Nearly 21% of vehicles were put out of service during CVSA's annual Roadcheck inspection blitz in September, up from just under 18% last year. And with a special focus on drivers this year, more than 3,000 drivers were put out of service, nearly 35% of those for hours-of-service violations.

More than 50,000 North American Standard Level I, II, III and V Inspections were conducted throughout Canada, Mexico and the U.S. during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s three-day International Roadcheck commercial motor vehicle and driver inspection and enforcement initiative. This year’s event took place Sept. 9-11, after being postponed from its original May dates due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Law enforcement personnel conducted inspections following their departments’ health and safety protocols to protect inspectors and drivers.)

The overall vehicle out-of-service rate in North America was 20.9%. By comparison, in 2019, CVSA reported that of the 67,072 inspections conducted, more than 12,000 vehicles were put out of service, representing a 17.9% overall vehicle out-of-service rate.

Each year, International Roadcheck places special emphasis on a category of violations. The 2020 focus was on the driver requirements category of a roadside inspection. A driver may be placed out of service for violations related to the driver’s age; commercial driver’s license or operator’s/chauffeur’s license or permit; medical/physical requirements; record of duty status (hours of service); sickness or fatigue; or intoxicating beverages, drugs and other substances.

The total number of driver out-of-service violations was 3,247. The top driver out-of-service violation during the 2020 Roadcheck was for hours of service, accounting for 34.7% of all driver out-of-service violations. That's a lower percentage than last year, when 2,784 drivers were put out of service, with hours of service at violations making up 37.2%. Despite the fact that the electronic logging device mandate came fully into effect between the 2019 and 2020 inspection blitzes, the percentage of false log violations was not drastically different: 14.7% in 2019 and 14% in 2020.

During 2020 International Roadcheck, CVSA-certified inspectors primarily conducted the 37-step North American Standard Level I Inspection; however, the Level II Walk-Around Driver/Vehicle Inspection, Level III Driver/Credential/Administrative Inspection and Level V Vehicle-Only Inspection were also acceptable. All told, this year, CVSA said, 26,451 Level I Inspections, 11,224 Level II Inspections, 11,364 Level III Inspections and 1,112 Level V Inspections were conducted.

Vehicles without critical vehicle inspection item violations, after a Level I or Level V Inspection was completed, were eligible for a CVSA decal. Decals were applied to 9,303 power units, 3,662 trailers, and 123 passenger carrier vehicles, for a total of 13,088 decals issued throughout North America.

The CVSA decal is a visual marker that signifies a vehicle has been inspected by a CVSA-certified inspector and no critical vehicle inspection item violations were detected. Generally, vehicles with recently issued decals, which are valid for up to three months, are not re-inspected.