The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) International Roadcheck is scheduled for May 14-16, 2024. International Roadcheck is a high-visibility, high-volume commercial motor vehicle inspection and regulatory compliance enforcement initiative that takes place over three days in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
This year, International Roadcheck will have two focus areas – tractor protection systems and alcohol and controlled substance possession.
Road Check Week = Fewer Trucks
Failed inspections can result in fines or other penalties for the drivers, such as out-of-service orders. These require a driver to stop driving by order of the CVSA until their equipment is brought up to standard.
During last year’s road check, CVSA-certified inspectors discovered at least one out-of-service violation on 19% of the vehicles inspected and, in turn, removed those 11,270 commercial motor vehicles from roadways until the out-of-service (OOS) violations were corrected. There were 17,479 vehicle out-of-service violations in total.
In the face of these penalties, many drivers will opt to stay parked during this week to avoid the risk of failing an inspection. A combination of drivers opting out of a week of work and a percentage of those that do drive being ordered off the road will result in shippers having fewer options in choosing who hauls their freight.
Fewer trucks mean tighter capacity, rising rates, and other difficulties for shippers. One of Zipline’s mid-sized carrier partners reported 30-40% of their drivers elected to not drive during inspection week in previous years. In fact, those numbers are standard for the industry.
Shippers should prepare for higher rates and increased transit times on loads shipped during or close to the third week of May. Service failures are also probable if you are not partnered with an experienced transportation provider.
Zipline Knows Market Fluctuations
Zipline Logistics has years of experience dealing with capacity fluctuations of all sorts. Reach out to a Zipline Logistics representative today to get help preparing for CVSA inspection week.