COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio will join transportation inspectors across the United States, Canada, and Mexico starting Tuesday for International Roadcheck, a 72-hour intensive commercial vehicle inspection program running May 12-14.
The annual enforcement effort is the largest targeted inspection program for commercial motor vehicles in the world. During last year’s Roadcheck, PUCO inspectors and the Ohio State Highway Patrol combined to conduct 1,245 inspections, finding 1,529 violations. Of those, 345 were severe enough to place either the driver or the vehicle out of service.
This year’s inspections will focus on two specific areas — electronic logging device tampering and cargo securement.
ELD tampering involves the manipulation or falsification of the devices that automatically track a driver’s hours of service. The technology was designed to prevent drivers from logging more hours behind the wheel than federal law allows, but manipulation of those devices has emerged as a growing concern for road safety regulators.
The cargo securement focus addresses a more visible hazard. Shifted loads and falling road debris remain among the most preventable causes of highway fatalities and road closures, and improperly secured cargo puts both the driver and surrounding motorists at serious risk.
“Inspections are key for enforcing safety regulations that prevent catastrophic crashes, and the cornerstone of our year-round commitment to safety regulations,” said PUCO Commissioner John Williams. “International Roadcheck provides a critical, high-visibility opportunity to remove immediate risks from our roads, reinforcing the safety standards that our teams uphold every single day to protect Ohio travelers.”
Inspectors will primarily conduct the North American Standard Level I Inspection, a 37-step process that examines both driver operating requirements and vehicle mechanical fitness. Drivers and vehicles that fail to meet state and federal requirements may be declared out of service and cannot continue operating until they come into compliance.
International Roadcheck is sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and has been conducted annually since 1988. More than 1.5 million roadside inspections have been conducted during Roadcheck since its inception, with an average of roughly 17 trucks and buses inspected every minute across North America during the 72-hour period.