With the annual suite of inspections held by CVSA member countries soon to begin, it was time for the annual review of the rules manual. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is a non-profit organization composed of various state transportation officials, city authorities, fleet owners, and federal government representatives that make recommendations most law enforcement organizations follow when inspecting vehicles.
Some drug usage might not be an OOS violation anymore
The main changes focused on what are called “imminent hazards,” violations that can cause serious incidents if left unopposed. One of the regulations changes is the time frame of illicit drug use and when the driver can be placed out-of-service (OOS).
If an overly chatty driver admits to using THC products or some other drug more than 24 hours prior to their inspection, it is no longer considered an imminent hazard and thus not an OOS violation. But if a driver has drugs on their person, is declared intoxicated at the scene, or fails a breathalyzer/urinalysis, that’s still a violation.
False log violations get a language cleanup
“If a driver falsified their book six days ago, and then rested and took a restart, how are they an imminent hazard to the public now?” is a question addressed in the 2023 CVSA update. Back prior to the change, if you had any violation of the hours-of-service (HOS) rules and tried to conceal the violation, you could have been shut down for a mandatory 10-hour rest break, or something even worse.
Now, according to the CVSA document, “Falsifications that occurred on previous dates, prior to a valid/confirmed qualifying rest period, do not pose an imminent hazard to the public and should not be placed out of service.” Now drivers can take a full 34-hour reset to “clean the slate” for any prior HOS violations.
Definitive language added to the flatbed 10-foot rule
What is the 10-foot rule in regard to flatbed freight securement? Thanks to the new CVSA rule, we have a definitive answer.
As one would think, the 10-foot rule now means a strap needs to be at every 10 feet of the cargo being hauled. Previously, some underhanded inspectors would nail drivers for not having a strap at every 10-foot interval of the length of the trailer.
It’s now clear that inspectors can’t demand straps in exact spots, and only the correct number of straps to secure the freight can be enforced.
Rusty brakes and more are covered in the CVSA update
Here’s the link to the four-page update of the CVSA regulations. As a reminder, here is the 2023 inspection schedule:
- International Roadcheck. May 16-18
- Operation Safe Driver Week. July 9-15
- Brake Safety Week. August 20-26
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