CVSA’s New 2019 North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria is Now in Effect

March 26, 2019

Starting today, April 1, 2019, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 2019 North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria is now in effect. The 2019 out-of-service criteria replaces and supersedes all previous versions.

The North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria is the pass-fail criteria for roadside safety inspections. The purpose of the criteria is to identify critical safety violations. Those violations render the driver, vehicle and/or motor carrier out of service until the condition(s) or violation(s) can be corrected or repaired.

In accordance with CVSA bylaws, the changes were proposed to the Class I Members of the Alliance on Oct. 22, 2018, and subsequently ratified on Oct. 31, 2018. Voting members approved 12 changes to the out-of-service criteria which are effective as of April 1, 2019.

The following changes were made to the out-of-service criteria:

  1. Amendment to Part I, Item 4. DRIVER MEDICAL/PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS, a. Skill Performance Evaluation Certificate by modifying the language. A driver who possesses a valid Skill Performance Evaluation (SPE) but is not complying with the SPE requirements should be placed out of service.
  2. Amendment to Part II, Policy Statement regarding how to deal with expired CVSA decals. It was determined that removing old decals before applying a new one is most appropriate.
  3. Amendment to Part II, Item 1. BRAKE SYSTEMS, g. Brake Drums and Rotors (Discs), (2) by adding language and a picture for cracks in structural supports of a brake rotor. If there are cracks through the vents in rotors, a collapse of the rotor is imminent; therefore, the vehicle should be placed out of service.
  4. Amendment to Part II, Item 2. CARGO SECUREMENT, a. through f. by adding subheadings to each out-of-service condition. Subheadings were added to the Cargo Securement section of the out-of-service criteria to provide uniformity with the rest of the criteria and to make it easier to distinguish between subsections.
  5. Amendment to Part II, Item 2. CARGO SECUREMENT, TIEDOWN DEFECT TABLE by adding defective condition language for the Doleco USA Textile Link Tiedown Assembly. Language was added to the Tiedown Defect Table in the out-of-service criteria so that an inspector can adequately determine if the Doleco USA Textile Link Tiedown Assembly is defective once it is in use.
  6. Amendment to Part II, Item 4. DRIVELINE/DRIVESHAFT, b. Universal Joint, (3) by adding a bearing strap to the out-of-service condition. A bearing strap was added to the out-of-service criteria and a descriptive label was added to the current picture of a bearing strap to help identify and clarify the component.
  7. Addition to Part II, adding new Item 5. DRIVER’S SEAT (MISSING), a. to provide an out-of-service condition for a missing driver’s seat. Drivers using a temporary seat rather than a permanent seat that is secured to the vehicle in a workmanlike manner was added to the out-of-service criteria.
  8. Amendment to Part II, Item 6. EXHAUST SYSTEMS, a. through d. by adding subheadings to each out-of-service condition. Subheadings were added to the Exhaust Systems section of the out-of-service criteria to provide uniformity with the rest of the criteria and to make it easier to distinguish between subsections.
  9. Amendment to Part II, Item 7. FRAMES, by adding subsection (5) to the existing NOTE. It was determined that subsection (5) should not pertain to monocoque-style frames.
  10. Amendment to Part II, Item 10. STEERING MECHANISMS, h. Tie Rods and Drag Links, (3) to add an out-of-service condition for a non-manufactured hole. A non-manufactured hole in a drag link should be placed out of service.
  11. Amendment to Part II, Item 16. BUSES, MOTORCOACHES, PASSENGER VANS OR OTHER PASSENGER CARRYING VEHICLES – EMERGENCY EXITS/ELECTRICAL CABLES AND SYSTEMS IN ENGINE AND BATTERY COMPARTMENTS/SEATING, by adding (TEMPORARY AND AISLE SEATS) to the Critical Vehicle Inspection Item title. This amendment allows vehicles with manufactured seating violations that do not qualify as an out of service condition to receive a CVSA decal.
  12. Amendment to Part III, Items 1. through 10. by adding some subheadings and removing unnecessary language. Revisions were made to Part III of the out-of-service criteria to follow the same format as the rest of the out-of-service criteria.

The CVSA Training Committee, the Education Quality Assurance Team in Canada and the National Training Center in the U.S. will incorporate these changes, as appropriate, into North American Standard Inspection training materials, along with several updated inspection bulletins, inspection procedures, operational policies and training videos.

The North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria is updated annually, effective April 1 of each year, with the release of that year’s edition of the handbook. The “North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria Handbook and Pictorial” identifies critical vehicle inspection items and details the criteria that can prohibit a motor carrier or driver from operating a commercial motor vehicle for a specified period of time or until the condition is corrected. Print and electronic PDF versions of the 2019 edition of the handbook are available for purchase through the CVSA online store. The 2019 out-of-service criteria app will be available this week by searching “CVSA” in the Apple or Google Play stores.

CVSA hosted a webinar on Feb. 13, 2019, outlining the changes to the 2019 out-of-service criteria. The webinar/presentation is available for viewing at any time and for annual in-service/refresher training. CVSA members can access webinar archives through their online CVSA member portal. Once logged in, click on the “My Video & Webinar Library” tab at the top of the page to view a listing of all past webinars.