Nearly 600 out-of-service violations discovered during surprise five day hazmat blitz

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) released results from an unannounced hazardous materials/dangerous goods (HM/DG) inspection and enforcement operation.

This year, the CVSA’s HM/DG Road Blitz took place June 9 — 13 in ten Canadian provinces and 35 U.S. states.

During the five day operation, officers conducted 4,629 inspections on commercial motor vehicles transporting HM/DG.

Inspectors uncovered 1,169 HM/DG violations, of which 598 (51%) were out-of-service violations. These vehicles were were restricted from further travel until those violations were addressed.

See the table below for more on the HM violations discovered in the U.S.

U.S. Hazmat Violations

According to the CVSA, enforcement personnel inspected 1,469 non-bulk packages/small means of containment, 2,522 bulk cargo tank packages/large means of containment and 447 other bulk packages/other large means of containment during the blitz.

The CVSA conducts the annual unannounced HM/DG aims to:

• Inspect vehicles transporting HM/DG for regulatory compliance.
• Recognize vehicles without critical inspection violations by attaching a decal to vehicles and vehicle combinations.
• Remove vehicles with HM/DG out-of-service violations from roadways.
• Highlight the importance of the programs, processes and regulations associated with the safe transportation of HM/DG.
• Recognize safety-compliant HM/DG drivers, motor carriers, manufacturers, shippers, etc.
• Highlight the specially trained inspectors who prioritize transportation safety by inspecting vehicles transporting HM/DG and enforcing strict compliance regulations.
• Identify HM/DG shipping paper, placarding, marking, labeling, packaging and loading compliance violations.