CVSA's 2021 International Roadcheck Focuses on Hours of Service and Lighting

In May 2021, commercial vehicle inspectors across Canada, Mexico and the United States held the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's (CVSA) annual International Roadcheck. CVSA had announced in February that the 72-hour event would run May 4-6, 2021, with special attention to two areas: hours of service for drivers and lighting for vehicles.

Why those two focus areas

Each year CVSA asks member jurisdictions to collect extra data on one category of violations. For 2021 it chose two, one for each of the main parts of a North American Standard Level I Inspection: driver operating requirements and vehicle mechanical fitness.

CVSA gave the figures behind its choice:

• Lighting. According to FMCSA, "lamps inoperable" (49 CFR 393.9) was the top vehicle violation in fiscal 2020, at about 12.24% of all vehicle violations found that year.
• Hours of service. During the 2020 International Roadcheck, hours of service was the leading driver out-of-service category in North America, at 34.7% of driver out-of-service conditions.

What inspectors checked

On the vehicle side, inspectors looked at brake systems, cargo securement, coupling devices, driveline and driveshaft parts, the driver's seat, exhaust, frames, fuel systems, lighting devices, steering, suspensions, tires, van and open-top trailer bodies, wheels, rims, hubs and windshield wipers. Buses and other passenger vehicles also had their emergency exits, electrical cables and systems in the engine and battery compartments, and seating checked.

On the driver side, inspectors reviewed operating credentials, hours-of-service records, seat belt use, and signs of alcohol or drug impairment.

Vehicles or drivers with violations listed in the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria were placed out of service. That meant they could not continue until the problems were fixed.

Decals

Vehicles that passed a full Level I or Level V inspection with no critical violations were eligible for a CVSA decal. CVSA said vehicles with a valid decal, good for three months, were generally not re-inspected during that time, so inspectors could focus on vehicles without one.

Same inspection, more data

CVSA President Sgt. John Samis of the Delaware State Police stressed that Roadcheck was a data collection effort and that the inspections were the same as on any other day. CVSA said inspectors would follow their departments' COVID-19 health and safety protocols. It also said COVID-19 vaccine shipments would not be held up for inspection unless there was an obvious serious violation posing an imminent hazard.

The event was run by CVSA with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada, and Mexico's Ministry of Communications and Transportation and National Guard.

Archive: this article describes rules and events as of May 2021. Regulations may have changed since, so check the current rule before relying on it.