Roadcheck Truck Inspections Wrapped Up Thursday

Roadcheck 2013, the three-day truck-inspection blitz throughout North America, wrapped up Thursday.

The annual event, sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, had a special focus on cargo securement this year, said CVSA, which represents law enforcement personnel who conduct truck safety inspections in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Inspections kicked off Tuesday in Landover, Md., outside Washington, where federal and state officials began intensive inspections of commercial trucks and buses.

Anne Ferro, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and representatives from the Maryland State Police and the trucking industry attended Roadcheck’s opening ceremony at FedEx Field in Landover.

“This year’s Roadcheck comes at a perfect time to get the word out on our new hours-of-service rule,” Ferro said in a statement. “The rule, which state and federal officials will begin enforcing on July 1, draws the line on fatigued driving.”

CVSA estimated that in the past 26 years more than a million trucks have been inspected in Roadcheck events.

“Roadcheck gives the Alliance and its members a powerful and high-visibility mechanism to spotlight the critical role of comprehensive commercial vehicle driver and vehicle safety inspections to prevent roadway tragedies,” added CVSA President Mark Savage, who is also a major in the Colorado State Patrol.

Last year, about 133 of the 500 trucks given Level I inspections ended up in the out-of-service lot during the first six hours of Roadcheck, said Capt. Norman “Bill” Dofflemyer, division commander of the Maryland State Police, adding that he expects this year’s numbers to be similar.

In the first concentrated commercial truck inspection in Hamilton, Ontario, in years, officers found loose wheels, malfunctioning brakes and loads insecurely strapped onto trucks, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

More than 80% of vehicles inspected were temporarily taken off the road until they could be fixed or made safe for transport, the CBC said.