The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance recently reported the results of its three-day enforcement initiative, which led to 12,456 rigs placed out of service and 3,714 drivers being sidelined. Inspectors conducted 59,026 roadside checks across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada from May 17-19, an increase from roughly 40,000 inspections in 2021. Each year, the Alliance places a heightened focus on a particular safety element and it targeted wheel ends in 2022.
“Wheel end components support the heavy loads carried by commercial motor vehicles, maintain stability and control, and are critical for braking. Violations involving wheel end components historically account for about one quarter of the vehicle out-of-service violations discovered during International Roadcheck, and past International Roadcheck data routinely identified wheel end components as a top 10 vehicle violation,” according to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
Approximately 22.8 percent of vehicles were put out of service, along with 6.4 percent of CDL holders temporarily removed from their job. Both figures represent increases from the 2021 Roadcheck that resulted in only 16.5 percent of vehicles and 5.3 percent of truckers getting sidelined. The Top 5 truck driver violations in the U.S. and Canada were as follows.
- False Logs: 1,921 (42.6 percent)
- Wrong Class License: 1,066 (23.6 percent)
- Hours of Service: 367 (8.1 percent)
- Suspended License: 260 (5.8 percent)
- No Medical Card: 222 (4.9 percent)
“Out of the top 10 vehicle out-of-service violations, tires ranked second and wheels came in seventh. Of the 18,213 total vehicle out-of-service violations, there were 3,374 out-of-service tire violations, accounting for 18.5 percent of all vehicle out-of-service violations, and there were 784 wheel out-of-service violations, which is 4.3 percent of all vehicle out-of-service violations. Combined, wheel end (tire and wheel) violations accounted for 22.8 percent of all out-of-service vehicle violations throughout North America,” according to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
Faulty tires were the leading reason trucks were removed from service in Mexico, receiving 21 violations. Canada handed out 126 out-of-service violations, with the U.S. hitting a stunning 3,227. The U.S. southern neighbor handed out only four wheel violations, compared to 59 in Canada and 721 in the U.S. By all accounts, American-based inspectors generated the lion’s share of citations and put the majority of truckers and rigs out of service. Last year, roadside checks emphasized hours-of-service violations, and 1,203 (41.5 percent) drivers were reportedly not in compliance.
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