Seat-Belt Use to Be Focus of CVSA’s Roadcheck Event
By Amy McMahon, Staff Reporter
This story appears in the May 26 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
The use of safety belts by commercial drivers will be a major focus of the International Roadcheck 2008 event, safety officials said.
The three-day safety blitz, scheduled for June 3-5, involves about 10,000 federal, state and local law enforcement officers conducting commercial vehicle inspections across about 1,500 sites throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“Commercial motor vehicle seat-belt use is up to 65%,” compared with 48% in 2003, said Steve Keppler, director of policy and programs for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. “We still have a long way to go, [but] we’ve seen a huge jump definitely going in the right direction.”
“We can never be satisfied until we have zero deaths,” said Stephen Campbell, CVSA’s executive director. “It is clear there have been dramatic safety improvements over the last 20 years and, in large part, this success has been the direct result of an increase in roadside inspections and enforcement.” Keppler credited the industry for taking steps to encourage truckers to buckle up and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for overseeing the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Belt Partnership.
“Partnering with CVSA has been a great success and the statistics prove it,” said John Hill, head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. “Roadcheck and other enforcement activities conducted throughout the year save lives.”
Dave Osiecki, vice president of safety, security and operations for American Trucking Associations, said the federation is “fully supportive” of Roadcheck’s efforts.
Keppler explained that the inspections are a combination of random selection and targeted enforcement based on a carrier’s historical performance.
He noted that regional inspectors may “deploy resources in different ways to focus efforts a little more in areas of concern.”
For example, inspectors in the Northeast and Midwest will place additional emphasis on cargo securement. Keppler said recent crash data have shown “a spike” in severe cargo securement accidents, “so we’re seeing a bit more of an interest” in addressing that issue this year.
Other regional inspectors may focus on specific high-crash corridors and what they view as the most frequent or serious violations, he added.
Keppler also said that Level 1 North American Standard inspections are always a top priority. This comprehensive examination includes 37 steps in 13 critical inspection areas.
During Roadcheck last year, a record 62,370 truck and bus inspections were conducted. CVSA issued 30,320 decals to vehicles passing all aspects of the Level 1 inspection.
Data showed the number of vehicles placed out of service decreased to 21.5% from 21.7% the previous year. However, the number of drivers placed out of service increased to its highest level since 1999, with hours-of-service violations, a particular focus of the event, accounting for the bulk of the problems (7-9, p. 5).
