What you need to know about the 2023 International Roadcheck

CVSA’s 2023 International Roadcheck is scheduled for May 16th-18th. Jeremy Disbrow, former Arizona Trooper, and current Roadside Inspections Specialist, joined us on the Successful Driver Podcast to discuss the event and how drivers can best prepare for it.

Here’s what Disbrow had to say on the selection of this year’s focus: “The way they determined that is the International Roadcheck Committee gets together every year and analyzes the data from the previous year. So, it’s not just kind of pulled out of a hat, they look at the data from the previous year and they determine what the highest frequency of violations were. In this case, braking has traditionally been number one for the last few years at least, so they’re focusing on braking and anti-lock brakes is a huge part that gets overlooked a lot of the time. The other part is cargo securement, which typically falls around our number four or number five nationwide, and throughout North America.”

While faulty anti-lock brake systems (ABS) will not see you hit with an out-of-service violation on your truck, they are vital to its overall safe function. Cargo securement violations, on the other hand, do count as an out-of-service violation and accounted for 10.6% of the violations recorded during 2022’s International Roadcheck.

Knowing the focus of this year’s International Roadcheck is important, but knowing what to expect if you get stopped for inspection will help make sure your truck is ready to pass with no out-of-service violations.

Disbrow shared with us a quick summary of what to expect during an inspection, saying: “Inspectors follow the same 37-step procedure, provided they’re doing a Level 1 Inspection, which is typically what inspectors are going to do. A Level 1 Inspection is a full inspection that includes looking at the driver’s credentials, the log books, and also the vehicle from top to bottom.”The full inspection procedure is available for download at CVSA.com, click here to view the brochure.

When it comes to preparing your truck for inspection, Disbrow said, “You can tell when somebody tries to get their truck in order in 10 minutes versus taking care of their truck long term.”

According to Disbrow, one of the best things you can do to help yourself as a driver is a proper pre-trip inspection.

“I know it goes without saying, but a proper pre trip inspection is really the key. Making sure you actually get out, get your fingers on the components, give the bolts and nuts and everything a twist with your hands, make sure they’re tight look for cracks look for damage. Look for bad tires and, quite frankly, inspecting the brakes is really important and it gets overlooked a lot. Drivers tend to look at their braking system and assume, ‘well, I have automatic slack adjusters, I don’t really need to check the push rods or anything’, but it doesn’t work all the time. Nothing replaces a human set of eyes looking at the vehicle and making sure that everything is in proper order. And if you take care of the little stuff as it comes up, you won’t have big stuff, you won’t have to be placed out of service, you won’t have issues. So really, just taking the time to do a proper inspection is critical to it.”

Make sure to watch our full interview with Jeremy Disbrow for more information on the 2023 CVSA International Roadcheck.

Additional Resources from CVSA

North America Standard Roadside Inspection Vehicle Cheat Sheet 2022 International Roadcheck Results 2023 International Roadcheck Announcement