One of the biggest challenges for Ohio-based Moore Transport, a fast-growing auto carrier, is getting experienced drivers. Its emphasis on a safety mindset and running late-model equipment of the type more favored by independent owner-operators means they’re able to attract a lot of drivers by word of mouth. But wasted time pulling into weigh stations multiple times a day was wearing on driver satisfaction.

Treasure Phillippi, safety supervisor, says the company knew it had to address the problem when she learned in 2015 that exit surveys found one out of every five drivers who left did it because the company was not making good on its promises of free weekends.

“Because some of our lanes are local lanes, drivers go through the same scales two and three times a day,” Phillippi explains. “We would go through at peak hours and have to get in line and go through the scales. For the most part, we have pretty good CSA scores, so we weren’t getting pulled in a lot, but it was just the slowing down, the creeping through the scales — drivers were losing 20, 25 minutes each time they went through a scale. They would tell me, ‘I don’t have time to reload because I spent two hours crossing scales.’”

The company researched traditional transponder-based weigh station bypass systems but eventually chose to use Drivewyze PreClear, a bypass system that works on a mobile device or telematics system.

“I took 15 or 20 trucks and had them download the Drivewyze app after some drivers said they had been using it and paying for it out of their own pocket,” she says. “After a month or so, some were able to do a complete second turn in a day,” allowing them to load cars for delivery for the following day before their on-duty hours expired. And drivers weren’t having to work into the evenings on Fridays or Saturday mornings nearly as often.

One problem with transponders, Phillippi explains, is that the signal can be blocked by the cars stacked over the cab. “We use [transponders] for tolls in Canada, and there are times when those don’t work. It holds the driver up for hours trying to get it straight. So, I had drivers hesitant to rely on that type of system for bypass.”

In addition, Moore drivers already were using tablets for their electronic delivery systems, so no additional hardware was needed. Customer service and cost were also issues.

After making the decision, they rolled Drivewyze out to the entire fleet. The bypass has been a big success, Phillippi says. In January, the system reports the fleet bypassed 92% of a potential 3,127 weigh station visits, for an estimated savings of $156 per truck.

“If you take the 2,891 times we bypassed the scale and multiply that by just 7 minutes, that’s more than 300 hours” saved in a month, she says. “It’s a big selling point [to drivers]. It’s another tool we give the drivers to be successful on their daily commute.”

Fleet Snapshot

Who: Moore Transport LLC

Where: Toledo, Ohio

Fleet: 260 late-model, traditionally styled Peterbilts

Operations: Car-hauling, primarily east of the Mississippi

Fun Fact: Company was started by an auto dealer who felt he could deliver the kind of auto transportation he knew dealers wanted

Challenge: Wasted time at weigh stations affecting productivity and driver satisfaction

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