Roadcheck Mobilizes Thousands of Safety Inspectors Across Continent; Annual CVSA Event Sends Strong Signal to CMV Drivers to Ensure Safety

WASHINGTON, June 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is helping to mobilize thousands of roadside inspectors who patrol North America's highways June 8-10, 2010 to send a strong message to commercial truck and bus motor carriers and their employees: "Be accountable to yourself, your employer and those you are sharing the road with to help in making sure all of us get to our destinations safely."

For 72 continuous hours inspectors and law enforcement officers will be conducting the annual "Roadcheck," an event sponsored by CVSA which mobilizes thousands of federal, state, provincial and local inspectors to more than 1,500 locations across the continent to conduct comprehensive North American Standard (NAS) Level I Inspections and other related roadside enforcement activities.

"Roadcheck is successful because of the dedication and hard work of the thousands of roadside inspectors all across North America, as well as the strength of our partnerships and of the combined commitment to ensure trucks and buses are sharing the road safely with others," said Stephen A. Keppler, CVSA's interim executive director. "Each year CVSA teams with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and other organizations, including the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada as well as the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation in Mexico to crack down on non-compliant trucks, buses and drivers during our Roadcheck campaign."

CVSA will hold the international press conference at Fed Ex Field in Landover, MD, June 8, 2010 at 10 a.m. which will include speakers from FMCSA and other federal agencies, safety organizations and industry partners. In addition, Maryland State Police will be pulling commercial motor vehicles, including unoccupied motor coaches off the inner loop of I-95 screening vehicles that need to be inspected.

"The critical work of inspecting large commercial trucks and buses, and their drivers, takes place every day in every state and province in North America," said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. "The CVSA Roadcheck campaign places a much deserved spotlight on commercial vehicle safety and on the thousands of highly-trained professional inspectors who strive to ensure that every motorist on our roadways reaches their destination safely."

Last year, 9,683 CVSA and FMCSA certified inspectors at 2,145 locations across North America performed a record 72,255 truck and bus inspections. Of that total, there were 56,486 NAS Level I inspections, the most comprehensive roadside inspection. Roadcheck 2009's record total of overall inspections and Level I inspections showed significant declines in vehicle and driver OOS rates, as well as a significant drop in safety belt violations. Data show the highest overall vehicle compliance rate — 80.4 percent — since 1996, and the highest overall driver compliance rate — 95.7 percent — ever. For NAS Level I inspections, the compliance rates of 77.8 percent (vehicles) and 96.1 percent (drivers) were both records for Roadcheck, and represented 7.1 and 20.4 percent improvements respectively over 2008's totals. In addition, safety belt violations were reduced in 2009 by 276 (1,246 to 970), a 22.2 percent improvement over 2008. Inspections of passenger carrying vehicles resulted in a vehicle compliance rate of 88.5 percent and a driver compliance rate of 96.4 percent, both improvements (5.7 percent for vehicles and 20 percent for drivers) over 2008. There were 29,972 CVSA decals issued to vehicles that passed the inspection.

CVSA is an international not-for-profit organization comprised of local, state, provincial, territorial and federal motor carrier safety officials and industry representatives from the United States, Canada and Mexico. Our mission is to promote commercial motor vehicle safety and security by providing leadership to enforcement, industry and policy makers. In addition, CVSA has several hundred associate members who are committed to helping the Alliance achieve its goals; uniformity, compatibility and reciprocity of commercial vehicle inspections, and enforcement activities throughout North America by individuals dedicated to highway safety and security. For more on CVSA visit www.cvsa.org.

SOURCE Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance