This year’s Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) International Roadcheck, set for June 6-8, serves as a reminder of the collective difference that fleets and owner-operators can make through proper safety and maintenance practices.
“Roadcheck covers just three days, but being prepared and running safe, well-maintained trucks requires year-round attention,” says Fred Andersky, Bendix director of government and industry affairs. “Bendix’s dedication to safety – like that of our partners and fleets, owner-operators, and drivers everywhere – never takes a break.”
International Roadcheck, the world’s largest targeted commercial vehicle enforcement program, marks its 30thyear this spring, and has involved more than 1.5 million roadside inspections since its inception. On average, nearly 17 trucks and buses are expected to be examined every minute in Canada, the United States and Mexico during the 72-hour period. Most of these vehicles will undergo the North American Standard Level 1 Inspection, a 37-step procedure reviewing both driver operating requirements and a vehicle’s mechanical fitness.
This year’s program includes a special emphasis on cargo securement – but that doesn’t mean there will be less scrutiny of brake and wheel-end issues. During last year’s International Roadcheck, brake adjustment and brake system violations combined to represent 45.7 percent of the violations that led to vehicles being placed out-of-service.
Two-pronged approach to maintenance
Regular and thorough maintenance is a key component of safe commercial vehicle operation, and Bendix stresses a two-level approach.
On one level is the pre-trip visual inspection. Professional drivers never get behind the wheel without a walk-around look for loose hoses, damaged or dangling brake components like air chambers and pushrods, and similar obvious problems. If a vehicle is equipped with an active safety system that includes a forward-facing radar unit or camera, these components need to be kept clear of obstructions like snow, ice, and road debris.
