Inspectors placed 19% of the commercial vehicles they checked out of service during International Roadcheck 2026, according to results from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) reported on August 26, 2026. Over three days, May 12-14, inspectors in the United States, Canada and Mexico carried out 54,575 inspections. They put 10,350 vehicles and 3,184 drivers out of service, a driver rate of 5.8%.
Brakes led the list of vehicle problems. Brake systems accounted for 3,379 out-of-service violations, or 24.3% of the vehicle total, and a separate category for vehicles with 20% or more of their brakes defective added 2,072, according to trade publications FleetOwner and The Trucker. Tires followed with 2,914 violations, then cargo securement with 1,724 and lights with 1,659.
On the driver side, the most common reason for an out-of-service order was the lack of a valid medical card (1,072 violations, 27% of the driver total), followed by hours-of-service violations (929), driving without a commercial driver’s license (620) and English-language proficiency (361). FleetOwner reports that this year’s focus areas were cargo securement for vehicles and tampering with electronic logging devices for drivers, and that ELD tampering or falsification led to 146 out-of-service orders.
Most of the trucks and drivers checked passed: 81% of vehicles and 94.2% of drivers had no out-of-service violations, and inspectors applied 17,680 CVSA decals to vehicles that cleared a full inspection. CVSA has run Roadcheck since 1988, with more than 1.8 million roadside inspections conducted during the annual event over that time.
What it means for shippers
- An out-of-service truck stops where it is. The vehicle or driver cannot continue until the problem is corrected. Freight on board waits, or has to be moved to another truck.
- Maintenance is a service question. Roughly one in five inspected vehicles had a serious defect. When you choose a carrier, ask about its maintenance program and inspection record, not only its rate.
- Cargo securement starts at your dock. Sound pallets, stable stacking, proper packaging and accurate weights and dimensions on the bill of lading help the driver secure the load correctly.
- Driver paperwork can delay freight too. An expired medical card or a logbook problem takes a truck off the road just as a bad brake does.
- Inspections happen all year. Roadcheck is a three-day snapshot of checks that take place every day at weigh stations and roadside. Leave some margin in the schedule for time-critical shipments.
Go Trucking Services provides LTL and FTL land transport in Greater Los Angeles and nationwide. See land transport or request a quote on the home page.
Sources:
- FleetOwner: CVSA releases 2026 Roadcheck results highlighting vehicle and driver violations (August 26, 2026)
- The Trucker: CVSA releases Roadcheck results (August 26, 2026)
Image: Wikideas1, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
