Attention truckers: get ready for Roadcheck 2005

The Trucker News Services

5/12/2005

WASHINGTON — Roadcheck 2005, the 18th annual international truck and motor coach safety and security campaign, will be conducted for 72 consecutive hours June 7-9 throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The annual event is aimed at protecting motorists and making highways safer and more secure for travel, according to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) news release.

“The role of the CVSA-certified inspector is critical in helping this cause,” the release noted. More than 3 million roadside inspections are conducted each year throughout North America by specially trained inspectors.

This year's event will put added emphasis on the importance of safety belts, motor coach safety and commercial vehicle security.

“The general public continues to express concern about large trucks,” the release stated. “However, the increasing presence and activity of roadside law enforcement (during the yearly Roadcheck events) is having a positive impact.”

From 1998-2003, the fatality rate for crashes involving large trucks declined. Over the same time period there was a 36 percent increase in the number of roadside inspections conducted. “This is not a coincidence,” the release stated.

In addition, over the past few years Roadcheck activities have expanded to include more ways to reduce accidents and save lives by helping to educate drivers.

In the past five years, more than a million pieces of educational literature have been distributed to drivers during Roadcheck.

-- The Trucker Staff