The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has made the decision to cancel this year’s North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC) due to health and safety concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. This cancellation was made in conjunction with the cancellation of the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) National Truck Driving Championships (NTDC) and National Step Van Driving Championships (NSVDC).
The 2020 CVSA Data Management, Quality and FMCSA Systems Training was also scheduled to take place simultaneously with NAIC this year. That event has been rescheduled for Jan. 27-29, 2021, in Savannah, Georgia, in conjunction with CVSA’s Cooperative Hazardous Materials Enforcement Development (COHMED) Conference.
NAIC is CVSA’s annual inspector competition where inspectors from each jurisdiction in Canada, Mexico and the U.S compete against other top inspectors for the ultimate title of NAIC Grand Champion. The NTDC and NSVDC is a competition of professional truck drivers hosted each year by ATA. These competitions have been held concurrently for the past 27 years.
“Although we know everyone understands why this decision was made, we still regret having to break the disappointing news,” said CVSA President Sgt. John Samis with the Delaware State Police. “We know how much NAIC means to our commercial motor vehicle enforcement community. Enforcement personnel train, study and prepare for NAIC and look forward to the camaraderie and competitive atmosphere of the championship. We’re sorry to have to cancel NAIC this year but, given the current global crisis, we know it’s for the best.”
NAIC was created in 1993 to recognize inspectors – the backbone of the commercial motor vehicle safety and enforcement program in North America – and to promote uniformity of inspections through training and education. In addition to the competition, each inspector receives training on the latest safety information, technologies, standards and advancements.
This year’s canceled NAIC was scheduled for Aug. 18-22 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Next year’s NAIC, which will go on as planned, will take place Aug. 10-14, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The CVSA Data Management, Quality and FMCSA Systems Training was scheduled to take place Aug. 18-20 at the same time and location as NAIC. Instead, it will take place in January 2021 at the same time and location as the COHMED Conference.
The CVSA Data Management, Quality and FMCSA Systems Training is a three-day training event offered by CVSA and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to individuals who report state inspection and crash records used to support federal and state transportation safety programs.
“Quality state inspection and crash reporting information is vital to the success of our data-driven safety programs and our ultimate goal of saving lives and making our roadways safer,” said Sgt. Samis. “Those safety programs would not be possible without the individuals who work hard every day to ensure the data is accurate and the data systems are reliable. Although we regret that we cannot offer training in August due to the coronavirus outbreak, CVSA and FMCSA will partner once again to offer this valuable training event early next year.”