of-compliance rate using random inspections alone.

And with physical inspections taking a half-hour or more, cutting down on unnecessary screenings saves truckers time.

“The key thing is freight mobility,” said Hopper. “We have to keep the trucks moving.”