The 72-hour effort will take place in the US, Canada and Mexico. While there will be particular checking for seat belt violations, inspectors will also be looking for problems with equipment and violations of hour of service regulations. During last year’s inspection 93.8% of drivers passed inspections. Of the 6.2% that did not pass, most of these—4.9%—were the result of hours of service violations. Operators with improper Commercial Drivers Licensesor credentials made up 11.9% of violations last year. Brakes were the major vehicle out of service defect, last year, comprising 54.0% of the total vehicle defects.
The program is under the aegis of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) that was established in 1982. As it explains, CVSA is an association of state, provincial, and federal officials responsible for the administration and enforcement of motor carrier safety laws in the US, Canada and Mexico. Its membership includes all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all of the 13 Canadian provinces and territories, Mexico, the U.S Territories of Guam, Samoa, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and the US possession of the Northern Marianas.
The number of seat belt violations last year was down to 829, compared to 1,223 in 2006. “We continue to target our resources at areas that deserve attention,” said CVSA executive director Stephen F. Campbell. “In the last several years our members have spent extra time and emphasis on training their inspectors in the areas of driver interviews, hours of service, cargo securement, motorcoach inspections and safety belt enforcement. It is not a surprise to us that we are seeing these results. It means we are working smarter and are using our tools more effectively to identify and take action on those who are in need of our attention.”
