By Eric Miller, Staff Reporter
This story appears in the May 21 print edition of Transport Topics. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance said that roughly 10,000 truck and bus inspectors will fan out at more than 1,500 locations across North America from June 5-7 for the annual “Roadcheck” safety event.
During Roadcheck, inspectors will conduct many comprehensive North American Standard Level I Inspections, but also put a special focus on vehicle brake systems and preventing driver fatigue by conducting hours-of-service compliance checks, according to CVSA.
“During our 72-hour event, we are continuing to call attention to areas we to see violations in — hours of service and brakes,” said Stephen Keppler, executive director of CVSA.
More than 50% of the com-mercial motor vehicle out-of-service violations cited during last year’s Roadcheck were related to brakes.
CVSA said the high number of brake-related violations indicated that more education and awareness are needed to reduce the number of highway crashes caused each year by poorly maintained braking systems on commercial vehicles.
“Ultimately, brakes are a major factor in being able to operate a commercial vehicle safely, yet they continue to be cited as one of the leading factors in crashes due to defects and improper maintenance and adjustment,” Keppler said in a statement.
“It’s a great annual opportunity to focus efforts on both education and enforcement, because they both are appropriate,” said Dave Osiecki, senior vice president of policy and regulatory affairs for American Trucking Associations. “But we sure would like to see emphasis on other than hours of service because we should be focused on other things that have greater impact. They should emphasize operating behaviors other than compliance-related activities. Compliance is important, but operating behaviors are even more important.”
Maryland State Police are hosting the 2012 International Roadcheck kickoff to underscore the importance of driver and vehicle safety inspections. The event is set for June 5 at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
CVSA sponsors Roadcheck with participation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada, and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Mexico).
CVSA said that inspections during the 2011 Roadcheck resulted in the lowest out-of-service rate on record. Overall, the vehicle compliance rate last year was 80.7%, up from 80% in 2010, while the driver compliance rate was 95.8% compared with 95.6% the prior year.
On average, 16 trucks or buses were inspected every minute during the 72-hour safety blitz last year, CVSA said.
CVSA data also showed that last year’s compliance rate for the most thorough inspections — Level I inspections — was 77.2% for vehicles, up from 76.7% in 2010, and 96.3% for drivers, unchanged from the prior year.
