Roadcheck 2020 reschedules for Sept. 9-11

This year’s previously postponed International Roadcheck is now scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9, through Friday, Sept. 11. Over that 72-hour period, commercial motor vehicle inspectors in jurisdictions throughout North America will conduct inspections on commercial motor vehicles and drivers.

In March, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance announced the postponement of Roadcheck due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association played a key role in lobbying to postpone the event.

“Although the coronavirus pandemic, understandably, shifted priorities and personnel during the spring, the commercial motor vehicle law enforcement community has reasserted its focus on the roadside inspection program and enforcement duties,” CVSA President and Delaware State Police Sgt. John Samis said in a news release announcing the new dates. “Jurisdictions are nearly back to their pre-pandemic capacity with a strengthened concentration on identifying and removing unfit vehicles and drivers from our roadways using federal safety standards and the out-of-service criteria.”

Each year, Roadcheck emphasizes a category of violations. Roadcheck 2020 will focus on the driver requirements category of a roadside inspection.

Inspectors will be checking licenses and endorsements as well as medical examiner certificates, record of duty status, seat belt use, and for the illegal presence of alcohol, drugs, weapons or other contraband, according to a flyer CVSA has produced for the event.

During Roadcheck, CVSA-certified inspectors primarily conduct the North American Standard Level I Inspection, a 37-step procedure examining both driver operating requirements and vehicle mechanical fitness.

The vehicle inspection includes checking such critical vehicle inspection items as brake systems, cargo securement, coupling devices, driveline/driveshaft components, driver’s seat (missing), exhaust systems, frames, fuel systems, lighting devices, steering mechanisms, suspensions, tires, van and open-top trailer bodies, wheels, rims and hubs, and windshield wipers.

If no critical vehicle inspection item violations are found during a Level I or Level V Inspection, a CVSA decal will be applied to the vehicle, indicating that the vehicle successfully passed a decal-eligible inspection conducted by a CVSA-certified inspector. However, if a required rear-impact guard is inspected during a Level I or Level V Inspection and violations are present, a CVSA decal will not be issued.

If an inspector does identify critical vehicle inspection item violations, the vehicle may be rendered out of service if the condition meets the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria. This means the vehicle cannot be operated until the vehicle violation(s) are corrected. A driver can also be placed out of service for driver credential-related issues or driver conditions, such as fatigue or impairment.

International Roadcheck is the largest targeted enforcement program on commercial motor vehicles in the world, with approximately 17 trucks and buses inspected, on average, every minute in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. during a 72-hour period. Since its inception in 1988, more than 1.6 million roadside inspections have been conducted during International Roadcheck campaigns.