The most significant truck safety compliance and enforcement initiatives of the year are coming up this spring and summer. All are organized by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, a nonprofit organization comprised of commercial motor vehicle safety officials and industry representatives.
International Roadcheck runs from May 16-18, 2023.
The event is the largest targeted enforcement program on commercial motor vehicles in the world, with nearly 15 trucks and motorcoaches inspected, on average, every minute across North America, according to CVSA. During International Roadcheck, inspectors will conduct their usual roadside safety inspections of commercial motor vehicles and drivers.
This year, inspectors will focus on anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and cargo securement to highlight the importance of those aspects of vehicle safety. Although ABS violations are not out-of-service violations, anti-lock braking systems play a critical role in reducing the risk of collisions by preventing the wheels from locking up or skidding, allowing a driver to maintain control of the vehicle while braking, according to CVSA. In addition, improper cargo securement poses a serious risk to drivers and other motorists by adversely affecting the vehicle’s maneuverability, or worse, causing unsecured loads to fall, resulting in traffic hazards and vehicle collisions.
In 2022, during International Roadcheck, CVSA-certified inspectors conducted 59,026 inspections and placed 12,456 commercial motor vehicles and 3,714 commercial motor vehicle drivers out of service. Inspectors place commercial motor vehicles out of service if they find any critical violations during a roadside inspection. CVSA outlines these critical out-of-service violations in its North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria. Being placed out of service means the driver or vehicle is prohibited from operation for a specified period of time or until the violation is corrected.
Operation Safe Driver Week is set for July 9-15, 2023.
Operation Safe Driver Week is a safe-driving awareness and outreach initiative aimed at improving the driving behaviors of passenger vehicle and commercial motor vehicle drivers through educational and traffic enforcement strategies and interactions with law enforcement. Throughout Operation Safe Driver Week, law enforcement personnel will be on the lookout for drivers engaging in risky driving. Officers will pull over and issue a citation or warning to drivers engaged in unsafe behavior.
Data shows that traffic stops and interactions with law enforcement help reduce problematic driving behaviors, according to CVSA. By making contact with drivers during Operation Safe Driver Week, law enforcement personnel aim to make roadways safer by targeting high-risk driving behaviors.
During Operation Safe Driver Week in 2022, officers in Canada and the U.S. pulled over more than 35,000 commercial and passenger vehicles. They issued 26,164 warnings and citations to commercial motor vehicle drivers and motorists engaging in unsafe driving behaviors, ranging from speeding to distracted driving.
Brake Safety Week is scheduled for Aug. 20-26, 2023.
During this campaign, commercial motor vehicle inspectors conduct brake system inspections, primarily Level IV Inspections, on large trucks and buses throughout North America. Brake Safety Week is one of two components of CVSA’s Operation Airbrake Program.
Properly functioning brake systems are crucial to safe commercial motor vehicle operation. However, brake-related violations comprise the largest percentage of all out-of-service violations cited during roadside inspections. Improperly installed or poorly maintained brake systems can reduce the braking capacity and stopping distance of trucks and buses, which poses a serious risk to driver and public safety.
Commercial motor vehicle inspectors in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. inspected 38,117 commercial motor vehicles during Brake Safety Week in 2022. Of the total number of commercial motor vehicles inspected, 13.3% were placed out of service for brake-related critical vehicle inspection item violations.
The other part of Operation Airbrake is an unannounced one-day brake safety enforcement initiative, which may be held at any time. More than 3.4 million brakes have been inspected since the program’s inception in 1998.
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