CVSA announces 2023 enforcement blitz dates

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) recently announced dates for several of its annual enforcement campaigns next year. 

International Roadcheck

International Roadcheck, an annual three-day event when CVSA-certified inspectors conduct compliance, enforcement and educational initiatives targeted at various elements of motor carrier, vehicle and driver safety, is scheduled for May 16-18, 2023.

International Roadcheck is the largest targeted enforcement program on commercial motor vehicles in the world, with nearly 15 trucks or buses inspected, on average, every minute across North America during a 72-hour period.

Since its inception in 1988, roadside inspections conducted during International Roadcheck have numbered more than 1.4 million. Roadcheck also provides an opportunity to educate industry and the general public about the importance of safe commercial vehicle operations and the roadside inspection program.

CVSA sponsors International Roadcheck with participation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Mexico).

Operation Airbrake Program

CVSA’s 2023 Operation Airbrake Program consists of two annual brake safety campaigns. Brake Safety Week is scheduled for Aug. 20-26. There will also be an unannounced one-day brake safety enforcement initiative, which may be held at any time. It took place this year in late April. 

During both the announced and unannounced brake safety enforcement campaigns, commercial motor vehicle inspectors conduct brake system inspections (primarily Level IV Inspections) on large trucks and buses throughout North America to identify brake-system violations.

Properly functioning brake systems are crucial to safe commercial motor vehicle operation. Commercial motor vehicle brakes are designed to hold up under tough conditions; however, they must be inspected and maintained carefully and consistently so they operate and perform properly throughout the vehicle’s life.

Brake-related violations comprise the largest percentage of all out-of-service violations cited during roadside inspections. Improperly installed or poorly maintained brake systems can reduce the braking capacity and stopping distance of trucks and buses, which poses a serious risk to driver and public safety.

Outreach and educational efforts by inspectors, participating motor carriers and others in the industry also take place during CVSA’s brake safety campaigns and are integral to the success of the campaign.

Operation Airbrake is a CVSA program in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

More than 3.4 million brakes have been inspected since the program’s inception in 1998.

Operation Safe Driver Week

Operation Safe Driver Week, a safe-driving awareness and outreach initiative aimed at improving the driving behaviors of passenger vehicle drivers and commercial motor vehicle drivers through educational and traffic enforcement strategies and interactions with law enforcement, is set for July 9-15.

Throughout Operation Safe Driver Week, law enforcement personnel will be on the lookout for commercial motor vehicle drivers and passenger vehicle drivers engaging in risky driving. Identified unsafe drivers will be pulled over and issued a citation or warning.

Data shows that traffic stops and interactions with law enforcement help reduce problematic driving behaviors. By making contact with drivers during Operation Safe Driver Week, law enforcement personnel aim to make our roadways safer by targeting high-risk driving behaviors.

  • Speeding has been a factor in more than a quarter of crash deaths since 2008. (Source)
  • Speeding of any kind was the most frequent driver-related crash factor for drivers of commercial motor vehicles and passenger vehicles. (Source)
  • Speeding was a factor in 26% of all traffic fatalities in 2018, killing 9,378 people or an average of more than 25 people per day. (Source)
  • Distracted driving claimed 3,142 lives in 2019. (Source)
  • Of the 22,215 passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2019, 47% were not wearing seat belts. Seat belts saved an estimated 14,955 lives and could have saved an additional 2,549 people if they had been wearing seat belts, in 2017 alone. (Source)
  • Every day, about 28 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that’s one person every 52 minutes. In 2019, 10,142 people lost their lives due to drunk driving. (Source)