CVSA Honors Best Roadside Inspectors
The 2011 North American Inspectors Championship took place in Orlando this month in conjunction with the American Trucking Associations' National Truck Driving Championship.
Outstanding truckers and the men and women who do the best job of conducting roadside inspections of their vehicles were honored in Orlando, Fla., earlier this month as the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC) again was held in conjunction with the American Trucking Associations' annual National Truck Driving Championship. Paul Phillips, a Con-way Freight truck driver from Coarsegold, Calif., was named grand champion of the driving competition, while John Sova of North Dakota received the Jimmy K. Ammons Grand Champion Award in the inspectors' competition.
Phillips has 35 years' experience and more than 1.6 million miles on the road as a professional truck driver, according to ATA, and this was his second trip to the national championship. ATA says this year's contestants were the state champions in nine truck types from all 50 states who collectively have driven 595,155,665 accident-free miles.
"The National Truck Driving Championships showcase the industry's commitment to safety," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. "I applaud all the competitors for their efforts in making our highways safe and congratulate Paul for demonstrating how a dedication to safe driving skills can make you a grand champion."
The NAIC is sponsored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and CVSA. It was created to bring increased uniformity to roadside inspections, with the goal of keeping unsafe commercial vehicles and drivers off the roads. CVSA invites member jurisdictions throughout North America to participate in the championship, which evaluates contestants in seven categories:
- North American Standard Level I Inspection
- North American Standard Level I Inspection Procedures
- North American Standard HAZMAT/Transportation of Dangerous Goods Inspection
- North American Standard Cargo Tank/Other Bulk Packagings Inspection
- North American Standard Level V Passenger Vehicle (Motorcoach) Inspection
- North American Standard Personal Interview
- North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria Exam
The inspection categories are timed events. In addition to a grand champion, awards are given for first, second, and third place for selected inspection events.