FRANKFORT — The Kentucky State Police are participating in the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s annual International Roadcheck enforcement program May 17-19. This 72-hour enforcement blitz occurs in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to ensure commercial motor vehicles and drivers comply with regulations.
“We want every vehicle on our roadways to be in proper working order for the safety of the driver operating that vehicle and everyone traveling on our roadways,” said CVSA President Capt. John Broers with the South Dakota Highway Patrol.
Inspectors are looking for critical vehicle inspection item violations outlined in the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria. If a violation is found, the vehicle will be placed out of service and will not be able to operate on the road until the identified issue is corrected.
Each year, CVSA focuses on a specific aspect of roadside inspection during International Roadcheck. This year, the focus is on wheel ends. Wheel end components support the heavy loads carried by commercial motor vehicles, maintain stability and control, and are critical for braking. According to CVSA, wheel-end components account for about one vehicle out-of-service violations during International Roadcheck, and past data consistently shows wheel ends as a top 10 violation.
KSP Major Nathan Day, Division Director for the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Troop, says the International Roadcheck program is essential for highway safety.
“It’s important to our agency that motorists are safe on our roadways,” said Major Nathan Day. “International Roadcheck is another way for us to ensure safety and remove any commercial vehicles or drivers that put others in danger.”
Vehicles that successfully pass inspection, without any critical vehicle inspection item violations found after a completed Level I or Level V Inspection, should receive a CVSA decal. In general, vehicles with a CVSA decal are not re-inspected during the three-month period that the decal is valid. Instead, inspectors focus their efforts on vehicles without a valid CVSA decal.
CVE inspectors will check the driver’s operating credentials, hours-of-service documentation, seat belt usage, and alcohol and/or drug impairment during the inspection. If an inspector discovers driver-related out-of-service conditions, a driver will be placed out of service.
According to CVSA, last year’s International Roadcheck conducted more than 40,000 commercial motor vehicle inspections, with 6,710 commercial motor vehicles and 2,080 drivers removed from roadways. The top out-of-service driver violation category in North America was hours of service, accounting for 33.6 percent of all driver out-of-service conditions.
International Roadcheck is a CVSA program with participation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Mexico).