2006 Press Releases
2006
British Columbia Inspector Wins 2006 North American Inspectors Championship
Washington, DC (August 22, 2006) - Richard Roberts, a CVSA-certified North American Standard Level I inspector from the Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada, took top honors at the North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC) held in New Orleans, Louisiana August 14-20. Roberts won the Grand Champion Award for his combined performances in six competition elements across North American Standard Level I Inspection and North American Standard HAZMAT/Transportation of Dangerous Goods Inspection.
Award presenters included Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Administrator John Hill, Sgt. Donald Bridge, Jr., CVSA President, and Stephen F. Campbell, CVSA Executive Director. Mr. Campbell presented recognition awards to the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the Louisiana State Police for their tremendous support of this year's event.
Fifty-three CVSA-certified North American Standard Level I roadside inspectors competed in the 14th annual Championship. Six inspectors represented Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan). Three inspectors represented Mexico-SCT and the United States was represented by forty-four inspectors.
"I congratulate all the participants and I thank their respective agencies for allowing them to compete," said FMCSA Administrator John Hill. "The thousands of men and women throughout North America enforcing commercial vehicle safety laws are making the roads safer for everyone and saving lives."
North American Standard Level I Inspection winners include: Todd Curtis (Utah), Richard Roberts (British Columbia) and Lee Bretney (California). North American Standard Level V Passenger Vehicle Inspection winners include: Richard Roberts (British Columbia), Lorie Floyd (Wisconsin) and Mark Hall (Alabama).
North American Standard Hazardous Materials/Transportation of Dangerous Goods and Cargo Tank/Bulk Packagings Inspection winners include: Richard Roberts (British Columbia), John Toto (Massachusetts) and Kevin Adkins (Montana).
For the second consecutive year, there was a tie for the John Youngblood Award. Youngblood, a staff member for the first two championships, was killed in the '95 Oklahoma City bombings. Alain Riendeau (Quebec) and Lorie Floyd (Wisconsin) received this prestigious award. The award is presented each year to the inspector who best demonstrates the qualities of congeniality, leadership, integrity, professionalism and commitment.
A new Team Award, which recognizes the team that best demonstrates camaraderie and accumulates the highest point average, was presented to: Lee Bretney (California), Michael Rader (Iowa), Kevin Adkins (Montana), Dale Steger (New York), Charles Bowser (Pennsylvania), Alain Riendeau (Quebec), Robert Hadden (Tennessee), T.J. McQuagge (Texas). The high points winners: Richard Roberts (British Columbia, Canada); Kevin Adkins (Montana, United States); and Armando Garcia (Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT), Mexico).
NAIC is the only event dedicated to recognizing and rewarding commercial vehicle inspector excellence and has been recognized by the American Society of Association Executives as an event that "Advances America." NAIC is funded by FMCSA and managed by CVSA.
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.
2006
CVSA EVENT BRINGS BRAKE SAFETY TO FOREFRONT
Enforcement and Education to Reduce Commercial Vehicle Brake Violations
Beginning August 27 and continuing through September 2, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) will carry out a comprehensive program to promote commercial vehicle brake safety across North America. Throughout Brake Safety Week, CVSA-certified Inspectors will be conducting a variety of enforcement and educational activities emphasizing the importance of proper commercial vehicle brake inspection, maintenance and operation. CVSA initiated Brake Safety Week in 2005 as part of its Operation Air Brake Campaign.
"Approximately three million roadside inspections are conducted annually throughout North America, and by far brakes make up the largest percentage of Out-of-Service Violations cited during these inspections," said CVSA's Executive Director Stephen F. Campbell. "In order to encourage that more attention is being paid to this problem, Brake Safety Week focuses on both enforcement and education activities designed to enhance the safe operation of commercial vehicles."
Drivers will receive educational and other helpful information, such as the CVSA brochure "Have You Checked Your Brakes Today?", as well as CVSA's "Spot Check" brake adjustment indicators drivers can install to help measure if their brakes are in proper adjustment.
Brakes enable the vehicle to stop and are vital to its safe operation. They are complicated and contain many parts, all of which need constant inspection and attention to ensure proper operation and performance. There is much evidence that points to brakes continuing to be a significant safety concern.
- Results from a number of National Transportation Safety Board investigations into high-profile commercial vehicle crashes have revealed problems associated with brake operation, inspection and/or maintenance
- Results from the recent Large Truck Crash Causation Study, sponsored by the United States Department of Transportation, indicated that brake problems were present at the time of the crash in 29.4 percent of the cases
- Brakes comprised the largest percentage, 56.6 percent, of Out-of-Service Violations (OOSV) cited in roadside inspections conducted during Roadcheck 2006
- Nearly nine percent of all brakes equipped with manual slack adjusters and four percent of all brakes equipped with automatic slack adjusters are placed out of service
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.
2006
Roadside Vehicle Inspectors Vie for Top Honors
NAIC Recognizes Best, Underscores Importance of Commercial Vehicle Safety Issues
Washington, DC (July 25, 2006) - Roadside inspectors from across the continent will convene in New Orleans and compete to become the best commercial vehicle inspector during this year's annual North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC) August 14-20, 2006. The event, sponsored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), is held annually in conjunction with the American Trucking Association's National Truck Driving Championship.
"Roadside inspectors are highly-trained professionals who save lives everyday by keeping unsafe commercial vehicles and drivers off the road," said David H. Hugel, FMCSA's Acting Administrator. "We applaud the participants of the annual NAIC competition and we salute all of their colleagues across North America. The work of a commercial vehicle inspector is not easy but it is one of the most vital in public safety."
"Although participating inspectors compete for honors in several categories, each inspector leaves NAIC as a winner," said Stephen F. Campbell, CVSA's Executive Director. "The event gives each inspector an opportunity to receive training on the latest safety information, technology, standards and inspection procedures while sharing ideas, techniques and experiences with other inspectors."
NAIC's purpose is to recognize the inspector for demonstrating inspector excellence. NAIC's goals are to provide contestants with education on the latest commercial vehicle safety issues, promote uniformity of inspections throughout North America, challenge contestants utilizing real world scenarios, provide CVSA a snapshot of the current inspection environment, strengthen the industry and enforcement relationships and promote camaraderie between inspectors, jurisdictions and countries.
NAIC contestants are evaluated in the following seven categories:
- North American Standard Level I Inspection
- North American Standard Level I Inspection Procedures
- North American Standard HAZMAT/Transportation of Dangerous Goods Inspection
- North American Standard Cargo Tank/Other Bulk Packagings Inspection
- North American Standard Level V Passenger Vehicle Inspection
- North American Standard Personal Interview
- North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria Exam
All of the inspection categories are timed events and the compilation of scores for these categories result in a Grand Champion. In addition to a Grand Champion, awards are given for first, second and third place for selected inspection events.
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.
2006
Truck and Bus Safety Enforcement Efforts Having an Impact
In the largest targeted enforcement program on commercial vehicles in the world, 14 trucks or buses were inspected every minute from Canada to Mexico during Roadcheck 2006. Over a 72-hour period from June 6-8, 8,522 CVSA-Certified Inspectors at 1,850 locations across North America performed a near record 60,357 truck and bus inspections.
The number of vehicles placed out of service and "parked" due to serious defects decreased significantly this year from 2005 in all major categories - trucks, buses and hazmat.
- All vehicles: 21.7% in 2006, down from 22.5% in 2005
- Buses: 6.9% in 2006, down from 11.7% in 2005
- Hazmat: 18.2% in 2006, down from 19.3% in 2005
A record number of CVSA Decals - 30,950 - were issued to vehicles passing the inspection without having any defects in the 13 critical inspection areas.
However, the number of drivers placed out of service increased significantly this year from last, going from 4.4% in 2005 to 5.6% in 2006. The bulk of those drivers placed out of service (57.1%) were done so for hours of service violations, followed by falsification of records of duty status with 12.4% of the total. Licensing-related violations comprised the bulk of the remaining drivers placed out of service, with drivers operating while under suspension leading the pack. Hours of service continues a disconcerting trend in 2006, with 4.5% of all inspections resulting in a driver being placed out of service for hours of service, up from 3.5% in 2005 and 3.4% in 2004.
Furthermore, there were 1,223 drivers cited for not wearing their safety belts, up from 1,150 last year. This, however, comprises a small fraction (2.0%) of the total drivers inspected. Safety belt use was one of the focus areas during this year's event due to their low usage rate by commercial drivers (54%) as compared to automobile drivers (82%).
Recently, the U.S Department of Transportation released results from a multi-year study on large truck crashes, in which it concluded that "An action or inaction by the drivers of the truck or the other vehicles involved were important reasons leading to crashes in a large majority of the cases."
CVSA Executive Director Stephen Campbell commented "The roadside inspector, in partnership with FMCSA and the support it provides through the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program have been key factors in helping to reduce the large truck related fatality rate in the United States by nearly 50 percent in the last 20 years. Placing emphasis on drivers is a key component to enhancing safety on our highways, and concentrated enforcement programs like Roadcheck give us the data we need to target our efforts. Enforcement sends a message that we will put you out of service if you are violating the law or driving an unsafe commercial vehicle."
"The success of Roadcheck is a reflection of the strength of our federal, state and local partnerships," said FMCSA Deputy Administrator David Hugel. "The key is working together. And while Roadcheck each year raises well-deserved national attention to these dedicated professionals, the truth of the matter is, they are working everyday to save lives."
Bill Graves, President & CEO of the American Trucking Associations, Inc., commented, "The trucking industry continues to be appreciative of CVSA's annual Roadcheck effort to target unsafe commercial motor vehicles and drivers operating on our highways. ATA is pleased to see that the safety of the truck fleet continues to improve. Given the recent changes and uncertainty over the status of the hours of service rules, we acknowledge that driver adherence to these new rules is a challenge."
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance sponsors the annual Roadchecks with participation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada, and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Mexico). Roadcheck, now in its 19th year, is one of a series of activities that occur year round whereby CVSA Certified Inspectors conduct compliance, enforcement and educational initiatives targeted at various elements of motor carrier, vehicle, driver and cargo safety and security.
2006
LAW ENFORCEMENT HIT NORTH AMERICA'S HIGHWAYS TO SAVE LIVES
Roadcheck 2006 Takes Action Against Unsafe Truck, Bus Operators
Starting June 6, approximately 10,000 specially-trained and certified officers will blanket North America's roadways to prevent truck and bus accidents and save lives. Called Roadcheck 2006, federal, state, provincial and local officers will be conducting North American Standard Inspections around the clock for 72 hours from June 6 - 8 throughout North America. These inspections involve a comprehensive 37-step procedure which includes items related to vehicle, driver and cargo safety. Officers also will be giving drivers educational materials on various aspects of commercial vehicle, driver and hazardous materials safety.
As has been the case the last few years, Roadcheck 2006 will also focus on enforcement and education of safety belt use among commercial drivers. Although the latest FMCSA statistics indicate an increase in use from 48 to 54 percent, this number is still far too low. In comparison, the use rate among automobile drivers is 82 percent. During Roadcheck 2005, 1,150 safety belt violations were documented during the 3-day event, versus 755 in 2004. In all of 2005, 57,510 safety belt violations were recorded against commercial drivers.
"Roadcheck is an important reminder of the critical role these officers play every day in the health and well-being of everyone who travels the highways," said Stephen Campbell, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). "Lives are being saved because roadside inspections conducted by CVSA-certified inspectors take place every day throughout North America. The inspections conducted over the 3-day event in 2005 (61,278) resulted in 15 lives saved and 266 injuries avoided."
"America's economy depends on keeping people and goods moving safely through our transportation system," said US Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. "When federal, state and local law enforcement work together, through programs such as Roadcheck, we will prevent crashes and save lives."
From 2001 to 2003, roadside inspection and traffic enforcement activities on trucks and buses conducted by these certified officers saved 2,241 lives and helped to avoid 37,424 injuries and 49,126 crashes. Between 1998 and 2003, there was a 48 percent increase in the number of lives saved from these activities. There are more than 3 million North American Standard roadside inspections conducted annually.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is a not-for-profit association of local, state, provincial, and federal officials responsible for the administration and enforcement of truck and bus safety laws in 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. This is accomplished by establishing effective transportation safety standards for motor carriers, drivers, vehicles, and inspectors through compliance, education, training, and enforcement programs. In addition, CVSA has more than 330 associate members who are committed to helping the Alliance achieve its goals. These associate members include truck and bus companies, industry associations, insurance companies, manufacturers, safety and security product and service providers, research organizations, commercial vehicle drivers, academia, and individuals dedicated to highway safety and security. For more information on the event or CVSA visit www.cvsa.org.
