Out-of-Service Violation Rates Jumps in 2017 CVSA Roadcheck
Photo via CVSA
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Photo via CVSA
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The rate of out-of-service violations for both vehicles and drivers increased in this year’s Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance International Roadcheck, according to the recently released results.
During the 30th annual International Roadcheck, which took place on June 6-8, 23% of vehicles and 4.2% of drivers that received Level I inspections were placed out of service.
This represents an upswing compared to last year’s Roadcheck when only 21.5% of vehicles and 3.4% of drivers were placed out of service in Level I inspections.
During an inspection, if an inspector identifies critical violations, he or she will render the driver or vehicle out of service, which means the driver cannot operate the vehicle until the critical vehicle mechanical conditions or defects, and/or driver qualifications, are corrected.
In fairness, last year’s rates were the lowest that CVSA had seen since 1991 when it began tracking data on violations. However, it was also significantly higher than in 2015, which were just a few ticks higher than in 2016.
In total, 62,013 Level I, II, and III inspections were conducted this year, slightly down from the 62,796 conducted in 2016. Level I inspections made up 40,944 of the total number of inspections. Because the number of inspections fluctuates year to year, comparing rates is a better metric for comparing years.
Brake system violations were once again the leading reason for vehicles being placed out of service at 26.9%, followed by cargo securement and tires/wheels at 15.7% and 15.1%, respectively.
Drivers were placed out of service most often through violations of hours of service, wrong class license, and false log books. There were 710 safety belt violations.
Each International Roadcheck has a specific focus and this year’s emphasis was placed on cargo securement, finding 3,282 violations in total. While checking for compliance with safe cargo securement regulations is always part of roadside …Read the rest of this story
