With Roadcheck 2024 in the rearview, and the biggest question remaining around whether or not rates actually went up (well, though some of you may beg to differ, DAT and Truckstop/FTR are both saying yes on average), the Iowa State Patrol Commercial Motor Vehicle Unit shared some of the biggest fails they saw during the annual inspection blitz.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance-led Roadcheck, a three-day all-hands-on-deck (sometimes) North American law enforcement inspection and safety-awareness event, came with plenty of warning as always. In April, the new out-of-service criteria came out. In May, Overdrive sister site CCJ held a Q&A webinar with CVSA's Jeremy Disbrow.
There are plenty of sound strategies to ace, or even avoid inspection at Roadcheck, and maybe even a newly discovered way to get your truck inspected almost on demand, but perhaps nothing is as consistent with Roadcheck as the fails.
The Iowa patrol seems to love sharing images from failed inspections, and we've gathered a few of the worst here. Some of these will be exceedingly obvious, while others require a more trained eye. Some will be funny, some scary. In short, it was a pretty typical Roadcheck. Big congrats to everyone who made it through without a big delay or a violation.
[Related: How to DataQ to challenge a violation]
Day one of Roadcheck in Iowa. Drinking Mike's Harder Mango, the big one or the little one, is illegal while operating a CMV.All photos by Iowa State Patrol's Commercial Motor Vehicle Unit
What does this wear pattern suggest? Time for a new tire and maybe a new pretrip routine.
You can see right there that the tire definitely has some air in it, anyway.
Which of these wires needs to be reconnected to diffuse the bomb on your safety score? All of them.
Wheel end ends badly.
A little grease on the brakes, a little friction in the hub. All works out, right? Wrong.
Cute, but these are not supposed to have dimples.
One commenter suggested this driver was saving money by only buying brake pads one half at a time.
If your brake drum looks like recently unearthed ancient Mesopotamian pottery, maybe get to a shop.
Would you cross the scales knowing you had a tire like this?
[Related: Roadcheck chicken-house wrap | Small fleet owner builds biz with concert tours]
