After having been postponed for four months last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's annual International Roadcheck inspection blitz returns to its normal schedule this week.
In fact, Roadcheck is Tuesday through Thursday, May 4-6, and law enforcement agencies in the U.S. Canada, and Mexico will perform thousands of inspections. This year, they'll pay special attention to and collect data on trucks' lighting and drivers' hours of service records.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the lighting violation “lamps inoperable” was the number one vehicle violation in fiscal 2020, accounting for some 12.24% of all vehicle violations. And during last year’s International Roadcheck, the top driver out-of-service violation category in North America was hours of service, accounting for 34.7% of all driver out-of-service conditions.
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During last year's International Roadcheck, CVSA-certified inspectors conducted a total of 50,151 inspections in the three countries. They included 26,451 Level I Inspections, 11,224 Level II Inspections, 11,364 Level III Inspections and 1,112 Level V Inspections.
During Roadcheck, inspectors will check a vehicle’s:
- brake systems
- cargo securement
- coupling devices
- driveline/driveshaft components
- driver’s seat
- exhaust systems
- frames
- fuel systems
- lighting devices
- steering mechanisms
- suspensions
- tires
- van and open-top trailer bodies
- wheels,
- rims
- hubs
- windshield wipers
Inspectors will be looking for critical vehicle inspection item violations, outlined in the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria.
Vehicles that successfully pass inspection, without any critical vehicle violations found after a completed Level I or Level V Inspection, should receive a CVSA decal. In general, vehicles with a CVSA decal are not re-inspected during the three-month period during which the decal is valid.
Also during an inspection, inspectors will check the driver’s operating credentials, hours-of-service documentation, seat belt usage, and for alcohol and/or drug impairment.
