Seems like a smart way to monitor large trucks to catch safety violations:

The cameras and scales along I-85 scan and weigh commercial vehicles, allowing troopers to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively.

“Rather than a trooper just ride around burning fuel looking for violations he can come here use this technology that will track violations when one is headed his direction,” said Sgt. Jarrett.

It’s the newest technology available, the first in a high speed area.

“It takes a picture of their DOT number and the license plate and that’s where the light comes from and it researches the data base and puts that information in a database,” said Randy Braden, Assistant State Maintenance Engineer, ALDOT.

If there’s an infraction, the database will alert a nearby trooper, focusing on commercial vehicle safety and enforcement in real-time, in a time when doing more with less is the norm.

“We’re very, very shorthanded the most I’ve ever seen in my 19 year career so efficiency is key,” said Sgt. Jarrett.

ALDOT says they are in the process of getting the cameras certified and when that happens a sign will be put up explaining their purpose. Alabama transportation officials say they have funding set aside for another camera unit.

Officials say these devices are popping up all over the country due to their low operation cost in comparison to weigh stations.  A new weigh station would cost $10-15 million dollars to build while the virtual weigh station cost $300,000 to install.  Cameras along I-85 monitoring commercial vehicle safety