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Q&A Te Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is a non-profit organization comprised of local, state,


provincial, territorial, and federal motor carrier safety officials and industry representatives from the United States, Canada and Mexico. Its mission is to promote commercial motor vehicle safe- ty and security by providing leadership to enforcement, industry and policy makers. It actively monitors, evaluates and identifies solutions to potentially unsafe transportation processes and pro- cedures related to driver and vehicle safety requirements most often associated with commercial motor vehicle crashes. We sat down earlier this year with Steve Keppler, the executive director at CVSA, to learn more about the organization and to find out how and why it hopes to partner with the school transportation industry to better understand school bus safety.


School Transportation News: What kind of inspection services do CVSA provide? How do


Q&A with Steve Keppler of The Commercial


Vehicle Safety Alliance


By Ryan Gray


road checks operate? Steve Keppler: CVSA manages the North American Standard Inspection Program on behalf of


government agencies in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Tere are seven different “levels” of inspection, each of which have a varying degree of detail and specificity and address the driver, vehicle and cargo, as appropriate. Te North American Standard Level I Inspection is the most detailed and comprehensive. It is a 37-step procedure that examines all aspects of driver, vehicle and cargo safety. Tere are also inspections of specific vehicle types (i.e. cargo tanks, motorcoaches, etc.). In order for an inspector to be able to conduct these inspections, he/she has to be a gov- ernment employee and has to be certified to do so. CVSA maintains the certification procedures for inspectors and works collaboratively with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s National Training Center in the U.S. and the Educational Quality Assurance Team in Canada to de- velop, maintain and deliver the requisite training for inspectors throughout North America. CVSA also maintains the North American Standard Out of Service Criteria (NAS OOSC), which is the pass/fail criteria for each of the inspections. Te inspection procedures are developed collaboratively between government and industry and are


a balance between what is most critical to the safe operation of the commercial vehicle and what is practical that can be inspected/measured roadside. A good portion of the inspection is directed towards measuring compliance with commercial vehicle safety regulations that have been enacted in the par- ticular jurisdiction where the inspection is being conducted. Fortunately, throughout North America the regulations regarding the safe operations of commercial motor vehicles (and the companies that own/ operate them) are fairly consistent across jurisdictional boundaries. Te inspections generally take place roadside or at a fixed facility (i.e. weigh station). In some cases they will take place at a company’s termi- nal location or in the case of motorcoaches, at an origin or destination location. Tere are approximately 4 million inspections conducted annually throughout North America. In the United States, Congress created the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) in the


early 1980s to help provide federal resources for these activities. Te MCSAP is a federal/state partnership whereby federal funding is matched by state funds (generally an 80 percent federal share, 20 percent state share) to carry out roadside inspections, as well as other commercial vehicle compliance and enforcement activities on commercial vehicles and motor carriers at the state and (in some cases) local levels. On an annual basis, there is about $300 million in federal funds that are made available to the states under the MCSAP. In most cases states contribute much more than their minimum 20 percent share. Just as CVSA maintains the NAS OOSC to pull the “imminent hazards” off the road, we also maintain


the CVSA Decal Program, which recognizes a “good” inspection. If a vehicle passes without having any defects in any of the critical vehicle inspection items, it is eligible to receive a CVSA Decal, good for up to 90 days. Te way it works is, if a vehicle inspected in Manitoba, for example, receives a CVSA decal, and the next week shows up in Maryland and an inspector sees that decal, he/she generally will not select that vehicle for inspection (unless there is an obvious defect) and would select another vehicle. Tis is the hallmark of CVSA, uniformity and reciprocity in vehicle safety inspections across the continent.


STN: How can these CVSA programs supplement existing guidelines for school bus inspections,


whether they be for private company school buses or public district school buses? Is there a partner- ship available to assist schools and school bus companies?


46 School Transportation News Magazine May 2010


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