CVSA ad hoc committee hashing out an ‘electronic inspection’ definition

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Updated May 1, 2016

At the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance workshop event in Chicago, an ad hoc committee dedicated to moving toward a possible definition of just what might constitute an “electronic inspection” continued work begun at the Fall 2015 workshop event in Boise, Idaho.

In general, as noted in the CVSA Workshop program guide, the committee was established “to consider the creation of a new inspection level that is based on electronic data/information.”

As previously reported in Overdrive, multiple variants on so-called “wireless” or “electronic” inspections are in proof-of-concept, real-world test phases currently. Those include the final phase of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Wireless Roadside Inspection research and design effort (being tested in at least five states) and the partially automated “e-inspection” Level 3 demonstration by Drivewyze, partner telematics companies and four states.

Defining all the parameters of a potential new North American Standard Electronic Inspection level among CVSA’s current inspection levels could pave the way for such inspections to then be taken up on a voluntary basis by jurisdictions around the nation and considered for credit within the Compliance, Safety, Accountability safety-scoring program of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Details of the final definition remain in flux, but the current FMCSA and Drivewyze initiatives discussed in the following story can serve as something of a model of the likelihood of where the model is going. In general, both programs are focused on the wireless transmission of driver and carrier credentials and information, as well as hours of service, not yet involving the transmission of any vehicle information:

The ad hoc committee is expected to reconvene at the fall CVSA Workshop in Little Rock, Ark., to continue its work. Only after settling on a final definition of what constitutes an electronic inspection will their work move up the chain to be discussed and voted on by two higher committees, including CVSA’s Executive Committee.

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