Roadcheck 2026 Targets ELD Tampering and Cargo Securement
CVSA's May 2026 International Roadcheck focused on falsified or manipulated ELD records and on how cargo was tied down.
In May 2026, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) held its annual International Roadcheck from May 12 to 14. Over the three days, commercial vehicle inspectors in Canada, Mexico and the United States inspected trucks, buses, drivers and cargo at weigh stations and temporary inspection sites, according to CVSA.
Driver focus: ELD tampering
Each Roadcheck puts special emphasis on one driver violation category and one vehicle category. For 2026, the driver focus was electronic logging device (ELD) tampering, falsification or manipulation. Inspectors were to review each driver's record of duty status as usual and look for false or manipulated entries, paying particular attention to ELD tampering.
CVSA said some inaccurate ELD entries come from drivers misunderstanding the federal rules and exemptions. In other cases, it said, entries are made on purpose to hide hours-of-service violations, and some records are altered to conceal driving time without showing that the record was edited, as federal rules require.
The alliance pointed to its 2025 data. Falsification of a record of duty status was the second most-cited driver violation that year, with 58,382 violations, and five of the top 10 driver violations related to hours of service or ELDs.
Vehicle focus: cargo securement
The vehicle focus was cargo securement. CVSA said poorly secured cargo can affect how a vehicle handles and can fall or shift, creating road hazards and crashes. Inspectors were to physically check tie-downs, chains and straps for strength, damage and placement, and confirm that cargo and dunnage were secured and immobilized.
In 2025, CVSA said, inspectors issued 18,108 violations because cargo was not secured against leaking, spilling, blowing or falling, and 16,054 for vehicle components or dunnage not being secured.
What the inspections covered
Roadcheck inspections were the same ones carried out the rest of the year. The standard was the North American Standard Level I inspection, a 37-step procedure covering both the driver's operating requirements and the vehicle's mechanical fitness. Inspectors could also use:
- Level II, a walk-around driver and vehicle inspection that does not require getting under the vehicle;
- Level III, a driver, credential and administrative inspection;
- Level V, a vehicle-only inspection that can be done without the driver present.
On the driver side, inspectors checked licences, records of duty status, medical certificates, seat belt use and, where needed, skills performance evaluation certificates, and watched for signs of impairment. In the United States, inspectors also checked each driver's status in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.
On the vehicle side, inspections covered brakes, cargo securement, coupling devices, driveline parts, the driver's seat, fuel and exhaust systems, frames, lighting, steering, suspensions, tires, wheels, rims, hubs and windshield wipers. Bus inspections also covered emergency exits, seating and electrical systems in the engine and battery compartments.
Drivers or vehicles with out-of-service violations were taken off the road until the problems were fixed. Vehicles that passed a Level I or Level V inspection with no critical violations could get a CVSA decal, which told other inspectors the vehicle had been checked within the previous three months.
CVSA said it would analyze the data and release the results later in the year.
Archive: this article describes rules and events as of May 2026. Regulations may have changed since, so check the current rule before relying on it.