Inspectors Prepare for 2010 Roadcheck Despite Budget Shortfalls, Staffing Cuts

This story appears in the June 7 print edition of Transport Topics.

Despite lean budgets and staff cuts because of the recession, more than 9,000 state, federal and provincial law enforcement officers are expected to be deployed at 1,500 locations across North America to inspect commercial trucks and buses during the annual Roadcheck event from June 8-10.

Organizers said they hope to maintain the record set in last year’s Roadcheck, when 72,255 roadside inspections were conducted in the United States, Canada and Mexico over a 72-hour period.

“Obviously, we’d like to continue to raise it,” said Stephen Keppler,

interim executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, which co-sponsors Roadcheck with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

“This year it’s been difficult on the states, budgetwise. There’s a lot of layoffs. There’s furloughs,” Keppler said.

As examples, Keppler noted that Indiana laid off half of its commercial vehicle inspectors and Michigan cut one-third of its inspectors.

“Even though the [trucking] industry’s seen an upturn in the economy, the states aren’t,” he said, adding that states including California and Maryland are furloughing inspectors as an alternative to layoffs.

Still, Keppler said, inspectors at this year’s Roadcheck are hoping that budget concerns in the statehouse have not undercut safety awareness on the highway.

“I think it’s a growing realization that safety actually does impact the bottom line,” he said. “If you look at the most profitable companies in the industry, it’s not surprising that they’re also, generally, the most safe.”

During last year’s Roadcheck, CVSA recorded the highest ever overall driver compliance rate — 95.7%. There was also a record 22.2% improvement in safety belt compliance over the previous year.

In addition, the rate of fatalities in accidents involving trucks has fallen for four years in a row (click here for previous story).

CVSA said that for the second consecutive year, officers in the United States also will be checking whether the truck owners have paid Unified Carrier Registration fees, mandated by the federal government in 2007.

UCR revenues are sent to the states to help pay for safety enforcement at the local level.

In a statement promoting Roadcheck, FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro said it “places a much deserved spotlight on commercial vehicle safety and on the thousands of highly-trained professional inspectors who strive to ensure that every motorist on our roadways reaches their destination safely.”

Ferro and other officials from FMCSA, CVSA and the trucking industry will speak at a Roadcheck kickoff on June 8 in Landover, Md.

The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation in Mexico also help sponsor Roadcheck.

Of the more than 72,000 Roadcheck inspections conducted last year, 56,486 were Level 1 — the most comprehensive. These in-spections include checking driver licenses and medical examiner’s certificates, along with such items on the vehicles as steering mechanisms, brakes, exhaust systems, coupling devices, suspension systems and tires.

CVSA is a nonprofit organization made up of the federal, state, provincial and territorial motor carrier safety inspectors and officials. But CVSA also has more than 200 “associate members,” which are generally trucking fleets.

Keppler said that when he compares the safety records of the associate members with national averages, “every single safety metric is hugely better.”