On Feb. 27, 1980, the first meeting of the four jurisdictions – California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington – that would start the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) met in Portland, Oregon. Thirty-eight years later, CVSA returned to Portland, the birthplace of the Alliance, for its 2018 CVSA Workshop.
More than 500 enforcement personnel, government officials and industry representatives attended the CVSA Workshop, April 8-12, 2018. At the CVSA Workshop, transportation safety stakeholders worked together to improve commercial motor vehicle and driver safety, regulatory compliance and enforcement throughout North America.
Participants collaborated at the CVSA Workshop to affect meaningful changes to the overall culture of transportation safety. They attended various membership, region, committee and program meetings aimed at the ongoing progression of CVSA’s mission to improve uniformity in commercial motor vehicle safety and enforcement by sharing and receiving information, developing best practices, and enhancing roadside inspection program activities and services.
The CVSA Workshop featured these informative and collaborative sessions:
- The new Crash Data and Investigation Standards Committee met for the first time to identify and set commercial motor vehicle crash reduction efforts, post-crash analysis and training, and crash data quality and standardization objectives and goals.
- Truckers Against Trafficking held an educational session to further stoke collaboration between the commercial motor vehicle enforcement community and members of the truck and bus industries in an effort to close loopholes to traffickers.
- An educational session for motor carriers answered frequently asked DataQ questions and provided detailed instructions on how to submit a quality Request for Data Review.
- At the North American Cargo Securement Harmonization Public Forum, attendees discussed cargo securement regulatory issues and differences; identified inconsistencies in the application of cargo securement enforcement policies; reviewed reports on research findings and securement equipment; and examined new technologies related to cargo securement.
- The International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) and the International Registration Plan (IRP) education session featured updates on both programs and interactive discussions.
During the general session, CVSA presented Herschel Evans of Holland with the 2018 International Driver Excellence Award (IDEA). IDEA is CVSA’s industry-wide driver excellence award program. Evans was selected for the award based on his 30 years and more than 3 million miles of safe and crash-free driving, his long-term commitment to the trucking industry, his numerous charitable endeavors and his dedication to projecting a positive image of the truck driving community.
The general session was also the first time new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Administrator Raymond Martinez addressed the CVSA membership. He was invited to speak at the CVSA Workshop and took that time to introduce himself to the membership and reinforce that under his watch, the agency will continue its positive partnership with CVSA as we all work together toward our common goal of saving lives. He also took time to talk about the ELD mandate and FMCSA’s plans for addressing new developing technologies and fixing the country’s infrastructure.
Also of importance, Capt. John Broers with the South Dakota Highway Patrol was nominated for the international leadership position of CVSA secretary.
The secretary election will take place in September at the CVSA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Kansas City, Missouri.
“Industry, government and enforcement member participation at the workshop fosters a well-rounded representation of the many perspectives necessary to work toward addressing issues and finding solutions in transportation safety,” said CVSA Executive Director Collin Mooney. “The board meetings and all committee and program meetings at the workshop are open to all attendees, encouraging a transparent collaborative setting for discussion, progress and improvement. The workshop is an open and inclusive collective endeavor where we work together toward the pursuit of safe transportation on our roadways.”
Next year’s CVSA Workshop is scheduled for March 31-April 4, 2019, in St. Louis, Missouri.