BOISE, ID — A tire blowout on a semi-truck traveling at highway speeds can be dangerous. As part of the Idaho Transportation Department’s ongoing commitment to safety, the agency will begin installing Tire Anomaly and Classification Systems at Ports of Entry around the state, including at both locations in Lewiston.
Ports of Entry inspect commercial vehicles and oversee their safe operation on Idaho roads. TAC systems are installed in the road and screen semitruck tires for anomalies and damage. Port employees can use the TAC data to notify truck drivers of damaged or underinflated tires before they cause a safety problem.
Idaho’s first TAC system was installed at the Declo POE in February 2023. Since then, over 1,100 tire anomalies have been detected.
“Installing TAC systems is a proactive approach to safety,” according to ITD Commercial Vehicle Services Manager Craig Roberts. “The driving public is much safer when commercial vehicles with tire issues are stopped to correct blowouts, flats, or missing tires.”
From ITD:
The TAC installation schedule is as follows:
- East Boise POE in both directions, week of May 28.
- Lewiston POE in both directions, week of July 15.
- Sage POE in both directions, tentatively late July or early August depending on other road construction in the area.
- Huetter POE in both directions, tentatively August depending on other road construction in the area.
- Inkom POE will have a phased installation. Southbound is to be completed in June. Northbound is to be completed next year during work on the Inkom interchange.
The cost for all the new TAC systems combined is $1.2 million. In 2022, the economic cost of crashes involving commercial motor vehicles in Idaho was over $627 million.
