Staff Report - For The Record

Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Troopers, inspectors and investigators will begin intensified commercial vehicle inspections from June 7 – 9 as part of Roadcheck 2016, an annual three-day enforcement effort across North America to increase motor carrier, vehicle, driver and cargo safety and security. DPS troopers will be on the lookout for commercial vehicles, including buses, with serious equipment violations and drivers out of compliance with state and federal requirements.

“The Roadcheck program spotlights how integral commercial vehicle compliance is to overall highway safety, and DPS is proud to participate in this important safety effort,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “Protecting public safety on the road is also the responsibility of all drivers traveling in Texas. Everyone can do their part to help save lives and reduce crashes by always practicing safe driving practices and proper vehicle maintenance.”

In addition to Roadcheck, DPS periodically carries out additional enforcement efforts in targeted areas where a high volume of trucks or buses may be operating.

During Roadcheck 2016, specially trained troopers and civilian personnel will inspect commercial vehicles for equipment violations involving brakes, tires, lights and loading standards. Troopers will check driver licenses and log books, which document how long the driver has been on the road. In conjunction with these efforts, DPS will also be watching for aggressive, distracted, fatigued or impaired passenger vehicle drivers, the cause of most commercial vehicle crashes.

In 2015, DPS and other Texas law enforcement agencies participating in Roadcheck inspected 7,865 commercial vehicles. The inspections found that approximately 22 percent of the vehicles had serious violations that required the truck or bus be placed out of service until repairs could be made. Inspectors also placed 212 drivers out of service for various violations, including driving over the maximum number of hours and failing to have the proper type of driver license for the vehicle being driven.

Sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Association (CVSA), the Roadcheck program is designed to reduce commercial vehicle highway fatalities through increased vehicle safety. According to the CVSA, the program is the largest targeted enforcement program on commercial motor vehicles in the world, with nearly 17 trucks or buses inspected, on average, every minute in Canada, the United States and Mexico during a 72-hour period.

Each year, Roadcheck places special emphasis on a category of violations; and this year, CVSA will be highlighting tire safety. While checking a vehicle’s tires is always part of a roadside inspection, this campaign is a reminder that proper tire maintenance is a public safety issue.

For more information on the Roadcheck program, please visit: http://cvsa.org/programs/int_roadcheck_2016.php.