On April 1, 2021, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance updated the Out-of-Service Criteria. Authorities use these criteria to identify violations related to commercial vehicles and drivers that result in the incapacitation of a truck or driver. The out-of-service standards are updated annually, effective April 1 of each year.
CVSA members have approved four changes to the Out-of-Service Criteria. According to the Charter of the Alliance, they were announced on October 15, 2020. The changes were ratified on October 30, 2020. Let’s take a look at the latest changes:
1. Footnote 10 in Part I, Item 9. DRIVER’S RECORD OF DUTY STATUS – U.S. – Footnotes for Driver’s Record of Duty Status – the U.S. was amended. Also, footnotes 5 through 8 were removed and reserved. However, they were not wholly deleted because other documents refer to these footnotes, and renumbering them could cause confusion.
2. Language was added to Part I, Item 10. DRIVER’S RECORD OF DUTY STATUS – CANADA, h. No Daily Log (See Footnote 2) and i. False Log (See Footnote 1) for record of duty status.
3. Additional language for record of duty status and a footnote were added to Part I, Item 10. DRIVER’S RECORD OF DUTY STATUS – CANADA – Footnotes for Driver’s Record of Duty Status.
4. Language was added to Part II, Item 9. LIGHTING DEVICES (HEADLAMPS, TAIL LAMPS, STOP LAMPS, TURN SIGNALS AND LAMPS/FLAGS ON PROJECTING LOADS) – b. At Any Time – Day or Night (1) on center high-mounted stop lamp(s).
When necessary, the CVSA Training Committee, the Education Quality Assurance Team in Canada, and the U.S. National Training Center’s Technical Review and Update Specialist Team will add new changes to training materials, inspection bulletins, operational policies, training videos, and more.
The CVSA provides several versions of the updated criteria. You can purchase paper, electronic copies, or copies in other languages via the CVSA online store. Also, you can buy new documents in the App Store or Google Play store.
Out-of-Service Criteria are not the same as federal, state, and territorial rules. Rules mean minimum requirements for commercial vehicles to operate in interstate / interprovincial commerce. Federal, state, provincial, or territorial regulatory authorities develop them. CVSA’s North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria ensure that hazards to be posed by commercial trucks or drivers are equally defined in all areas covered by this document. Dangerous vehicles are destroyed. Thus, safety on the roads of the USA is ensured.
Also, the CVSA recently hosted a webinar to learn more about the new developments in 2021. It is available to CVSA members. It can be viewed on the online portal in the training section.
