Rationale for Establishing the Period of Validity for CVSA Truck Inspection Decals

摘要

Commercial vehicle inspections are conducted by state enforcement personnel under the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) for the purpose of removing defective trucks from the road. Vehicles passing a North American Standard Inspection - Level I receive a CVSA (Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance) decal, valid for a period of three months. Vehicles with decals are generally excluded from further inspections during the period on the presumption that they are less likely to have an out-of-service (O/S) violation. The objectives of the study were to find information to determine whether vehicles operating under a valid decal are less likely to have O/S violations, and to quantify the probabilities of violation as a basis for evaluating the appropriateness of the 3-month period of validity. It was concluded that the 3-month decal discriminates vehicles that have a reduced probability of O/S violation, and that using the decal as a basis for excluding vehicles from routine inspections enhances the productivity of the MCSAP program in getting defective vehicles off the roads. Reducing the period of validity was found to be counter-productive in that it would bring trucks with much lower violation rates into the inspection stream displacing trucks with high rates. As a consequence, a reduction in the period of validity is not advised.