Brake systems, tires common violations for 2023's International Roadcheck

On May 16-18, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s officers inspected 59,429 commercial vehicles throughout Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. for International Roadcheck. This year, the safety and enforcement initiative placed 11,270 commercial vehicles out-of-service for violations and served 17,479 out-of-service violations in total while specifically focusing on anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and cargo securement.

While these numbers may seem large, only 19% of vehicles inspected were placed out of service, a fact helped by how not all cargo securement or ABS violations are out-of-service infractions. Vehicles found without any critical inspection violations could receive a CVSA decal. CVSA distributed 20,151 of these throughout North America during 2023’s International Roadcheck.

On the other hand, when broken down into the CVSA’s two focus areas, inspectors issued 2,975 cargo securement violations and 4,127 ABS violations, the most of which were discovered on trailers, with 2,697 issues found.

Overall, the top violation discovered in North America were Brake System issues, which constituted over 25% of the total out-of-service vehicle violations. Out of 59,429 commercial vehicle inspections, 36,021 were Level 1 inspections; 12,741 were Level II; 9,332 were Level III; and 1,335 were Level V. Level I inspects both the driver and the vehicle, while Level V approaches the vehicle only.

More specifically, CVSA vehicle inspections include:

• Level I Inspections – A Level I Inspection is the most commonly conducted inspection level. It’s a 37-step process that checks the driver’s operating credentials and the vehicle’s components.
• Level II Inspections – A Level II Inspection is a walk-around driver/vehicle inspection that includes items that can be inspected without physically getting under the vehicle.
• Level III Inspections – The Level III Inspection is an administrative inspection of the driver’s credentials, status in the drug and alcohol clearinghouse, and hours-of-service records.
• Level V Inspections – The Level V Inspection is the vehicle-only inspection that includes each of the vehicle inspection items.

The bulk of North American CVSA inspections occurred in the U.S. Inspectors conducted 53,847 Level I, II, and III inspections in the U.S. that resulted in 15,932 OOS violations. As in the case of North America, the top violation was for Brake Systems, for which 4,041 vehicles were removed from service. The second most common violation was for tires, then defective service brakes, with a total vehicle out-of-service rate of 19.3%

Inspectors also discovered 2,798 cargo securement violations in the U.S. and 1,264 power unites, 2428 trailers, and four buses with ABS violations.

In Canada, inspectors held 4,247 Level I, II, and III inspections with a total vehicle out-of-service rate of 20.5%. Out of 1,453 vehicle violations, once again, brake systems were the top culprit for citations with 342 violations, followed by defective service brakes with 222. Inspectors also found 162 power units and 269 trailers with ABS violations and 177 cargo securement violations.

In Mexico, inspectors handled 1,335 Level V inspections and identified 94 out-of-service violations. This led to 36 vehicles placed out of service and a 2.7% vehicle out-of-service rate. In contrast to the U.S. and Canada, the top violation category was tires, which comprised 34% of OOS violations, followed by brake systems, which amounted to 30.9% of violations.