New Jersey residents may not have heard about the International Roadcheck inspection blitz that takes place across all of North America. The truck safety initiative is an annual event that is organized by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. Every year, inspectors conduct a 72-hour inspection blitz with the goal of catching as many truck safety violations as possible.
Results from the 2020 blitz
This year, the inspection blitz took place from Sept. 9 to Sept. 11, and inspectors looked at a total of 50,151 trucks in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Over 15,000 of the truck inspections that were conducted resulted in either the truck or the truck driver being placed out-of-service. The top five truck violations, in descending order, were:
- Brake system violations (3,163)
- Tire violations (2,326)
- Lights violations (1,650)
- Cargo securement violations (1,586)
- Brake adjustment violations (1,567)
The top five driver violations were:
- Hours of service violations (1,128)
- Moving and cell phone use violations (709)
- Wrong class driver’s license violations (687)
- False logs (455)
- Suspended driver’s license violations (141)
A focus on driver requirements
The annual inspection blitz always has a particular focus, and the focus in 2020 was on violations of driver requirements. Inspectors also checked to make sure that drivers were wearing their seat belts properly. U.S. truck drivers had the greatest number of seat belt violations with 753. Mexico and Canada only had eight and seven seat belt violations, respectively.
What if a trucker causes an accident while committing a violation?
Inspectors cannot be looking for violations 24 hours of every single day. Negligent truck drivers can sometimes get away with unsafe driving practices, which can result in motor vehicle accidents. If you were injured in an accident because of a negligent truck driver, you may want to file a claim for compensation. A personal injury lawyer may be able to help you pursue compensation from the trucker, the trucking company, and any other liable parties.
