The once-a-year, 72-hour commercial vehicle inspection blitz in May removed 19% of trucks and 5.5% of drivers from service, at least temporarily, after law enforcement screeners across North America screened 59,429 motor vehicles, according to the group that organized International Roadcheck.
From May 16 to May 18, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance-certified inspectors removed 11,270 commercial vehicles from roadways until the out-of-service violations could be corrected. There were 17,479 vehicle out-of-service violations in total, according to a CVSA release this week.
The out-of-service (OOS) rates from the May inspections were an improvement over 2022, when 23% of commercial vehicles in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico were placed out of service, according to CVSA data.
The three-day inspection event did clear 81% of motor vehicles and 94.5% of drivers, finding they did not have any out-of-service violations and allowing them to continue to complete their runs, according to CVSA, though 5.5% (3,256) of drivers were found to have at least one out-of-service violation, as identified in CVSA’s North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria. Those drivers were restricted from commercial travel until their out-of-service violations were addressed. There were a total of 5,280 driver out-of-service violations during the event. In 2022, 6.4% of drivers were placed out of service.
Commercial motor vehicles without any critical vehicle inspection violations are eligible to receive a CVSA decal, and during Roadcheck 2023, decals were applied to 14,032 power units, 5,814 trailers, and 305 motorcoaches or buses, for a total of 20,151 decals throughout North America, CVSA said.
A total of 116,669 violations were identified throughout the effort, which included all driver and vehicle out-of-service violations and violations that were not out of service, combined, CVSA said.
Each year, CVSA highlights certain aspects of the roadside inspection, and this year, inspectors focused on anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and cargo securement. There were 2,975 cargo securement violations and 4,127 ABS violations. Four were discovered on motorcoaches, 1,426 on power units, and 2,697 on trailers, according to the CVSA release.
A total of 949 seat-belt violations were issued during Roadcheck 2023, meaning 1.6% of drivers who were inspected were not wearing their seat belts, CVSA said.
Inspectors also checked commercial vehicles carrying hazardous materials/dangerous goods. A total of 2,853 hazmat/dangerous goods inspections were performed and 236 HM/DG-related out-of-service violations were found.
CVSA also provided a breakdown of this year's inspection levels out of Roadcheck 2023:
- 36,021 Level I Inspections: A Level I Inspection is the most commonly conducted inspection level. It’s a 37-step process that checks the driver’s operating credentials and the vehicle’s components.
- 12,741 Level II Inspections: A Level II Inspection is a walk-around driver/vehicle inspection that includes items that can be inspected without physically getting under the vehicle.
- 9,332 Level III Inspections: The Level III Inspection is an administrative inspection of the driver’s credentials, status in the drug and alcohol clearinghouse, and hours-of-service records.
- 1,335 Level V Inspections: The Level V Inspection is the vehicle-only inspection that includes each of the vehicle inspection items.
This story originally appeared on FleetOwner.com.