CCJ Daily Dispatch, Aug. 11: Roadcheck inspection blitz rescheduled for next month

CCJ Staff

| August 11, 2020

Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020:

Roadcheck inspection spree rescheduled for next month
Trucking companies have just one month to prepare for the year’s largest inspection blitz, as the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance announced Monday its annual International Roadcheck is now scheduled for Sept. 9-11.

The blitz was first scheduled for May 5-7, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Roadcheck is now being held just two weeks after CVSA’s brake-focused Brake Safety Week inspection spree, which is being held Aug. 23-29.

“Although the coronavirus pandemic, understandably, shifted priorities and personnel during the spring, the commercial motor vehicle law enforcement community has reasserted its focus on the roadside inspection program and enforcement duties,” said CVSA President Sgt. John Samis with the Delaware State Police. “Jurisdictions are nearly back to their pre-pandemic capacity with a strengthened concentration on identifying and removing unfit vehicles and drivers from our roadways using federal safety standards and the out-of-service criteria.”

The annual 72-hour enforcement spree will still have a special emphasis on the driver requirements component of inspections, as was previously planned for Roadcheck when it was scheduled to take place in May. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, nearly 1 million driver violations were discovered in 2019’s approximately 3.36 million commercial vehicle inspections, with nearly 200,000 of those being out-of-service violations.

For the driver portion of an inspection, inspectors will collect and verify the driver’s documents, identify the motor carrier, examine the driver’s license, check record of duty status and review periodic inspection reports. Inspectors will also check the Medical Examiner’s Certificate, Skill Performance Evaluation Certificate and the driver’s daily vehicle inspection report. Inspectors will also be looking for seat belt usage, illness, fatigue and apparent alcohol or drug possession or impairment.

While the focus of the inspections will be on driver qualifications, inspectors will still mostly be conducting full 37-point North American Standard Level I inspections during the three-day blitz.

During the vehicle portion of the inspection, law enforcement will be checking brake systems, cargo securement, driveline components, exhaust systems, frames, fuel systems, lights, steering, suspension, tires and more.

If no critical violations are found, inspectors will apply a CVSA decal to the truck, indicating it has passed a decal-eligible inspection conducted by a CVSA-certified inspector.