Of the more than 56,000 commercial motor vehicle, driver and cargo inspections conducted during the annual three-day International Roadcheck inspection blitz, more than 10,000 vehicles and 3,000 drivers were placed out of service, according to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
Commercial motor vehicle enforcement personnel in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. conducted 56,178 commercial motor vehicle, driver and cargo inspections on May 13-15 as part of CVSA’s Roadcheck initiative. Most of the vehicles (81.6%) and drivers (94.1%) inspected did not have any out-of-service violations.
Conversely, inspectors discovered 13,553 vehicle, 3,317 driver, and 177 hazardous materials/dangerous goods (HM/DG) out-of-service violations, and placed 10,148 vehicles and 3,342 drivers out of service. The vehicle out-of-service rate was 18.1% and the driver out-of-service rate was 5.9%.
Inspectors also affixed 16,521 CVSA decals to power units, trailers and motorcoaches/buses during Roadcheck, signifying that a certified inspector has confirmed, by completing a Level I or V Inspection, that the vehicle did not have critical vehicle inspection item violations.
The top five vehicle-related violations across North America were for different elements of brake systems, tires, lights and cargo securement.CVSA
Each year, International Roadcheck places special emphasis on a driver violation category and a vehicle violation category to highlight those aspects of the North American Standard Inspection process. This year, the vehicle focus was tires and the driver focus was false records of duty status (RODS).
Inspectors identified 2,899 tire-related out-of-service vehicle violations -- the second most-cited out-of-service vehicle violation -- after brake systems. Tire violations accounted for 21.4% of all vehicle out-of-service violations.
For the driver focus, 10% (332) of all driver out-of-service violations were for false logs/RODS.
The top five driver violations during Roadcheck across the U.S. and Canada was led by hours of service, followed by no CDL and no medical card.CVSA
The top vehicle out-of-service violation in North America was for brakes. Inspectors identified 3,304 out-of-service brake system violations, 24.4% of all vehicle out-of-service violations. In addition, the third most-cited (2,257) vehicle out-of-service violation was for 20% defective brakes, which is when 20% or more of the vehicle’s (or combination of vehicles) brakes have an out-of-service condition. Combined, there were 5,561 brake-related out-of-service violations (brake systems and 20% defective brakes), accounting for 41.1% of out-of-service vehicle violations.
[Related: The toughest 10 states for brakes violations, as inspection blitz kicks off]
The top driver out-of-service violation in the U.S. and Canada was for hours of service, accounting for 32.4% (1,076) of all driver out-of-service violations. Of note, Mexico’s out-of-service violations were all vehicle violations, therefore, the reported driver out-of-service violations are only for Canada and the U.S.
The next most common driver out-of-service violation was "No Commercial Driver’s License," which accounted for 24.4% of OOS violations.
The top HM/DG out-of-service violation was for loading. There were 51 out-of-service loading violations, accounting for 28.8% of all HM/DG out-of-service violations.
The top five hazmat/dangerous goods violations combined in the U.S. and Canada.CVSA
This year saw inspection activity (from a total-violations standpoint) during the Roadcheck month of May up slightly from levels in May of 2024. The high-water violation mark in the Roadcheck month for the last four years was in 2023, as shown below.
