Out of Service Rate Improves at Roadcheck 2005

TORONTO, (June 24, 2005) — For the first time in three years, both vehicle and driver out of service rates dropped at Roadcheck — the annual 72-hour, North American truck inspection blitz that took place earlier this month.

A record 60,562 inspections at 1,348 locations were performed at the three-day safety event, which is organized by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

Total Vehicle OSS rates dropped from 23.9 percent in 2004 to 22.6, while driver infractions fell from 5.0 percent to 4.5 percent this year. Over 30,2000 CVSA Decals were issued to vehicles passing the inspection.

Improvement was specifically evident in Canada where vehicle OOS rates dropped from 20.5 percent to 17.4, while in the U.S. vehicle infractions dropped from 25.0 percent in 2004 to 23.3 percent. Driver OOS fell from 3.1 to 3.0 percent in Canada, while the U.S. saw slightly better results, a drop from 5.3 to 4.7 percent.

Hours of Service — the number one overall OOS category for drivers — also seemed to divide drivers from each side of the 49th. In the U.S., 3.8 percent of the inspections conducted during Roadcheck 2005 resulted in an OOS condition for HOS (up from 3.44 percent in 2004), versus 1.3 percent in Canada (down from 2.5 percent in 2004.) . Drug and Alcohol violations were last on the list, with only 1.5 percent of all drivers committing an offense.

As usual, brake adjustment and brake system problems were the top two vehicle OOS criteria respectively. There are signs of progress, however. Brake adjustment violations fell from 30.1 percent to 29.6 in 2005.

However, hazmat compliance took a step back, as 19.6 percent of vehicles (19.1 in 2004) and 2.4 percent of drivers (2.3 in 2004) were placed out of service.

There were also 1,143 citations issued for safety belt violations, up from 755 last year.

“We congratulate the efforts of roadside enforcement for their ability to continuously perform at a high level. The inspections conducted during Roadcheck are more than 2.5 times their normal output, which results in more lives saved,” said CVSA Executive Director Stephen F. Campbell.

The CVSA sponsors the annual Roadchecks with participation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada, and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Mexico.)