Our friends and colleagues at CCJ are hosting a live Q&A with Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance roadside inspections guru Jeremy Disbrow May 1, at 1 p.m. Central. That's a couple weeks ahead of the alliance's annual Roadcheck inspection spree.
Inspectors are set to key in May 14-16 on the tractor protection controls meant to keep pressure in the air system sufficient to stop the rig in the event of a disconnection, likewise drug and alcohol possession and Clearinghouse-status violations.
If Disbrow's name sounds familiar, you may well have seen Alex Lockie's report about the annual spring inspection event back near the end of February, where Disbrow laid out just how inspectors commonly test those tractor protection systems, also emphasizing the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse and an influx of CDL holders in "prohibited" status there. "Inspectors haven’t always had the greatest catch rate, but they're starting to check the Clearinghouse more often," Disbrow told Lockie. This year during Roadcheck, the goal is to check a driver's CDL in the clearinghouse "on every inspection they do."
[Related: CBD horror story: The indignity of 'Return to Duty' and Substance Abuse Professional programs]
Bring questions about any and all inspection-related topics to the live Q&A, though -- the Roadcheck event's adoption of its focus areas doesn't mean inspectors will necessarily do a whole lot different when it comes to the various North American Standard inspection levels. The tractor-protection system checks Disbrow outlined in the prior story, and which are detailed in this CVSA bulletin, have been routine parts of the Level 1 for many years. If history is any indicator when it come to Roadcheck, big violation hitters will be the usual -- truck out of service for faulty brakes, lights, and tires, among plenty other issues.
Overdrive readers are welcome at the CCJ event, to be sure. So bring your questions to the registration page at this link, where you can sign up to take part and/or catch the replay if you miss the live event. And below, find resources on inspection trends and tips, likewise truck maintenance and more, from recent history in Overdrive.
- Roadcheck 2024 overview
- Ways to avoid inspection, without bypassing the scales
- CVSA out-of-service criteria updates for 2024 and 2023
- Invest in inspections now to save money, hassle later
- Where inspection is most likely, state by state, following Roadcheck 2023
- The toughest states for brakes, other maintenance-related violations
- The toughest 10 states for load securement violations
- Stay ahead of inspectors with these maintenance topics
- Man v. machine at roadside: Mitigating rising 'false logs' risk
- Five most common reasons wheel seals fail
- How brake-adjustment alone can put you out of service -- the '20% rule'
- Find more in Overdrive's long-running CSA's Data Trail series via this page
