CVSA's 2022 International Roadcheck Focuses on Wheel Ends

In May 2022, commercial vehicle inspectors across North America held the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's (CVSA) annual International Roadcheck, a three-day enforcement push that ran from May 17 to 19, 2022. CVSA had announced the dates on February 16, 2022, along with the year's focus area: wheel ends.

A 72-hour inspection blitz

CVSA describes International Roadcheck as a 72-hour, high-visibility, high-volume inspection and enforcement initiative. For the 2022 event, inspectors in Canada, Mexico and the United States planned to carry out North American Standard Inspections of commercial motor vehicles and drivers at weigh and inspection stations, on roving patrols and at temporary inspection sites.

Inspectors examine large trucks and motorcoaches, along with drivers' documentation and credentials, using CVSA's North American Standard Inspection Program procedures. These are uniform steps and standards intended to keep inspections and enforcement consistent from one jurisdiction to the next.

Using CVSA's North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria, inspectors look for critical violations. If they find one, the driver or vehicle is restricted from travel until the problem is fixed.

Why wheel ends

Each year, CVSA picks one aspect of the roadside inspection to highlight. For 2022, it chose wheel ends.

CVSA explained that wheel end components carry the heavy loads hauled by commercial vehicles, help maintain stability and control, and are critical for braking. According to the alliance, violations involving wheel end parts had historically made up about a quarter of the vehicle out-of-service violations found during International Roadcheck, and past Roadcheck data routinely placed wheel end components among the top 10 vehicle violations.

Decals and COVID-19 protocols

Vehicles that passed a North American Standard Level I or Level V Inspection without any critical vehicle inspection item violations could receive a CVSA decal. CVSA said that, in general, a vehicle with a valid decal would not be re-inspected during the three months the decal was valid, so inspectors could concentrate on vehicles without one.

Because of COVID-19, CVSA said law enforcement personnel would carry out inspections following their own departments' health and safety protocols.

CVSA President Capt. John Broers of the South Dakota Highway Patrol said the alliance wanted every vehicle on the road to be "in proper working order," for the safety of its driver and everyone else traveling on the roadways.

Who took part

International Roadcheck is a CVSA program run with the participation of the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada and Mexico's Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation.

Archive: this article describes rules and events as of May 2022. Regulations may have changed since, so check the current rule before relying on it.