WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Roadside inspectors patrolling North America's highways June 2-4 will be conducting their annual "Roadcheck," an event sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). 

Roadcheck mobilizes federal, state, provincial and local inspectors to more than 1,000 locations across the continent to conduct comprehensive North American Standard Level I Inspections and other related roadside enforcement activities. 

"Every year thousands of dedicated inspectors perform roadside inspections which save countless lives and make the highways we all travel on safer," said Stephen F. Campbell, CVSA's executive director. "We see great results because of the cooperation among a large group including industry, state and federal government agencies. In addition to enforcement, there are many educational events with government and industry happening all over the continent to drive home the safety message." 

Last year, 9,148 CVSA and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) certified inspectors at 1,683 locations across North America performed 67,931 truck and bus inspections. A total of 52,345 were North American Standard Level I inspections, the most comprehensive roadside inspection. 

Both the total number of inspections and Level I inspections were records for the annual Roadcheck event. 2008 saw significant gains in out-of-service rates for most vehicle and driver types. 

CVSA sponsors Roadcheck each year with the FMCSA, Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada, and the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Mexico). 

"The Roadcheck campaign highlights the important work that commercial vehicle inspectors perform every day to keep our roads safe and save lives," said FMCSA Acting Deputy Administrator Rose McMurray. "The number and the severity of crashes each year involving large trucks and buses is declining. We must not lessen our resolve to work together to make our highways and roads safer for every traveler." 

CVSA is an international not-for-profit organization comprising local, state, provincial, territorial and federal motor carrier safety officials and industry representatives from the United States, Canada and Mexico.