The 2022 International Roadcheck event will be held this year on May 17-19 with a focus on wheel ends.
During this 72 hour DOT inspection blitz, commercial vehicle enforcement officers from all over North America will likely inspect over 40,000 commercial trucks and buses. Preparing for CVSA Roadcheck in advance should make it a “non-event” for your fleet.
Level 1 DOT Inspections
A little over half of inspections completed during the CVSA road check event will be a full “Level 1 Inspection” of both the driver and their vehicle(s). A CVSA “Level 1 Inspection” a 37-step process that ensures compliance with both driver operating requirements and vehicle maintenance.
If a vehicle successfully passes a Level 1 inspection, they are eligible to receive a CVSA Sticker that is good for 3 months from the date of inspection. This is essentially a 3 month “get out of a Level 1 inspection” free card.
2022 International Roadcheck Focus
Each year, the CVSA chooses to focus on one or two specific compliance areas. Last year’s focus was on lighting and HOS violations. This year, they’ve chosen to focus on wheel ends (think brakes and automatic slack adjusters).
Wheel end components regularly rank in the top 10 vehicle maintenance violations and are responsible for placing about a quarter of vehicles out of service during each annual Roadcheck safety blitz. Even outside of the 2022 International Roadcheck event, we still see these parts of the air brake system account for 7 of the top 20 vehicle maintenance violations during regular roadside inspections. So, this is not a bad focus area at all.
2022 International Roadcheck: Violation Prevention Tips
You could get really carried away here, but let’s stick to the basics. Here are some quick and easy ways to increase the chances of coming away with a clean DVER and a chance for a CVSA Sticker:
- Have your driver and/or maintenance techs carefully check each wheel to ensure that no wheel rim is cracked or broken. They should also check for elongated bolt holes on wheels and loose or missing wheel fasteners.
- Have your drivers complete 1 full brake compression each day. After the system pressure builds fully, have the driver slowly but firmly press the brake pedal all the way to the floor. This helps keep the automatic slack adjusters working properly.
- Don’t adjust automatic slack adjusters manually. If you have to do this, there is a good chance that some part of the brake system is failing and needs to be inspected by a qualified brake mechanic ASAP.
- Make sure that you’re having all of your automatic slack adjusters well lubricated every 25,000 miles or so. This ensures that they are functioning correctly and gets all of the water, dirt and other road gunk (a technical term) out of the lines.
- Have your drivers do a visual inspection of their pigtails at least once a week to ensure that there is no significant chaffing or kinking of the hoses/tubes. This is a leading cause of brake violations and is easily preventable. Investing $15 to $25 in a quality hose tender is a great investment!!
- Have each driver walk around the truck once daily (pre-trip inspection) and listen carefully for air leaks (especially around the gladhand seals). These seals wear out over time (even quicker if exposed to extreme weather regularly) and should be replaced at least annually. These seals are pretty simple and cheap to replace, but often overlooked.
- Check to make sure a copy of the truck and trailer’s annual DOT inspection forms are in the truck or their annual DOT inspection stickers are present and easy to read.
2021 International Roadcheck Results
The 2021 CVSA inspection blitz removed just over 6,700 unsafe commercial vehicles and around 2,100 drivers from the roadways. Braking system issues accounted for roughly 27% of all vehicles being placed out of service. Hours of Service violations were the leading cause of drivers being placed out of service at around 42% of all violations.
Other 2022 DOT Enforcement Blitz Dates
The 2022 International Roadcheck event is by far the largest and most intense The CVSA also has other safety blitzes throughout the year. Here are the dates of the other major safety enforcement activities for the rest of 2022:
2022 CVSA Operation Safe Driver Week: July 10 — 16, 2022
This inspection blitz is aimed at preventing risky driving behaviors like speeding, using a cell phone while driving and following too closely.
2022 CVSA Brake Safety Week: August 21 — 27, 2022
As the name implies, this week inspectors will be specifically targeting brake system related issues again.
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