Approximately 9,000 inspectors in North America will be inspecting commercial vehicles and drivers during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s annual enforcement blitz scheduled for June 4-6.
An average of 17 commercial vehicles per minute are inspected throughout North America during the 72-hour period.
Some drivers shut down and take vacations or make repairs to their equipment to avoid the inspection blitz.
Inspectors will focus on motor carriers’ steering and suspension systems during this year’s Roadcheck.
Last year, CVSA inspectors handed out 537 steering-related violations and 286 commercial vehicles were placed out-of-service. There were 500 suspension violations and 538 suspension-related OOS citations issued.
In 2018, 67,603 total inspections took place with 21.6 percent of all inspected motor vehicles and 3.9 percent of drivers placed out-of-service (OOS). Last year, hours-of-service compliance was the focus of Roadcheck and 43.7 percent of all drivers placed OOS were because of a HOS violation.
Out-of-service orders negatively affect a motor carrier’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) score.
Inspectors will also ensure trailer underride guards meet federal regulations. A motor carrier with a damaged rear guard faces a fine, which varies by jurisdiction, and will be assessed two points on its CSA score.
Roadcheck is a CVSA program with participation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada and Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) (Ministry of Communications and Transportation) of Mexico.
There’s still no word on whether Mexico will be participating in this year’s Roadcheck, according to Will Schaefer, director of safety programs of CVSA.
“Mexico hasn’t shared their inspection data the last few years, so we aren’t sure if they will collect it and send it to us this year,” Schaefer told FreightWaves.
During the 72-hour blitz, inspectors will primarily conduct Level 1 inspections, a 37-step process that that includes an examination of driver operating requirements and vehicle mechanical fitness, according to CVSA.
Inspectors may opt to conduct the Level II Walk-Around Driver/Vehicle Inspection, Level III Driver/Credential/Administrative Inspection or Level V Vehicle-Only Inspection.
Drivers will be required to provide their driver’s license (operating credentials), Medical Examiner’s Certificate and Skill Performance Evaluation Certificate (if applicable), driver’s record of duty status and vehicle inspection report(s) (if applicable). Inspectors will also check drivers for seat belt usage, sickness, fatigue and apparent alcohol and/or drug impairment.
If no critical vehicle inspection item violations are found during a Level I or Level V Inspection, a CVSA decal will be applied to the vehicle. However, when a rear impact guard is required and violations are present, a CVSA decal shall not be issued.
Not having a CVSA decal will have minimal impact on a carrier’s ability to operate throughout North America, but could mean the same tractor-trailer may face multiple inspections during the three-day blitz, according to Kerri Wirachowsky, director of roadside inspection of CVSA.
The decal serves as a screening tool for inspectors, Wirachowsky told FreightWaves recently.
“Having the CVSA decal on the truck and trailer serves as a signal to commercial vehicle inspectors in other jurisdictions that a previous inspector found no critical inspection violations,” she said.
If critical vehicle inspection item violations are found, inspectors may render the vehicle out of service if the condition meets the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria. This means the vehicle cannot be operated until the vehicle violation(s) are corrected. A driver can also be placed out of service for issues such as fatigue or impairment, according to CVSA.
Roadcheck is the largest targeted enforcement program on commercial motor vehicles in the world, with around 17 trucks and buses inspected, on average, every minute in Canada, the United States and Mexico during a 72-hour period.