Commercial vehicle inspectors across North America completed 73,023 truck and bus inspections during 72 hours of Roadcheck 2013, the annual enforcement and safety outreach campaign carried out by the members of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

Of those inspections, a total of 47,771 were North American Standard Level I inspections—the most comprehensive roadside inspection, in which vehicles and drivers are assessed for violations of federal, state or Canadian provincial safety regulations. Other inspections conducted were vehicle-only or driver-only inspections.

Of Level I inspections conducted in Canada and the U.S., 24.1% were found with Out-of-Service violations. There were a total of 71,630 driver inspections, including those conducted during Level I inspections, from which 4.3% were found with OOS violations. There were 899 seatbelt violations issued.

Cargo securement related violations represented 11.7% of all OOS violations issued during the event, down slightly from 12.3% in 2012. Although this equates to only one out of every 50 vehicles inspected, loss of a load by a commercial truck is always a severe risk to safety. Inspectors always watch for signs of improperly secured loads such as inadequate number of tie downs, damaged webbing or chain, and other load securement violations.

Brakes routinely stand out in the mix of OOS violations issued during Roadcheck. This year, 49.6% of vehicle OOS violations were related to brake adjustment and other brake system violations. Additionally, performance based brake testers or PBBTs were used during Roadcheck 2013. Nine U.S. states and one Canadian province are equipped with PBBT systems for enforcement use. Of the 287 enforcement inspections conducted with a PBBT, 36 vehicles or 12.5% were found with overall braking efficiency below the minimum required by U.S. regulation and the North American Standard OOS Criteria.

CVSA estimates that over 10,000 CVSA and FMCSA inspectors participated at approximately 2,500 locations across North America during this year’s Roadcheck. On an annual basis, nearly 4 million inspections are conducted across the continent.

Roadcheck 2013 took place June 4-6, with approximately 1,000 commercial vehicles inspected every hour during the 72-hour event.

CVSA sponsors Roadcheck each year with the support of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration , Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada, and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Mexico).