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• Inspectors conducted 53,847 Level I, II and III Inspections.
• The vehicle out-of-service rate was 19.3%, and the driver out-of-service rate was 5.8%.
• There were 15,932 vehicle, 5,020 driver and 205 HM out-of-service violations.
• The top vehicle out-of-service violation was for brake systems, the top driver out-of-service violation was hours of service, and the top HM out-of-service violation was for loading.
• There were 2,798 cargo securement violations.
• ABS violations were discovered on 1,264 power units, 2,428 trailers and four buses.
• Inspectors issued 931 safety belt violations.
• Inspectors placed CVSA decals on 12,284 power units, 4,681 trailers and 305 motorcoaches/buses, for a total of 17,270 decals.

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Legislation that would amend federal law to block attempts to eliminate the sale of vehicles with internal combustion engines cleared its first hurdle last week, as it passed the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and will move to the full House floor.

Introduced in March by Rep. John Joyce (R-Pennsylvania), the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act was introduced in response to the California Air Resource Board’s decision to effectively ban the sale of new, internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035.

“California regulators shouldn’t have the power to determine what vehicles are sold to families in Pennsylvania,” Joyce said. “One state should not be able to set national policy,      and Americans should not be forced into making purchases they are unable to afford. I’m proud to see the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act pass through the Energy and Commerce Committee and look forward to its passage in the House.”

In addition to blocking attempts to ban the sale of traditional engines, it would also restrict the Environmental Protection Agency from issuing any Clean Air Act waivers that would ban the sale or use of new motor vehicles with internal combustion engines.

A version of the bill was also introduced in the Senate in June by Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma). According to a press release from Mullin, the bill has support from the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the National Association of Small Trucking Companies (NASTC) and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), among others.

CVSA-certified inspectors discovered at least one out-of-service violation on 19% of the vehicles inspected and, in turn, removed those 11,270 commercial motor vehicles from roadways until the out-of-service violations were corrected. There were 17,479 vehicle out-of-service violations in total.

Inspectors also restricted 5.5% (3,256) of the commercial motor vehicle drivers inspected who were found to have at least one out-of-service driver violation, as identified in the CVSA North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria, from operating their vehicle. Those drivers were restricted from commercial travel until their out-of-service violations were addressed. There were 5,280 driver out-of-service violations in total.

A total of 116,669 violations were identified throughout the effort, which included all driver and vehicle out-of-service violations and violations that were not out of service, combined.

Troopers staking out work zones inside Turnpike vehicles to ensure safe-driving behaviors.  

Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania State Police troopers will be trading in their cruisers for construction vehicles this week to help monitor unsafe behaviors like speeding and distracted driving across the Pennsylvania Turnpike system.  

‘Operation Orange Squeeze’ is a work zone safety initiative the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission started nearly a decade ago in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Police to help make the safety of their construction workers and turnpike work crews a top priority. Troopers from Troop T trade in their police cruisers and monitor work zones across the mainline Turnpike from construction vehicles to catch motorists ignoring work zone speed limits. 

New research published by the Colorado School of Public Health shows the risks associated with driving under the influence of cannabis. 

The study, titled "A Latent Variable Analysis of Psychomotor and Neurocognitive Performance After Acute Cannabis Smoking," was conducted at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus involving participants who use cannabis occasionally or daily, as well as a control group of non-users.

The study utilized Impirica's impairment risk assessment, Vitals Mobile (Vitals), to assess the effects of cannabis on driving abilities.

The study revealed that occasional users exhibited slower reaction times in a simple task, while chronic users demonstrated slower reaction times in a complex judgment task. These findings highlight the risks associated with driving under the influence of cannabis, particularly for chronic users.

"This exciting milestone in Impirica's journey reinforces and confirms what we, at Impirica, along with other thought leaders, have long hypothesized," said P-J Barclay, CEO of Impirica. "The insights gained from this study are crucial for successfully navigating a world with legalized cannabis and are vital to the ongoing evolution of our solution suite, enabling us to provide the market with the most advanced proactive impairment risk measurement tools."

On July 25, 2023, FMCSA removed the following four ELDs from the list of registered ELDs due to the companies' failure to meet the minimum requirements established in 49 CFR part 395, subpart B, appendix A.

These ELDs now appear on FMCSA’s Revoked Devices list.

FMCSA will send an industry email to let motor carriers know that all who use these revoked ELDs must take the following steps:

1. Discontinue using the revoked ELDs and revert to paper logs or logging software to record required hours of service data.
2. Replace the revoked ELDs with compliant ELDs from the Registered Devices list before September 23, 2023.

Motor carriers have up to 60 days to replace the revoked ELDs with compliant ELDs. If the ELD providers correct all identified deficiencies, FMCSA will place the ELDs back on the list of registered devices and inform the industry and the field.

A number of states have now enacted new laws concerning hand-held electronic devices by all vehicle operators.  Michigan is the latest.

According to a news release from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office, the law makes it illegal to hold any electronic device while driving.

After introducing a hands-free law in April, Ohio has seen a 9% drop in distracted driving in just one month, preventing over 500 crashes, according to a news release from Whitmer’s office.

Similar legislation passed the Senate in Pennsylvania and now goes to the House for review.

Hair testing uncovered use of opioids at a rate greater than 25-times than what was caught in urine-based drug screening; 23 times more cocaine; 13 times more amphetamines/methamphetamines; 5 times more Marijuana; 65 times more ecstasy; and 3 times more PCP. Results indicate hair testing produced a positivity rate 9 times higher than urinalysis and hair testing uncovered more positive drug tests across every illegal drug, every examined age group and every U.S. state. Hair testing uncovered 10 times more drug positives in 2022 alone.