By John Halikowski / ADOT Director

Anytime change occurs, there will be skepticism. When the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division unveiled the new “Permit Test @ Home” this month, we heard a little bit of that. But I’m confident these concerns are misplaced and will diminish over time.

At ADOT, safety is our first priority and the vision of MVD is to get Arizona out of line and safely on the road. Our innovations will adhere to that standard.

The Permit Test @ Home is a common-sense, convenient method for teenage potential drivers to take the written permit test. It requires the parent or guardian to set up an account at our new AZ MVD Now portal, which is accessed through ServiceArizona.com. The parent or guardian must input his or her driver license number as well as other secure identifying information and then affirm that the test will be appropriately proctored. For good measure, a disclaimer reminds people that parents are responsible for their children’s actions behind the wheel. Finally, when the parent and teenager eventually go together to an MVD office to get the actual permit, this secure information will be confirmed with the parent or guardian standing right there.

Online methods for testing aren’t new. Defensive driving schools, not to mention plenty of universities and trade certification agencies, have tested online for years. The Permit Test @ Home follows that concept and it’s just one portion of educating a driver. It gives the family time at home to study the drivers’ manual and even take online practice tests. These are meaningful ways to learn, and once the learner is eligible for an actual license, a road test is required.

Arizonans should know that the people who work for ADOT are not just implementing new ideas in a vacuum. We are consumers of our own services and we drive the same roads as everyone else. Naturally, we want well-educated, competent drivers of all ages, and the Permit Test @ Home helps us reach that goal.

This post originally appeared on ADOT Director John Halikowski's
LinkedIn page. He has led the agency since 2009.

By Doug Nick / ADOT Communications

Fifteen years and six months.

Ask any parent and they will tell you that’s exactly the amount of time it takes for them to get gray hair, because that’s how old your kid has to be in order to get a learners’ permit.

This is a modern phenomenon, of course. Back in the day, parents didn’t have to think about this.

George Washington had a dad, and the father of the Father of our Country didn’t have to worry about his son George falling off his horse at the tender age of 10 or whatever. Nope, li'l Georgie just rode Ol' Paint without any thought of having a permit and instead used his brainpower to invent America.

Julius Caesar, remember him? His mom never gave one thought to Jules taking the chariot for a spin when he was a lad. Instead, she spent her time in the kitchen inventing a great salad…

But today, well, we have paperwork because getting behind the wheel is kind of a big deal. No, it’s actually a REALLY BIG deal, and we want every driver to be well-informed about driving laws and procedures during the learning process that happens before getting an actual Driver License. But we also want to make the process for getting the Learners’ Permit more efficient.

It’s called the Permit Test @ Home, and it will mean one less reason to drive to the MVD to take a written test, which means Junior can take the test in your family room and spend more time doing homework. Yea!

The Permit Test @ Home is available to parents by setting up a free personal AZ MVD Now account, which you find at ServiceArizona.com. The parent or guardian will then register their teen for the Permit Test @ Home and agree to the terms. Parents must certify that they will proctor the exam fairly, which, as you will see in a moment comes with the added motivation of the survival instinct. For teens under the age of 18, the application must be signed by a parent or guardian who is responsible for damage caused by negligence or the willful misconduct of the child. Also, state law requires that any child with a permit may only drive with a licensed driver in the front seat. That’s a pretty strong motivation for the licensed driver, who is usually dear ol’ mom or dad, to ensure the permit holder has faithfully learned enough to pass the test.

Oh, we should also mention that one thing hasn’t changed: to get an actual Driver License at the age of at least 16, potential drivers will still have to take a road skills course. That’s in a car, not a horse… or a chariot. Times change, and so does MVD.

What weighs 1.8 million pounds, measures 412 feet long and moves at about 12 miles per hour?

If you guessed the oversize load making its way through Arizona this week, you are correct!

A really big transformer will be entering the state on Friday (Oct. 30) at the Arizona/New Mexico state line on US 64 and will travel (slowly) west to US 160 before heading north on BIA-12 (formerly US 191) into Utah on Saturday. The Arizona portion of its trip is just less than 50 miles and is taking place in the very far northeast corner of the state. When it is here, it’ll be traveling only during daylight hours and will stage overnight at a pull off just east of the US 191/US 160 junction.

ADOT Transportation Engineer Permit Tech Chris Pippin says this isn’t the biggest load to ever travel in Arizona, but “it is one of the heaviest transformers that have been moved on our state highways.”

A view of the 1.8 million-pound transformer that's being transported through Arizona this week.

If you’re planning a trip in that direction, don’t worry too much about getting stuck behind the slow-moving trailer. Four law enforcement escorts will be accompanying the load and will perform traffic breaks and other maneuvers when necessary to keep traffic flowing.

In case you’re curious, this transformer (along with another similar one that’s scheduled to move through Arizona Nov. 14-15) has had a long journey. According to the transporting company, the transformers traveled by ship from China to Houston. Next, they were taken by train to New Mexico, where they were picked up by the transporting company for the final leg of the trek.

More about Class C permitting
Loads that are either in excess of 250,000 pounds, measure more than 120 feet in length, 16 feet in height or 14 feet in width fall under the Class C category.

When it comes to these super-sized loads, it is necessary for haulers to obtain a Class C permit from ADOT to ensure safety on the state’s roads.

When a transporting company applies for a Class C permit, they must provide details to ADOT including the travel routes they plan to take and information on how many trailer axels will be used to spread the weight.

All of the facts are thoroughly reviewed by ADOT in order to make sure a load can safely make it along its route. ADOT’s Class C permitting team communicates with various ADOT district engineers to make sure current road conditions and construction projects are accounted for in the final route. If the route involves a bridge, ADOT’s bridge engineers make sure the bridge can handle the load and that the infrastructure won’t be damaged.

By the way, the 1,834,000 pound transformer moving through the state this week won’t be the only oversized load out on the roads. Class C permits are issued fairly frequently and you can learn more about them by checking out this video and this previous post.

What travels 10 mph, measures nearly 17 feet tall and weighs in at roughly 520 tons?

If you guessed the 1,040,500-pound oversize load currently making its way through our state, you are correct!

This majorly massive load crossed from New Mexico into Arizona on March 18. The haul consists of one (very big) transformer that’s being moved (very slowly) to its final destination in Yuma.

Besides being tall, heavy and slow, it’s also 20-feet-wide and 305-feet-long.

But enough about size – what we find really interesting is how oversize loads like this one move at all.

Moving big loads is no small effort

You might remember we blogged this topic in 2011 when a 285-ton anode traveled from Salt Lake City to the mining town of Miami, east of Phoenix.

The transformer traveling through Arizona is taking the long way to Yuma in order to avoid major highways and interstates.

In that post, we explained that the hauler for oversize/overweight loads must apply for a Class C permit to drive on Arizona highways.

The permit applications ask the hauler to specify travel routes along with more technical stuff – like how many trailer axles will be used to spread the weight (the transformer is being supported by 25 axles).

Transportation Engineering Permit Tech Chris Pippin explains that ADOT’s role includes making sure that the roads can handle the heavy loads.

“It’s about making sure the infrastructure doesn’t get damaged along the route,” she said.

Route considerations

Because of its size and slow speed, the transformer is, for the most part, avoiding major freeways and interstates. The route mainly includes secondary highways. It’s also only allowed to travel at night to avoid daytime traffic. Another condition of this move requires front and rear escorts (pilot cars) along with four DPS officers on the entire route.

There’s one more thing to note about the transformer’s route…

It had to travel on I-10 for just a small portion of the trip near Benson. The interesting thing about the short trek is that because of its size, it headed west on the eastbound lanes. That happened on Sunday, March 23 and required a closure of the road.

For more about oversized loads, check out our previous video and blog posts.

If you don’t know much about ADOT’s Enforcement and Compliance Division, you’ve come to the right place…

We’re here to fill you in on this team that carries out a number of duties all aimed at keeping the roads safe.

Watch the video above to learn about ECD’s responsibilities relating to federal and state ports of entry. You’ll also get a look at the division’s mobile commercial vehicle operations and the efforts made to inspect vehicles and identify stolen vehicles.

For even more, check out some of our previous blog posts that focus on permitting.

As you can see in the video above, applying for and receiving a Class C permit from ADOT isn’t just a formality – it’s a critical step that helps ensure safety on the state’s roads.

These Class C permits (which are required for oversized/overweight loads that are either in excess of 250,000 pounds, measure more than 120 feet in length, 16 feet in height or 14 feet in width) are vital because when a transport hauler applies for one, it allows ADOT to analyze all the specs and make sure a load can safely make it along its route.

Making ADOT aware that such a heavy load is about to enter onto its highways, gives Class C Supervisor Chris Pippin and her team the chance to communicate with various ADOT district engineers to make sure current road conditions and construction projects are accounted for in the final route.

“I just want the people of Arizona to understand that what we do here at the state in issuing these Class C permits that we do everything we can to keep the motoring public very, very safe,” Pippin says in the video above.

State Bridge Engineer Jean Nehme underscores that point by commenting on what’s at stake when it comes to bridge safety.

“You need to make sure the bridge capacity can handle the additional load,” he says. “If you exceed those loads repeatedly, the pavement will have to be replaced sooner, the bridges may deteriorate, or you may have a failure. So, if you’re exceeding what’s permitted within the legal weight limit, then that’s why permitting is necessary.”

To learn more about oversized loads and Class C permits, check out our previous blog posts August 9, 2011 and August 22, 2011.