Copyright: Wyższa Szkoła Logistyki, Poznań, Polska Citation: Wiśnicki B., Wolnowska A., 2011, The systems of automatic weight control of vehicles in the road and rail transport in Poland. LogForum 7, 3, 3 URL: http://www.logforum.net/vol7/issue3/no3 Accepted: 11.06.2011, on-line: 5.08.2011. LogForum > Electronic Scientific Journal of Logistics < ISSN 1734-459X 2011 Vol. 7 Issue 3 No 3 http://www.logforum.net THE SYSTEMS OF AUTOMATIC WEIGHT CONTROL OF VEHICLES IN THE ROAD AND RAIL TRANSPORT IN POLAND Bogusz Wiśnicki, Anna Wolnowska Maritime University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland ABSTRACT. Condition of roads in Poland, despite the on-going modernisation works is still unsatisfactory. One reason is the excessive wear caused by overloaded vehicles. This problem also applies to rail transport, although to a much lesser extent. One solution may be the system of automatic weight control of road and rail vehicles. The article describes the legal and organizational conditions of oversize vehicles inspection in Poland. Characterized current practices weighing road vehicles, based on measurements of static technology. The article includes the description of the existing applications of the automatic dynamic weighing technology, known as systems WIM (Weigh in Motion). Additionally, the weighing technology and construction of weighing stands in road and rail are characterized. The article ends with authors' conclusions indicating the direction and ways of improving the weighing control systems for vehicles. Key words: road transport, vehicle weighing systems, automatic and dynamic weighing. INTRODUCTION The periodic analyses of technical condition of the road and rail infrastructure in Poland indicate the annually increasing maintenance needs. Despite allocating enormous financial means, which come mainly from the EU programmes it, has been unsuccessful to decrease the number of roads and railways needing repair. In the road transport road surface repairs of interventional character are continuous especially where the surface condition directly poses danger to road safety. Planned repairs of periodic character are carried out thereafter, which causes that the line of roads awaiting renovation gets longer and longer. A similar situation is present in the rail transport, though there the lack of finances for renovation and regular maintenance results in closure of a particular railway. The main reason for the gradual deterioration of the road and rail infrastructure is its operational wear. In the road transport the dynamic increase of means of transport may be taken into account. The growth often exceeds the forecast values of traffic intensity for which a particular road was designed. The operational wear of roads and railways is predictable and directly proportional to the number of assisted means of transport. However, there is a factor which was not considered by designers while scheduling, according to the regulations, subsequent repair periods. It is the additional wear caused by the passage of overloaded means of transport with bigger weight than the permissible one or bigger than the allowed pressure on the axles. A number of such non-standard vehicles which move legally after obtaining an appropriate licence, or illegally without such a licence is very big both in the road and rail transport. This is due to those overloaded rail cars and road trailers that the transport infrastructure undergoes the relevant and abnormal wear in Poland.