On June 4-6, 2019, inspectors conducted 67,072 inspections on commercial motor vehicles in Canada and the U.S. as part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) International Roadcheck. During those three days, 12,019 vehicles were removed from roadways due to critical vehicle inspection item violations and 2,784 drivers were placed out of service for driver-related violations. That’s a 17.9% overall vehicle out-of-service rate and a 4.2% driver out-of-service rate.
International Roadcheck is an annual 72-hour inspection and enforcement safety event that identifies and removes unsafe commercial motor vehicles and drivers from our roadways; highlights the daily work of the 13,000+ commercial motor vehicle inspectors throughout North America; and acknowledges the safety compliance of motor carriers and professional drivers through the affixion of the CVSA decal on eligible vehicles.
During an inspection, if an inspector identifies critical vehicle inspection item out-of-service violations, he or she will render the vehicle out of service, which means those mechanical defects must be corrected before the vehicle is permitted to proceed. A driver found to be in violation of the driver-related conditions in the CVSA North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria will be placed out of service until the condition can be rectified.
Inspection Levels
During International Roadcheck, inspectors primarily conducted one of three inspection levels:
- The North American Standard (NAS) Level I Inspection is a 37-step procedure that includes an examination of driver operating requirements and vehicle mechanical fitness.
- The NAS Level II Inspection typically includes everything that can be inspected without physically getting under the vehicle.
- The NAS Level III Inspection is a review of driver requirements, such as the license, additional operating credentials, applicable cargo and vehicle documentation, record of duty status, seat belt usage, etc.
Canada and the U.S.
CVSA gathered and analyzed data from the three days of International Roadcheck from the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) and pooled that data with data collected and submitted by CVSA’s Canadian jurisdictions to report overall statistics from Canada and the U.S. for International Roadcheck.
- 45,568 Level I Inspections were conducted; 21.5% (9,817) of those inspected vehicles were placed out of service.
- There were 60,058 Level I, II and III Inspections conducted in the U.S.
- There were 7,014 Level I, II and III Inspections conducted in Canada.
- The total vehicle out-of-service rate in the U.S. was 17.7%.
- The total vehicle out-of-service rate in Canada was 19.9%.
- 4.4% of drivers inspected in the U.S. were placed out of service.
- 2% of drivers inspected in Canada were placed out of service.
Focus Area
Each year, special emphasis is placed on a certain category of violations. This year’s focus was on steering and suspension systems. While checking those vehicle components is always part of the North American Standard Inspection, CVSA selected steering components and suspension systems as a reminder of their importance to vehicle safety and fitness. Inspectors identified 408 steering (2.5% of all out-of-service vehicle violations) and 703 suspension (4.3% of all out-of-service vehicle violations) out-of-service vehicle conditions during International Roadcheck.
Vehicle Results
Of the 67,072 inspections conducted during International Roadcheck, there were 16,347 out-of-service vehicle conditions. The vehicle portion of an inspection includes checking critical vehicle inspection items such as: brake systems; cargo securement; coupling devices; driveline/driveshaft; driver’s seat (missing); exhaust systems; frames; fuel systems; lighting devices (headlamps, tail lamps, stop lamps, turn signals and lamps/flags on projecting loads); steering mechanisms; suspensions; tires; van and open-top trailer bodies; wheels, rims and hubs; and windshield wipers.
Out-of-service vehicle conditions were as follows:
| Vehicle Violation Category | # of Violations | Vehicle Violation OOS % | |
| 1 | Braking Systems | 4,578 | 28% |
| 2 | Tires and Wheels | 3,156 | 19.3% |
| 3 | Brake Adjustment | 2,801 | 17.1% |
| 4 | Cargo Securement | 1,991 | 12.2% |
| 5 | Lighting Devices | 1,875 | 11.5% |
| 6 | Suspensions | 703 | 4.3% |
| 7 | Steering Mechanisms | 408 | 2.5% |
| 8 | Other | 401 | 2.5% |
| 9 | Frames | 170 | 1% |
| 10 | Coupling Devices | 124 | 0.8% |
| 11 | Driveline/Driveshaft | 61 | 0.4% |
| 12 | Fuel Systems | 44 | 0.3% |
| 13 | Exhaust Systems | 35 | 0.2% |
Driver Results
Of the 67,072 total inspections conducted, there were 3,173 out-of-service driver conditions. The top driver violation was for hours of service (1,179). As of Dec. 17, 2018, the U.S. Department of Transportation requires the use of electronic logging devices (ELDs) in commercial motor vehicles involved in interstate commerce when operated by drivers who are required to keep hours-of-service records of duty status. The ELD mandate did not, however, change any of the underlying hours-of-service rules, regulations, requirements, exemptions or exceptions.
Driver out-of-service conditions were as follows:
| Driver Violation Category | # of Violations | Driver Violation OOS % | |
| 1 | Hours of Service | 1,179 | 37.2% |
| 2 | Wrong Class License | 714 | 22.5% |
| 3 | False Logs | 467 | 14.7% |
| 4 | Other | 351 | 11.1% |
| 5 | Suspended License | 232 | 7.3% |
| 6 | Drugs/Alcohol | 99 | 3.1% |
| 7 | Expired License | 94 | 3% |
| 8 | Violating License Restriction | 37 | 1.2% |
Seatbelt Results
Inspectors also discovered 748 seat belt violations. According to FMCSA’s latest Seat Belt Usage by Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers Survey, the overall safety belt usage rate for drivers of medium- and heavy-duty trucks and motorcoaches was 86% in 2016.
HM/DG Results
3,851 commercial motor vehicles transporting hazardous materials/dangerous goods (HM/DG) were inspected during International Roadcheck. Inspections of HM/DG include, in addition to the standard Level I vehicle and driver items, checking for compliance of shipping papers, placarding, marking, labeling, packaging and loading.
- There were 527 HM/DG vehicles with out-of-service conditions, which is a 13.7% out-of-service rate for HM/DG vehicles.
- There were 52 HM/DG drivers placed out-of-service; that’s a 1.4% out-of-service rate for HM/DG drivers.
- 13.2% of HM-carrying vehicles inspected in the U.S. were placed out of service.
- 18.4% of DG-carrying vehicles inspected in Canada were placed out of service.
- In the U.S., 1.2% of drivers transporting hazardous materials were placed out of service.
- In Canada, 2.9% of drivers transporting dangerous goods were placed out of service.
HM/DG vehicle violations were as follows:
| HM/DG Violation Category | # of Violations | Violation OOS % | |
| 1 | Loading | 73 | 29.9% |
| 2 | Shipping Papers | 61 | 25% |
| 3 | Placarding | 46 | 18.9% |
| 4 | Markings | 31 | 12.7% |
| 5 | Bulk Packagings | 15 | 6.1% |
| 7 | Package Integrity | 12 | 4.9% |
| 7 | Other | 6 | 2.5% |
Motorcoach Results
During International Roadcheck, 823 motorcoaches were inspected. 47 (5.7%) were placed out of service. 21 motorcoach drivers (2.6%) had out-of-service conditions. For motorcoach inspections, in addition to the standard critical vehicle inspection items, inspectors also check emergency exits, electrical cables and systems in engine and battery compartments, and seating (temporary and aisle seats).
- 3.7% of motorcoaches inspected in the U.S. were placed out of service.
- 11.8% of motorcoaches inspected in the Canada were placed out of service.
- In the U.S., 1.9% of motorcoach drivers were placed out of service.
- In Canada, 4.4% of motorcoach drivers were placed out of service.
Out-of-service orders and the number, type and severity of safety violations affect a motor carrier’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) score and its Safety Fitness Determination (SFD) rating. CSA is FMCSA’s safety compliance and enforcement program designed to improve safety and prevent commercial motor vehicle crashes, injuries and fatalities by holding motor carriers and drivers accountable for their role in safety.
Since its inception in 1988, more than 1.7 million roadside inspections have been conducted during International Roadcheck campaigns. International Roadcheck is a CVSA program with participation by FMCSA, Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada and Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT) (Ministry of Communications and Transportation) of Mexico.