The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance continues to enforce federal safety guidelines among drivers of trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles. From September 16 to 22, it will be holding Brake Safety Week, a nationwide inspection spree. From June 5 to 7, it conducted another spree called the International Roadcheck. Truckers in Georgia should be aware of the results of this event, which took place across North America and have been released.
67,502 roadside inspections were conducted, 45,400 of which were at the most comprehensive level possible, Level I. Out-of-service orders were issued for a total of 11,897 vehicles and 2,664 drivers, amounting to 21.6 percent of trucks that underwent a Level I inspection and 3.9 percent of drivers inspected at Level I, II or III.
Hours-of-service violations, which were the focus of this year’s Roadcheck, was the No. 1 violation that led to driver-related out-of-service orders. They accounted for 43.7 percent of all violations. This was followed by possession of the wrong class license (21.4 percent) and falsification of records of duty status (10.1 percent).
The most prominent out-of-service violations for vehicles included violations of the brake system, brake adjustments and tire and wheel standards. In all, the CVSA was able to inspect more vehicles this year than last year. At the same time, it issued fewer out-of-service orders than last year.
Still, the number of trucks and drivers that violated safety standards is alarming. Such negligence on the part of truckers and trucking companies can lead to crashes. Crash victims, though, may have a case under personal injury law as long as they prove that the other side was negligent. With the help of investigators, a lawyer could come in and gather the police report, work log, maintenance records and other pertinent information. Victims could leave all negotiations to their attorneys, who will litigate if the trucking company refuses to pay out.
