Tractor Protection Systems, Drug & Alcohol and CDLs
RoadCheck 2024 is set for May 14-16. Now is the perfect time to be sure your trucks and drivers are ready for this annual commercial vehicle enforcement blitz. This year’s focus is on tractor protection systems and alcohol and controlled substance use or possession. Inspectors will also check the expiration date, class, endorsements, restrictions, and status of drivers’ CDLs. They will also review medical examiner’s certificates and driver logs. Inspections will occur at weigh/inspection stations, temporary sites such as rest areas and during mobile patrols.
During RoadCheck 2023, nearly 60,000 commercial vehicles were inspected in the U.S., Canada and Mexico during the three-day inspection blitz, resulting in 116,669 total driver or vehicle violations – an average of nearly two violations for every commercial vehicle and driver inspected. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has provided an inspection bulletin outlining steps on how to properly check tractor protection systems.
With its focus on tractor protection systems, enforcement officials want to increase awareness for drivers, motor carriers, technicians, and other truck enforcement personnel of these critically important vehicle components - specifically, the tractor protection valve, trailer supply valve and anti-bleed back valve – components often overlooked during pre-trip and roadside inspections.
Several lawsuits were filed challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) independent contractor (IC) regulation enacted by the Biden Administration and the DOL’s Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su in early 2024.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in a Federal Register notice published April 1, denied a petition from the Institute for Safer Trucking (IST) requesting an investigation of collisions that van-type semi-trailers experience with passenger vehicles and other vulnerable road users.
ICSA representatives attended the TCA Truckload event, the preeminent event hosted by the Truckload Carriers Association, held in our hometown of Phoenix, AZ. We also attended the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS), the largest trucking show in North America, held in Louisville, KY.