More than 13,000 unsafe tires have been removed in one year from commercial vehicles traveling on Interstate 81 through the use of new technology, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

The technology, called Tire Anomaly and Classification System (TACS), enables weigh station technicians to identify commercial vehicles traveling with flat, missing, mismatched or underinflated tires and call the driver into the station to arrange for a repair.

TACS was installed at the Stephens City Motor Carrier Service Center along I-81 near Winchester in June 2020. An average of nearly 1,200 unsafe tires is detected each month, a release said. This year, DMV will install the TACS technology, produced by International Road Dynamics, Inc., to the Troutville Motor Carrier Service Center on I-81 near Roanoke and the Alberta Motor Carrier Service Center on I-85.

“DMV’s motor carrier service centers put the most innovative technology to work to keep truck drivers—and all motoris...