Canadian enforcement teams placed 20.5% of inspected vehicles out of service during the international Roadcheck blitz that was conducted May 16-18, compared to a 19.3% out-of-service rate in the U.S.

Teams completed 4,247 Level I, II and III Inspections on this side of the border, placing 1,453 vehicles and 260 drivers out of service, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) reports. In the U.S., there were 53,847 inspections, with 15,932 vehicles and 5,020 drivers placed out of service.

Level 1 inspections involve 37 steps and include vehicles and drivers.

A special focus was on anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and cargo securement across North America. Brake systems topped the out of service violations at 25.2%, while cargo securement came fourth at 12.4%. The other Top 5 issues were tires at 19.3 %, defective service brakes at 14.1%, and lights at 11.5%.

In Canada and the U.S., Hours of Service clearly dominated driver-related violations, at 41.1% of the total. Trailing behind that were false logs (26.4% of the total), other (9.2%), cancelled/revoked licence (7.9%), and no medical card (4.6%).

Most equipment, drivers good to go

But most equipment and drivers were good to go. Truckers earned CVSA decals for 14,032 power units and 5,814 trailers, meaning the equipment won’t be subject to inspections for the next three months.

Inspectors conducted 59,429 North American Standard inspections, consisting of 36,021 Level I inspections; 12,741 Level II inspections that involve reviewing the driver’s operating credentials and requirements and includes only vehicle inspection items that can be inspected without the inspector physically getting under the vehicle; 9,332 Level III inspections that consist of driver credentials and operating requirements inspection; and 1,335 Level V inspections that involve vehicle inspection items and may be conducted without a driver present, at any location.

In Canada and the U.S., loading was the top issue among the 93 hazardous material and dangerous goods violations, representing 39.4% of the total. This was followed by shipping papers and other tied at 18.6%, placards (15.7%), training certification (4.7%), and markings (1.7%).

Inspectors checked safety belt usage during inspections and identified 949 seatbelt violations.

Canada’s Top 5 vehicle OOS violations

1. Brake systems – 342 – 23.5%
2. Defective service brakes – 222 – 15.3%
3. Lights – 199 – 13.7%
4. Cargo securement – 198 – 13.6%
5. Tires – 164 – 11.3%

Canada’s Top 5 driver OOS violations

1. Hours of service – 193 – 74.2%
2. False logs – 18 – 6.9%
3. Wrong class licence – 14 – 5.4%
4. Other – 11 – 4.2%
5. Drugs – 8 – 3.1%

Canada’s Top 5 dangerous goods violations

1. Training – 11 – 36.7%
2. Shipping papers (tied) – 6 – 20%
   Placards (tied) 6 – 20%
3. Loading – 4 – 13.3%
4. Package integrity – 2 – 6.7%
5. Bulk package (tied) – 1 – 3.3%
   Markings (tied) – 1- 3.3%