The Level VIII Electronic Inspection may seem new, but it has been a topic of discussion since 2014. CVSA received an issue/request for action in August of that year requesting CVSA create a Level VIII Electronic Inspection Program. The Policy and Regulatory Affairs (PRA) Committee appointed an ad hoc committee to discuss the concept of this additional level of inspection. In addition to working on the definition, the discussions demonstrated that the use of technology within commercial motor vehicle safety would only increase in the future. These discussions resulted in the creation of a new standing committee – the Enforcement and Industry Modernization (EIM) Committee.
After the creation of the EIM Committee, the development of the definition of this inspection was moved from the PRA ad hoc committee to the EIM Committee. The proposed definition was finalized and approved by the EIM Committee and the CVSA Board of Directors in April 2017, understanding that the definition may need to be revised as the concept was developed. The technology necessary to implement Level VIII Electronic Inspections had not been developed or tested, thus resulting in the electronic inspection development being put on hold.
In September 2022, a new Level VIII Electronic Inspection ad hoc committee was established to continue the development of the electronic inspection. By this time, technology providers had made significant progress in electronically collecting and transferring motor carrier and vehicle data in real time.
CVSA held a Level VIII Electronic Inspection Forum in March 2023 to bring stakeholders together to discuss the obstacles and opportunities to making the Level VIII Electronic Inspection a reality. The results of the forum provided a framework for the committee to move forward with development, which resulted in the operational test beginning in March 2024.