• Interactive Maps

    COVER Lab currently publishes interactive maps that help assist the State Highway Patrol MCE make informed planning and operation decisions.
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  • Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT)

    TACT is a safety program that is focused on 'aggressive' driver behaviors that take place in the 'shared use' car/truck operating environment
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  • Road Vulnerability Index (RVI)

    The RVI provides a useful tool for the visual analysis and integration of roadway maintenance and operations concerns across various departments of the North Carolina Department of Transportation
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What is COVER Lab?

Located on NC State University's Centennial Campus, COVER Lab is the Institute for Transportation Research and Education's (ITRE) flagship resource for CMV safety and road infrastructure preservation.

Our staff provides data analysis, geographic information, and program evaluation support to the Motor Carrier Enforcement (MCE) section of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP).

Read more about who we are and what we do.

What is A Commercial Motor Vehicle?

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) is one with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) or gross combination vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 lbs that is used to transport goods in interstate commerce.

Commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce are subject to roadside driver and/or vehicle inspections. Due to their weight and potential for damage to the infrastructure CMVs are also subject to be weighed by enforcement personnel either on static scales (generally fixed/permanent weigh stations) or on mobile scales.

MCE Maps and Tools

NCTAITRE and Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) Conduct Study of the Attributes of Carriers Involved in Fatal Combination Unit Truck (CUT) Crashes in Virginia and North Carolina, 2005-2009

A recent study by researchers at NC State University’s Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) has shown fatal crashes involving combination unit trucks (CUT) in NC for 2005-2009 were more frequent on non-Interstate roadways than on Interstate roadways.  While small carriers (those operating fewer than 10 power units) constituted only 17% of all fatal CUT-involved crashes on Interstate roads, small carriers constituted 36% of all fatal CUT crashes on non-interstate roads.Read More...

NCTAITRE Seeks to Engage Members of the NC Trucking Association in Charlotte, NC's Desire to Develop a Freight Mobility Plan

On June 16, Dr. Hughes, Director of ITRE's CMV Research Group, made a presentation to members of the North Carolina Trucking Association (NCTA) and to members of the City of Charlotte DOT, representatives of the Centrolina Council of Governments (CCOG), and to representatives of the UNC-Charlotte Center for Transportation Policy Studies. Read More...

Potential Safety Benefits of Motor Carrier Operational Efficiencies

TRB’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 20: Potential Safety Benefits of Motor Carrier Operational Efficiencies addresses risk avoidance strategies and highlights their use and perceived safety effects. The report is designed to assist motor carriers in deploying their vehicles in ways that may minimize crash risk.

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FHWA GIS newsletter “editorial” 

Published Spring, 2010. Greg Ferrara talks about where North Carolina State Highways Patrol's (NCSHP) Motor Carrier Enforcement should focus their limited resources in this editorial. Read More...