HOS, Brake Violations the Most Common Findings of CVSA Roadcheck

Every year across North America, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance holds its International Roadcheck to ensure vehicle- and driver-related safety compliance. Enforcement personnel stop trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles at random and conduct inspections at one of several levels with Level I being the most comprehensive. Commercial truck drivers in Mississippi will want to know about the most common violations.

Out of the 67,502 inspections conducted this year, 11,897 vehicles and 2,664 drivers were mandated to go out of service. These figures included 21.6 percent of all vehicles inspected at Level I and 3.9 percent of drivers who underwent a Level I, II or III inspection. One good thing is that though more inspections were conducted this year than during the previous year, the number of out-of-service orders that were issued went down.

Brake violations followed by tire and wheel and brake adjustment violations were behind most of the trucks being put out of service. Among drivers, 43.7 were sidelined for hours-of-service noncompliance. The HOS regulations gained attention after the federal government mandated electronic logging devices, and they were the focus of this year’s Roadcheck.

Still, only fewer than 2 percent of the drivers were put out of service specifically for hours violations. Other violations included possession of the wrong class of license and the falsifying of the record of duty status.

When truck accidents arise because of trucker negligence, victims will want to hire a lawyer and pursue a claim. Perhaps the trucker exceeded the 14-hour on-duty limit and became drowsy, or maybe the truck’s brakes or other components were poorly maintained. An attorney could hire third-party experts to prove the defendant’s negligence and determine the extent of the plaintiff’s injuries. The lawyer could then negotiate with the trucking company’s own legal team for a settlement, litigating if one cannot be agreed upon.