CVSA Posts International Roadcheck 2020 Stats

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) was planning to have its International Roadcheck this year in May, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was delayed. As we learned more about the virus and how to minimize transmission, as well as realizing it would be a while before it went away entirely, the CVSA decided to have its roadcheck from September 9-11.

Now, three months later, the CVSA is releasing fun informational tidbits about the event. Here is what they had to say.

Statistics

There is a lot of data published. Below is what we found to be the most interesting statistics, and what each one means.

• Over 72 hours, 50,151 inspections were conducted across North America.
  • That is about 697 inspections per hour, or over 11 per minute on average.
• Four different levels of inspection were done throughout the event.
  • Level I Inspection: 37-step Standard Inspection. 26,451 conducted.
  • Level II Inspection: Walk-Around Driver/Vehicle Inspection. 11,224 conducted.
  • Level III Inspection: Driver/Credential/Administrative Inspection. 11,364 conducted.
  • Level V Inspection: Vehicle-Only Inspection. 1,112 conducted.
• The vehicle out-of-service rate for Level I, II, and V was 20.9%.
  • Because the total number of violations was 12,254 from 38,787 different inspections, some trucks were not up to standards in more ways than one.
• The total number of driver out-of-service violations was 3,247.
  • The data says 1,338 drivers were removed from the roadways as a result of driver out-of-service violations, meaning that most people had no violations, but those who did were likely to have multiple violations.
• Of the three countries, the United States did 45,046, Canada did 3,993, and Mexico did 1,112 inspections.
  • Mexico was the only country that did Level V, and only Level V was done in Mexico.
• For vehicle violations, the brake system was the most common violation, at 3,163 failures continent-wide.
  • Tires, lights, cargo securement, and brake adjustment followed suit.
• For driver violations, Hours of Service was the most common violation, at 1,128 failures.
  • “Other”, wrong class license, false logs, and suspended license followed suit.
    • With “other” being a catch-all, it is not surprising it was high up on the list.
• Canada’s dangerous goods category is an interesting detail: 194 inspections were conducted, the vehicle out-of-service rate was 19.6% and driver out-of-service rate was 4.1%. However, the total number of violations for this small category were 29, which is around 15%.
  • Canada’s dangerous goods and U.S. hazmat were the only categories we saw where the violation rate is lower than the out-of-service rate. This leads to the assumptions that a violation was not the only possible cause for an out-of-service declaration, and that a few drivers might have had both a vehicle and a driver out-of-service declaration.

Conclusion

The data is disappointing. Truck drivers and fleet owners alike knew the inspections were coming, and were even given an extra four months to better prepare due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number of violations and out-of-service declarations were still relatively notable. The prospect of numerous truckers driving with less-than-decent brakes is concerning.

The next CVSA International Roadcheck is scheduled for May 4-6, 2021. Be prepared for it!