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Forty-eight inspectors competed in the 2016 North American Inspectors Championship in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Forty-eight roadside inspectors representing jurisdictions across North America gathered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Aug. 8-12, 2016, to compete in the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) 24th annual North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC), the only event dedicated to testing, recognizing and awarding commercial motor vehicle inspector excellence.
Each year, CVSA recognizes the best of the best by inviting the top inspector from each jurisdiction throughout North America to participate in NAIC. In addition to the competitive events, each inspector receives training on the latest safety information, technology, standards and inspection procedures.
All of the inspection categories are timed events and the compilation of scores for these categories result in a Grand Champion. The Jimmy K. Ammons Grand Champion Award is the highest NAIC honor for roadside inspectors.
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Daniel Voelker of the Arizona Department of Public Safety is the 2016 NAIC Grand Champion.
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This year, the Grand Champion Award was awarded to Daniel Voelker of the Arizona Department of Public Safety for his combined performances in six competition elements:
- North American Standard Level I Inspection
- North American Standard Level I Inspection Procedure
- North American Standard Hazmat/Transportation of Dangerous Goods Inspection
- North American Standard Cargo Tank/Other Bulk Packagings Inspection
- North American Standard Level V Passenger Vehicle (Motorcoach) Inspection
- North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria Exam
A special award, the John Youngblood Award of Excellence, is an honor NAIC contestants bestow upon a fellow NAIC inspector who exemplifies the high standards and an unwavering dedication to the profession. This year, NAIC contestants voted to present the John Youngblood Award to Nicholas Wright of the Kansas Highway Patrol.
Awards are given for first, second and third place for selected inspection events.
North American Standard Level I Inspection:
- First Place – Daniel Voelker, Arizona Department of Public Safety
- Second place – James Hamrick, Arkansas Highway Police
- Third Place – Jeremy Usener, Texas Department of Public Safety
North American Standard Hazardous Materials/Transportation of Dangerous Goods and Cargo Tank/Bulk Packagings Inspection:
- First Place – Benjamin Schropfer, Nebraska State Patrol
- Second Place – Daniel Voelker, Arizona Department of Public Safety
- Third Place – Nicholas Wright, Kansas Highway Patrol
North American Standard Level V Passenger Vehicle (Motorcoach) Inspection:
- First Place – John Werner, California Highway Patrol
- Second Place – Trevor Todd, British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
- Third Place – Jeremy Usener, Texas Department of Public Safety
Team Award – Red Team:
- Trevor Todd, British Columbia
- John Werner, California
- Travis Randolph, Colorado
- Nicholas Wright, Kansas
- Daniel Krueger, North Dakota
- Thomas Winton, Oklahoma
- Charles Shaver, Tennessee
- Team Leader: Brent Alspash, Indiana State Police
Also, an award is given to each inspector who scores the most points representing each of the three participating countries: Canada, the United States and Mexico.
The following awards were presented during this year’s NAIC:
- High Points: United States – Daniel Voelker, Arizona Department of Public Safety
- High Points: Canada – Trevor Todd, British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
- High Points: Mexico – Antonio López Nava, Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT)
“The best inspectors throughout North America aspire to compete at NAIC. Many of the competitors here this week are winners of their jurisdiction’s inspector’s championship or were selected to compete at NAIC as esteemed representatives from their agency,” said CVSA President Maj. Jay Thompson with the Arkansas Highway Police. “However, it’s important to note that NAIC is much more than a competition. It’s an opportunity for training, education and professional growth, and it fosters camaraderie and cooperation among inspectors, jurisdictions and countries.”
“Roadside inspectors across North America play a vital safety role each and every day,” said FMCSA Administrator Scott Darling. “These dedicated men and women each year perform more than 3.5 million truck and bus inspections, which prevent 14,000 crashes, save hundreds of lives and eliminate thousands of needless injuries. FMCSA applauds the vital safety partnership of all CVSA-member inspectors.”
Roadside inspectors are highly trained professionals who save lives every day by removing unsafe commercial motor vehicles and drivers off our roads. The work of a commercial motor vehicle inspector is not easy, but it is vital in ensuring public safety on North American roadways. NAIC was created to recognize the hard work and expertise of inspectors and officers – the backbone of the commercial motor vehicle safety program in North America – and promote uniformity of inspections through training and education.
NAIC is sponsored by CVSA and many of its valued associate members. For the past 24 years, the championship event has been held in partnership with the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC). NAIC has been recognized by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) as an event that “Advances America.”