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Compiled by Lyndon Finney, Linda Garner-Bunch,
John Worthen, and The Associated Press
Presented in
partnership
with
Normally this space would be filled with articles about legislation and regulatory matters, but with Congress almost solely focusing
on President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan, there is not much going on in those arenas. So, we turn to another important aspect
of trucking — safety. We lead off with the results of International Roadcheck 2021 which noted that hours-of-services violations
accounted for almost half of all driver out-of-service orders. We follow that with a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
that shows an increase of fatalities in the first quarter of 2021 over the same period last year. Other safety-related articles include
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Administrator nominee Meera Joshi telling a Senate panel that safety will be her utmost priority.
Finally, we read that the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board is calling for a shift in the way the country looks at road safety.
HOS VIOLATIONS ACCOUNT FOR ALMOST HALF OF OUT-OF-
SERVICE ORDERS DURING INTERNATIONAL ROADCHECK
More than 40,000 commercial motor vehicle (CMV) inspections
were conducted in May for International Roadcheck, the Commercial
Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) annual high-volume, highvisibility
inspection and enforcement initiative.
Approximately 83.5% of the CMVs examined during the Roadcheck
had no out-of-service (OOS) violations. However, inspectors
had to remove 6,710 commercial motor vehicles and 2,080 drivers
from roadways — a 16.5% vehicle and 5.3% driver OOS rate —
over that three-day period after the discovery of OOS violations
during inspections.
CVSA-certified inspectors at weigh stations, inspection stations,
roadside and designated inspection sites in Canada, Mexico, and
the U.S. inspected commercial trucks and combinations, cargo
tank hazardous materials/dangerous goods (HM/DG) trucks and
combinations, non-cargo tank HM/DG trucks and combinations,
and motorcoaches/buses during the initiative.
Inspectors primarily conducted the North American Standard
Level I inspection, a 37-step inspection process that involves thorough
inspection of the vehicle (including underneath the vehicle)
and the driver. Inspectors performed 23,135 Level I inspections
and removed 5,048 vehicles (21.8%) and 1,200 (5.2%) drivers
from roadways due to the discovery of critical vehicle or driver
inspection item violations as identified in the CVSA North American
Standard OOS Criteria.
In Canada and the U.S., inspectors conducted 9,410 Level II
inspections and placed 1,593 (16.9%) vehicles and 549 drivers
(5.8%) OOS. They also conducted 6,836 Level III inspections and
placed 331 drivers OOS. That is a 4.8% driver OOS rate. In Mexico,
inspectors with the Ministry of Communications and Transportation
and the National Guard conducted 1,288 Level V inspections.
Vehicles that pass a Level I or V inspection with no critical vehicle
inspection item violations are eligible to receive a CVSA decal.
Generally, vehicles displaying a CVSA decal, valid for up to
three months, are not subjected to inspection. Instead, jurisdictions
typically focus their efforts on vehicles that do not display a
valid decal.
During the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s 2021 International Roadcheck, more than 40,000
vehicles were inspected in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. About 83.5% of those vehicles had no
out-of-service violations.
CVSA decals were placed on 9,951 power units, 3,795 trailers,
and 190 motorcoaches/buses for a total of 13,936 decals.
Of the 24,423 Level I and V inspections conducted throughout
North America, 5,084 vehicles and 1,200 drivers were placed OOS
— a 20.8% vehicle OOS rate and a 4.9% driver OOS rate.
Each year, CVSA highlights a category of violations during International
Roadcheck to bring awareness to certain aspects of a
routine roadside inspection. This year, inspectors captured data on
two categories — hours of service and lighting.
There were 1,367 OOS lighting violations, accounting for 14.1%
of all vehicle OOS violations, making it the third most-cited violation,
after brake systems and tires. OOS lighting device violations
include headlamps, tail lamps, stop lamps, turn signals, and lamps
on projecting loads.
SEE ROADCHECK, PAGE 11
8 TRUCKLOAD AUTHORITY | WWW.TRUCKLOAD.ORG TCA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021