Jared KoesterCVSA
Second place went to Dustin Henderson, Texas DPS, and third place went to Jeremy Feigley, Arizona Department of Public Safety.
CVSA President Col. Russ Christoferson, with the Montana Department of Transportation, announced Koester as this year’s NAIC Grand Champion at the joint awards ceremony of CVSA’s inspectors’ competition and the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) National Truck Driving Championships and National Step Van Driving Championships.
Forty-eight commercial motor vehicle inspectors competed at this year’s NAIC, held Aug. 20-24 in Indianapolis,. This the only North American event dedicated to testing, recognizing and awarding commercial motor vehicle inspector excellence.
In addition to the NAIC Grand Champion Award, sponsored by PrePass Safety Alliance, other awards were earned by this year’s competing inspectors.
Each inspector who scored the most points from their country received the High Points Award. The following High Points Awards, sponsored by Trimac, were presented to:
- Sean McAlister High Points Canada Award – Thomas McKeon, Ontario Ministry of Transportation
- High Points U.S. Award – Jared Koester, Local Member
First, second and third place awards were given for the following inspection categories:
The North American Standard Hazardous Materials/Dangerous Goods and Cargo Tank/Bulk Packagings Inspection is an inspection of the requirements related to identifying hazardous materials/dangerous goods markings, labeling, placarding, packaging, identification, etc. This award was sponsored by National Tank Truck Carriers Inc.
- First Place – Caitlin Philbrick, British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
- Second Place – Dustin Henderson, Texas Department of Public Safety
- Third Place – Jared Koester, Local Member
The North American Standard Level V Passenger Carrier Vehicle Inspection is an inspection of motorcoaches and other passenger-carrying vehicles. This award was co-sponsored by the American Bus Association and the United Motorcoach Association.
- First Place – Jared Koester, Local Member
- Second Place – Joseph O’Brien, South Carolina Department of Public Safety
- Third Place – Dustin Henderson, Texas Department of Public Safety
The North American Standard Level I Inspection is the most commonly performed inspection. It is a 37-step procedure that includes an examination of the driver’s operating requirements and the vehicle’s mechanical fitness. This award was sponsored by J.B. Hunt Transport Inc.
- First Place – Jared Koester, Local Member
- Second Place – Dustin Henderson, Texas Department of Public Safety
- Third Place – Jeremy Feigley, Arizona Department of Public Safety
Sponsored by FedEx, the Team Award is given to the team with the highest combined score. This year the winner was the Yellow Team, led by team leader Jacob Raupp with the Indiana State Police. The Yellow Team had the following members:
- Andre McLamb, Georgia
- Danson Cappo, Hawaii
- Kimberly Hill, Indiana
- Adam Romkema, Montana
- Anthony Vasquez, New Jersey
- Joseph O’Brien, South Carolina
- Brian Stenbak, South Dakota
- Dustin Henderson, Texas
NAIC contestants voted to present the John Youngblood Award of Excellence to Dustin Henderson with the Texas Department of Public Safety for exemplifying the spirit of cooperation, leadership, a professional image, dedication to the profession, a positive attitude, organizational ability and congeniality. The award is an honor NAIC contestants bestow upon a fellow competitor who exemplifies high standards and unwavering dedication to the profession. It’s the only award whose winner is selected by their peers.
American and Canadian jurisdictions sent their top inspector to NAIC to represent their jurisdiction, receive valuable training and compete against other top inspectors for the ultimate title of NAIC Grand Champion.
Each NAIC competitor received hands-on training on the latest safety information, technology, standards and procedures. Inspectors received advanced training on the out-of-service criteria, inspection procedures, inspection bulletins, operational policies, hours-of-service compliance, violation documentation, hazardous materials/dangerous goods regulations compliance, hydraulic brakes, performance-based brake testers, passenger carrier vehicles, cargo tanks and more.
For the competition, each contestant competed in six inspection categories over two days. The competition included contestants inspecting vehicles and identifying regulatory violations and critical vehicle inspection item out-of-service conditions, all while being timed. Contestants were tested on real-world vehicle and driver inspection scenarios and had to appropriately evaluate the situation and properly identify violations within the recreated roadside inspection scenario.
Next year’s NAIC is scheduled for Aug. 19-23, in Minneapolis.
