Nation’s biggest trucker enforcement blitz to focus on Hours of Service, lighting

On Tuesday, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) released new information about a major upcoming commercial vehicle enforcement effort.

The CVSA’s International Roadcheck will take place May 4 — 6, 2021 throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

During this year’s enforcement effort, inspectors will be paying extra attention to two areas — Hours of Service violations and lighting violations. “According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the lighting violation “lamps inoperable” (Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 393.9) was the number one vehicle violation in fiscal 2020, accounting for approximately 12.24% of all vehicle violations discovered that year. And during last year’s International Roadcheck, the top driver out-of-service violation category in North America was hours of service, accounting for 34.7% of all driver out-of-service conditions,” the CVSA said in a news release.

The CVSA also emphasized truck drivers who are hauling COVID-19 vaccine shipments will NOT be held up for inspection unless there is a major safety violation.

“CVSA shares the dates of International Roadcheck in advance to remind motor carriers and drivers of the importance of proactive vehicle maintenance and driver readiness,” said CVSA President Sgt. John Samis with the Delaware State Police. “International Roadcheck also aims to raise awareness of the North American Standard Inspection Program and the essential highway safety rules and regulations in place to keep our roadways safe.”

In 2020, International Roadcheck was originally scheduled for May 5 — 7, but the event was pushed back to September 9 — 11 due to COVID-19 concerns. The focus of Roadcheck 2020 was “driver requirements.”