Arkansas Trucking Association

Needs Improvement: Results In From National Roadcheck Event

The results are in from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Roadcheck 2013 event that was held the first weekend in June. One in five vehicles inspected were placed out-of-service during the 72-hour safety event.  The enforcement and safety outreach campaign was carried out by members of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA).

Of their inspections, a total of 47,771 were North American Standard Level I inspections — the most comprehensive roadside inspection — in which vehicles and drivers are assessed for violations of federal, state or Canadian provincial safety regulations. Out of those Level 1 inspections, 24 percent had OOS violations. Officers also conducted driver-only and vehicle-only inspections that aren’t as intensive as the Level 1 inspections. A total of 71,630 driver inspections were conducted with 4 percent of them found to have OOS violations. That’s up from 22 percent of vehicles and 3.9 percent of drivers placed OOS in 2012. Almost 900 of the violations issued to drivers were for not wearing a seatbelt. For the vehicle inspections, factors for violations included signs of improperly secured loads such as inadequate number of tie downs, damaged webbing or chain, and other load securement violations and also brake system violations. This year, almost half of the vehicle OOS violations were related to braking problems. Performance based brake testers or PBBTs were used during Roadcheck 2013. Nine U.S. states and one Canadian province are equipped with PBBT systems for enforcement use. Of the 287 enforcement inspections conducted with a PBBT, 36 vehicles or 12 percent were found with overall braking efficiency below the minimum required by U.S. regulation and the North American Standard OOS Criteria. CVSA President Mark Savage, a major with the Colorado State Patrol, says “the strong enforcement presence involved in Roadcheck and throughout the year is a critical component in our safety efforts across North America. Inspectors are making a huge impact and they are to be commended for their efforts.”