Level VIII Electronic Inspection Concept
Q: What is a Level VIII Electronic Inspection?
A: CVSA defined the North American Standard Level VIII Electronic Inspection in 2017.
As currently envisioned, a Level VIII Electronic Inspection is an inspection conducted electronically or wirelessly while the vehicle is in motion without direct interaction with an enforcement officer.
The inspection is subject to change as an operational test is currently underway to provide greater insight into the feasibility and usefulness of electronic inspections, their efficacy, costs and benefits, and operational impacts.
Q: What information would a Level VIII Electronic Inspection check?
A: Level VIII Electronic Inspections would be compliance checks, just as are other roadside inspections, only carried out electronically. As currently envisioned, to be considered a complete Level VIII Electronic Inspection, the inspection would need to include the following data points listed in the CVSA North American Standard Level VIII Electronic Inspection definition, as applicable:
- Descriptive location, including GPS coordinates
- Electronic validation of who is operating the vehicle
- Appropriate driver’s license class and endorsement(s) for vehicle being operated (Feasibility to verify a driver’s appropriate endorsement(s) for the vehicle being operated has not yet been determined)
- License status
- Valid Medical Examiner’s Certificate and Skill Performance Evaluation Certificate
- Current driver’s record of duty status
- Hours-of-service compliance
- USDOT number or (Canada) National Ssafety Code number
- Power unit registration
- Operating authority
- Unified Carrier Registration compliance
- Federal out-of-service orders
Q: Why are CVSA and FMCSA exploring Level VIII Electronic Inspections? What benefits could Level VIII Electronic Inspections offer?
A: Commercial motor vehicle safety is always the goal of any inspection program; the Level VIII Electronic Inspection is no different. If implemented, the Level VIII Electronic Inspection Program has the potential to offer a wide range of benefits, including positive impacts on safety, efficiency and the environment.
According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) data, motor carriers that are inspected more often have lower driver out-of-service rates. Currently, roughly 3 million roadside inspections are conducted annually. The number of interstate motor carriers has risen by one-third in the last four years, while the number of inspections on interstate motor carriers has declined over that same period. Technology can be leveraged by enforcement agencies to assemble more data to evaluate a motor carrier’s safety performance, while efficiently using enforcement’s limited resources for traditional roadside inspections. Level VIII Electronic Inspections are not intended to replace traditional roadside inspections, but rather to help keep pace with the rise in interstate motor carriers and bring an overall increase in inspections across the board, which is important given their role in improving commercial motor vehicle safety.
Automating inspections could also save time and fuel spent by drivers idling at inspection sites. A 2007 FMCSA study estimated a simple weigh station bypass saves one-half gallon of fuel and 3-5 minutes of time, which translated to $8.68 in operating costs.
For these reasons, FMCSA and CVSA are researching whether Level VIII Electronic Inspections are feasible and worth adding to the existing suite of tools used to monitor motor carrier safety compliance.
Q: What can I expect from a Level VIII Electronic Inspection Program if it is implemented nationally?
A: There currently is a Level VIII Electronic Inspection operational test underway that is exploring options for how a Level VIII Electronic Inspection Program could be implemented. In addition to testing the technical and operational feasibility and measuring the potential impacts and benefits of Level VIII Electronic Inspections, work will be done to determine answers to the following questions, among others:
- Should Level VIII Electronic Inspections be voluntary or mandatory?
- What functional requirements must be met by technology providers to conduct electronic inspections?
- What technical capabilities would motor carriers need to have to facilitate electronic inspections, and would there be any associated costs?
- How would Level VIII Electronic Inspections impact motor carriers and drivers?
- How frequently would a driver, vehicle or motor carrier have a Level VIII Electronic Inspection?
- How can enforcement leverage Level VIII Electronic Inspection data?
- Where and when would Level VIII Electronic Inspections occur?
- What are the safety and environmental benefits?
- What incentives should be considered for industry?
Q: If implemented, would Level VIII Electronic Inspections replace manual inspections?
A: No. Manual inspections are not going away. The number of motor carriers in North America is rising at a higher rate than the number of CVSA-trained inspectors. Automated Level VIII Electronic Inspections are meant to help enforcement leverage the use of technology to better identify those in need of further intervention.
Q: If implemented, would Level VIII Electronic Inspections unequally benefit motor carriers who regularly travel past inspection sites?
A: This challenge is not unique to Level VIII Electronic Inspections. Currently, if your trip takes you by an inspection site, you are more likely to be selected for a roadside inspection of any level. The Level VIII Electronic Inspection does offer the flexibility to leverage the use of virtual sites, an opportunity that will be assessed more fully during the operational test. Likewise, the operational test will evaluate if, how and when the results could be leveraged in systems like FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System (SMS). The impacts of implementing Level VIII Electronic Inspections and options for when and where to carry them out will be explored during the operational test.
Q: Would Level VIII Electronic inspections rely on universal electronic identifiers to identify the vehicle?
A: No. Level VIII Electronic Inspections and universal electronic identifiers (UEI) are two completely different initiatives. The purpose of the UEI is to automate and expedite the process of identifying vehicles for inspection, which is often done manually. This concept is very different from the Level VIII Electronic Inspection. The UEI concept is envisioned as a one-way communication – from the commercial motor vehicle to enforcement – to provide the inspector with information to help inform their inspection selection process. Level VIII Electronic Inspections, on the other hand, if implemented as envisioned, would assess and record motor carrier and driver compliance and send a message back to the motor carrier and driver.
Level VIII Electronic Inspection Operational Test
Q: What is the Level VIII Electronic Inspection operational test and what is it attempting to do?
A: The Level VIII Electronic Inspection operational test is a multi-phase field test to determine the benefits and feasibility of Level VIII Electronic Inspections. CVSA is working collaboratively with FMCSA and industry participants on the operational test to learn more about how Level VIII Electronic Inspections could work in practice and what impacts they would have.
Learn more about the Level VIII Electronic Inspection operational test on FMCSA’s website.
Q: Are all drivers and motor carriers in the U.S. subject to Level VIII Electronic Inspections during the operational test?
A: No. Only motor carriers that voluntarily agree to participate in the Level VIII Electronic Inspection operational test will have data transferred as part of the test. Initial phases of the test are limited to nine participating motor carriers. Carriers interested in participating in the test should contact CVSA.
Q: What data is the operational test checking?
A: The operational test is being carried out incrementally, starting with a limited subset of data and expanding to include the full Level VIII Electronic Inspection definition, as is feasible. For up-to-date information on what data elements are included in the operational test, refer to the bottom of FMCSA’s Level VIII Electronic Inspection operational test webpage.
Q: Is the data secure?
A: Yes. The data collected by FMCSA in the Level VIII Electronic Inspection operational test is subject to the same privacy and security policies and regulations as all other inspection data. Additionally, this data will reside in a test or non-production environment and will not be used for any other purposes other than to evaluate the operational test. For additional information on use of data, refer to the System of Records Notice, published on May 17, 2024.
Q: What happens if a violation is found during the Level VIII Electronic Inspection operational test?
A: The operational test is a research project, and data is collected for analysis purposes only. The results will have no impact on participating carriers’ motor carrier records or operations, and violations will not impact a motor carrier’s profile or Compliance, Safety, Accountability or SMS scores. Motor carriers will be given access to their operational test data activity so they may proactively address any safety concerns.
Q: I have more questions. Where can I find more information?
A: Visit FMCSA’s webpage on the Level VIII Inspection operational test for more information. If you have further questions, please contact CVSA or contact FMCSA.