The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) added a level of Electronic Inspection now necessary for commercial vehicles.
Prior, the CVSA was regulated by inspections ranging from the North American Standard Inspection (Level I) to the Jurisdictional Mandated Commercial Vehicle Inspection (Level VII). They are now taking it a step further by gathering electronic information.
The new Level VIII, North American Standard Electronic Inspection will be examining:
- A descriptive GPS location/coordinates
- Electronic validation of Driver
- Driver’s License Class and Endorsement
- License Status
- Valid Medical Examiner’s Certificate and Skill Performance Evaluation (SPE) Certificate
- Current Driver’s Record of Duty Status
- Hours of Service Compliance
- USDOT NCS Number
- Power Unit Registration
- Operating Authority
- Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) Compliance
- Federal Out-Of-Service Orders
The Vehicle Being Inspected Will Not Even Have To Stop
This inspection will be conducted completely wirelessly and electronically – without any interaction needed between driver and enforcement officer. This new avenue of inspection has hopes of being more time and cost efficient, while improving the safety of roads and drivers. It is assumed with the involvement of technology that CVSA thinks that this mode of inspection will increase roadside enforcement’s presence by increasing the number of inspections performed daily.
This level of inspection will occur when the truck is in on the scale or comes across toll facilities; enforcement will then pull data from the truck electronically without the vehicle having to stop. Ideally, collecting large amounts of driver/driving data will further allow CVSA to improve other inspections being performed or create more specified compliance standards.
Electronic Inspections Not Yet Being Implemented
Although theoretically more efficient, the technology to collect such data has yet to be set in motion. The CVSA does not currently have the technology set to immediately begin conducting Level VIII Inspections. Law enforcement is to conduct an electronic inspection voluntarily, and there is no set date for widespread implementation.
Be Aware What Information is Available to Others Electronically
Since there are not set areas, or set dates for electronic inspections to begin, please be aware of what electronic logging devices are available to those around you as you drive – you never know what information could be transferred to law enforcement without your knowledge.
Can You Be Violated Based On Incorrect Data Collected?
Technology is far from dependable, so electronic inspections must make drivers wonder if they can be penalized based on incorrect electronic information unknowingly collected by law enforcement? This level of inspection has not been fine-tuned; therefore, the margin for error could be quite high. How could a driver refute a speeding violation or incorrect ELD info when he/she didn’t know the information was being collected?
Only time will tell of the efficiency and accuracy of this new level of inspection – it seems like this inspection is intended to close gaps in data error and safety compliance, but could it really end up doing the opposite?