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The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) International Roadcheck will take place on June 4-6 this year. Over the 3-day period period, CVSA Inspectors at Truck Inspection Stations, Lay-By’s and other locations throughout North America will conduct inspections on commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) and drivers.
Each year, Roadcheck selects a specific safety component to focus their inspections on. This year’s theme will be steering components and suspension systems to highlight their importance to operating safe equipment.
Steering and suspension are safety-critical systems for any commercial motor vehicle. Not only are they are critical to ensure the structural integrity of vehicles remain intact while delivering cargo, but they also help maintain stability and control while a vehicle is either acceleration or braking, and to keeping a vehicle in their proper lane. Ensuring that these components are operating according to equipment specifications will also ensure that tires remain properly aligned, which will reduce premature or uneven tire wear.
During Roadcheck 2019, CVSA-certified inspectors will primarily conduct the North American Standard Level I Inspections, which will not only include vehicle mechanical fitness, but an examination of driver operating requirements as well.
The vehicle inspection includes checking critical 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;
- windshield wipers.
- Additional items on buses, motorcoaches, passenger vans or other passenger-carrying vehicles include emergency exits, electrical cables and systems in engine and battery compartments, and seating (temporary and aisle seats).
Drivers will be required to provide:
- their driver’s license (operating credentials),
- Medical Examiner’s Certificate and Skill Performance Evaluation Certificate (if applicable),
- driver’s record of duty status, and
- vehicle inspection report(s) (if applicable).
Inspectors will also check drivers for seat belt usage, sickness, fatigue and apparent alcohol and/or drug impairment. 
If no out-of-service vehicle inspection item violations are found during the inspection, a CVSA decal (image on the right) will be applied to the passenger side window of the CMV, and compliant trailers to confirm that the vehicle(s) have successfully passed a Level 1 CVSA inspection.
If an inspector does find an out-of-service item, he/she may place the vehicle out of service. Essentially, a vehicle cannot be operated until the vehicle violation(s) are corrected. A driver can also be placed out of service for driver related issues or driver conditions, which included but are not limited to violations of the hours of service regulation and/or driver qualifications.
Out-of-service orders and the number, type and severity of safety violations can and will affect a motor carrier’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) score and its Safety Fitness Determination rating in the U.S. as well as National Safety Code or provincial ratings depending on where a CMV is operated.
What is your process for ensuring your vehicles are in tip-top condition?