CVSA’s 2026 Roadcheck, Focused on ELD Tampering & Cargo Securement, is May 12-14

From May 12-14, motor vehicle enforcement teams across the United States, Canada, and Mexico will inspect commercial motor vehicles and drivers as part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) International Roadcheck, held each spring.

The 72-hour inspection, enforcement, and data-collection initiative checks for compliance with vehicle, cargo, and driver regulatory requirements.

During International Roadcheck, inspectors at weigh stations and pop-up inspection sites primarily conduct the North American Standard Level I Inspection, a 37-step procedure that includes two major parts: an examination of the driver’s operating requirements and an assessment of the vehicle’s mechanical fitness.

Driver Focus

For the driver portion of the inspection, inspectors check the driver’s qualifications, license, record of duty status, medical examiner’s certificate, seat belt usage, skill performance evaluation certificate (if applicable), and status in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Inspectors also look for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment.

If an inspector identifies driver out-of-service violations, they will place the driver out of service, restricting that driver from operating their vehicle.

Each year, International Roadcheck places special emphasis on a driver violation category and a vehicle violation category to highlight those aspects of an inspection.

The driver focus for this year’s International Roadcheck is on electronic logging device (ELD) tampering, falsification, or manipulation. During an inspection, the inspector will review the driver’s record-of-duty status as usual and check for false or manipulated entries, with a focus on ELD tampering.

Inaccurate ELD entries may result from a driver’s lack of understanding of the federal regulations and exemptions. However, in some cases, inaccurate entries are purposefully used to conceal hours-of-service violations, and some records are manipulated to conceal driving time (with no indication the record was edited as required by federal regulations).

Last year, falsification of record of duty status was the second most-cited driver violation, at 58,382 violations. And five out of the top 10 driver violations were related to hours of service or ELDs.

Vehicle Focus

For the vehicle portion of the inspection, inspectors assess the vehicle’s brake systems, cargo securement, coupling devices, driveline/driveshaft components, driver’s seat, fuel and exhaust systems, frames, lighting devices, steering mechanisms, suspensions, tires, wheels, rims, hubs, and windshield wipers.

A vehicle that successfully passes a Level I or V Inspection without any critical vehicle inspection item violations may receive a CVSA decal, which is valid for up to three months. A valid decal signals to commercial motor vehicle enforcement personnel that the vehicle was recently inspected and did not have out-of-service violations.

During the roadcheck vehicle focus, special emphasis will be given to cargo securement. Improper or inadequate cargo securement poses a serious risk to the driver and other motorists by adversely affecting the vehicle’s maneuverability and/or causing unsecured loads to fall or become dislodged, resulting in roadway hazards and/or crashes.

In 2025, 18,108 violations were issued because cargo was not secured to prevent leaking, spilling, blowing, or falling; and 16,054 violations were issued for vehicle components or dunnage not being secured.

During the 72 hours of International Roadcheck, data will be collected, and the results will be released later this year.

CVSA is a nonprofit organization composed of local, state, provincial, territorial, and federal commercial motor vehicle safety officials and industry representatives in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. The Alliance aims to prevent commercial motor vehicle crashes, injuries and fatalities and believes that collaboration between government and industry improves road safety and saves lives. Its mission is to improve commercial motor vehicle safety and enforcement by providing guidance, education, and advocacy for enforcement and industry across North America.