In September, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) released the results of its 2024 Roadcheck inspection blitz.
As a refresher, the event was conducted over a three-day period May 14-15. In jurisdictions throughout North America, 48,761 inspections were performed, with 23% of the vehicles inspected being placed out of service (OOS) for safety violations. Additionally, 4.8% of drivers were OOS.
CVSA describes the Roadcheck event as an “inspection, enforcement and data-gathering initiative” — but it can be so much more. The Roadcheck can also be an educational experience for carriers and — especially for owner-operators — who pay attention to the results.
Knowing what the top violations were during the blitz helps truck owners focus their maintenance efforts on issues that are most likely to arise.
For example, the No. 1 violation for the 2024 Roadcheck was Defective Service Brakes, which totaled 25% of all vehicle OOS violations. “Other Brake Violations” was No. 3 on the list at 18.3%. Together, 5,873 violations were found totaling 43.3% of all vehicle violations found.
Why were so many violations discovered?
Obviously, there’s an issue with drivers and truck owners when it comes to making sure their trucks’ braking systems are working properly.
It’s astounding that, given months of advance notice of the dates, plus information about the focus of the Roadcheck event, so many drivers were found driving around in equipment that couldn’t pass inspection.
Granted, drivers who know how to check slack adjusters for adjustment have become a rare breed. Even rarer are drivers who actually do it. But with ample notice of the inspection event, thousands of trucks still failed, many for items that could have been found on a half-decent pre-trip inspection. Brake drums that are contaminated by a leaking wheel seal, for example, aren’t hard to find.
The No. 2 OOS violation in this year’s event was an item that’s much easier to inspect: Tires were responsible for more than a fifth of all violations at 20.8%.
While drivers might be excused for not knowing about an out-of-adjustment slack adjuster, tires are pretty simple to access during a pre-trip inspection. The same is true of lights, which were responsible for 1,406 OOS violations and 12% of the total.
How ‘random’ are these random inspections?
It would be incorrect and unfair to assume that the 23% of vehicles placed OOS for one or more violations is representative of all trucks on the road. That’s because the inspections aren’t totally random.
While some jurisdictions might choose randomly, others might focus on appearance, choosing trucks that appear older or poorly maintained. Still others might target trucks from a specific industry such as logging or trash hauling. Some choose trucks to inspect based on CSA data, selecting equipment from specific carriers.
Some jurisdictions don’t participate at all, while others may inspect a larger or smaller number of trucks.
The newest trucks with the greatest chance of passing without violations may be the ones least often inspected.
On the other side of that coin, however, are the drivers and carriers that avoid inspection by shutting down or by avoiding scales or likely inspection areas. With months of notice, it isn’t difficult to avoid inspection delays by simply not running during the dates of the event.
Enough trucks are shut down during inspection days to have an impact on spot freight rates, which rise due to the decrease in trucking capacity.
What about driver violations?
Many of the inspections included checking drivers’ credentials, hours of service (HOS) and records in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.
Incredibly, given the advance warning the industry is provided about the inspection, 63 drivers who had been barred from driving due to failed drug and/or alcohol tests in the Clearinghouse record were still found — and removed from — behind the wheel during the Roadcheck event. One hundred and four more drivers were issued OOS violations for possession of drugs or alcohol.
Nearly 700 drivers (688, to be exact) were cited for not having a CDL in their possession, and 138 for driving on a suspended license. Another 304 were cited for not having a medical card.
The largest number of violations, however, were for HOS violations. During this year’s Roadcheck, 870 OOS violations were found, comprising 32.1% of all driver OOS violations. An additional 297 drivers, or 10.9%, were placed OOS due to falsified record of duty status.
As usual, there were a group of drivers cited for not wearing their seat belts; 535 citations were issued. There were undoubtedly more drivers who quickly put their belts on as they approached the inspection area, cleverly avoiding a citation.
The FMCSA estimates that about 14% of drivers do not wear their safety belts, about double the percentage of personal vehicle drivers. The agency has announced its intention of conducting an online survey to better understand driver perceptions about safety belts.
In the past, drivers have expressed fear of entrapment in case of an accident as a reason for not belting in, while others simply find seat belts uncomfortable. Efforts to educate drivers on the probabilities of being entrapped versus the increased odds of surviving a crash have met with some success, but old attitudes sometimes prevail.
What can motor carriers and drivers learn from Roadchecks?
The CVSA Roadcheck event is well publicized and the results are widely shared. While getting unsafe equipment and drivers off of the road is certainly a goal, carriers and truck owners would be wise to pay attention to the results.
While it’s true that equipment defects can appear at any time, it’s doubtful the nearly 21% of OOS violations for tires all “suddenly happened” in the half-hour just before the inspection, or that all of the non-working lights went out just a mile before the weigh station where inspections were conducted.
The sad reality is that too many drivers failed to perform a thorough pre-trip inspection on the day they were inspected.
Others knew they were driving illegally, like the drivers with failed drug screens in the Clearinghouse, while still others didn’t check to make sure important credentials, like CDL and medical card, were in their possession before leaving home.
There are lessons to be learned by those who don’t want to be among the statistics in the next inspection event.
Inspect your truck. Make sure you have your driving documents with you. Leave the alcohol at home. Take the time needed to follow simple steps to help ensure you and your truck get a passing grade at the next roadside inspection.
Cliff Abbott is an experienced commercial vehicle driver and owner-operator who still holds a CDL in his home state of Alabama. In nearly 40 years in trucking, he’s been an instructor and trainer and has managed safety and recruiting operations for several carriers. Having never lost his love of the road, Cliff has written a book and hundreds of songs and has been writing for The Trucker for more than a decade.
