2019 Roadcheck by the Numbers

Numbers are out for the June CVSA Roadcheck inspection and they’re better than last year but still not good.

Last week, my IdeaXchange blog discussed the results of the annual Commercial Vehicle Safety Administration’s (CVSA) Roadcheck inspection that took place this past June 4 through 6. The numbers were slightly down from where they were in 2018; however, since the Roadcheck is announced well beforehand, fleets should be well aware of what needs to be done to keep from experiencing Out Of Service (OOS) violations. That being said, here are some of the numbers

• 67,000 inspections made throughout the US and Canada in 2019
• 12,000 trucks (17.9%) inspected were taken out of service
• In 2018, 21.6% of vehicles were taken out of service
• 2,784 drivers were placed out of service for driver-related violations
• #1 issue involved braking systems, accounting for 28% of vehicles’ out-of-service violations
• The next highest issue, at 19.3% were tire and wheel violations
• For drivers, 37.2% of out-of-service violations were for hours-of-service irregularities

There are additional statistics of the Roadcheck that point to how awareness and a focus on ongoing maintenance and safety can make a difference.

• Although 17.9% of trucks were placed OOS, only 5.7% of motorcoaches were put OOS.
• The OOS rate for vehicles transporting hazardous materials or dangerous goods was only 13.7% and only 1.4% of drivers of these vehicles were taken out of service.

Collin Mooney, executive director of the CVSA, said that the disparity between motorcoaches and hazardous material haulers and those of trucks transporting other materials could be explained. First of all, there are far fewer bus inspections during Roadcheck than there are truck inspections. Secondly, as Mooney states, “There is more scrutiny hauling people than hauling cargo.” Plus, safety checks for buses happen throughout the year, not just on one timeframe. Similarly, for those driving and maintaining vehicles transporting hazardous materials or any dangerous goods, there is an understanding that public safety can be impacted should accidents occur.

As I noted earlier, forewarned should mean that fleets are forearmed and ready to pass inspections. With Brake Safety Week occurring now, will the numbers rise of fall? We shall see.