Commercial vehicle enforcement agencies across North America are stepping up roadside inspections as part of a broader effort to improve highway safety by removing unsafe trucks and unqualified drivers from service.
Recent inspection campaigns carried out in Arizona, Nebraska and Ontario resulted in hundreds of safety violations being identified, with dozens of commercial vehicles and drivers placed out of service.
The latest actions follow several enforcement cases previously reported by FreightWaves involving commercial drivers operating without the required Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), impaired driving incidents and equipment-related safety violations in Arizona, California and Indiana.
In Arizona, Highway Patrol troopers from the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit partnered with the Arizona Department of Transportation’s Enforcement and Compliance Division for a three-day inspection campaign held from July 15 to 17 along State Route 87 near Payson.
During the operation, officers completed 96 commercial vehicle inspections and documented 350 violations. As a result, 13 trucks and 23 drivers were placed out of service.
According to authorities, the most common infractions included operating without a valid CDL, missing or falsified driver logbooks and mechanical equipment defects. One driver was also cited on drug-related charges.
The enforcement effort came shortly after Arizona authorities stopped another hotshot truck driver transporting more than 30,000 pounds without a CDL, a valid medical certificate or properly functioning emergency brakes. Both the driver and the vehicle were immediately placed out of service.
In Nebraska, the State Patrol’s Carrier Enforcement Division carried out targeted inspections on July 9 in Madison County, focusing on commercial vehicles that frequently bypass weigh stations.
Inspectors examined 41 trucks and uncovered 155 violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and Nebraska state law. The operation led to 13 vehicles and two drivers being placed out of service, while officers issued 22 citations. In addition, 27 trucks that passed inspection without immediate safety defects received Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) decals.
Officials said the out-of-service orders were primarily linked to critical safety concerns, including defective braking systems, excessively worn tires and other mechanical issues that posed an immediate crash risk.
In Ontario, Canada, commercial vehicle inspectors joined the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ministry of Transportation in a coordinated enforcement operation in Kirkfield. During the inspection campaign, officers examined 18 commercial vehicles, removed 10 trucks from service and issued 10 provincial offence notices.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol released data highlighting the most common violations identified during thousands of commercial vehicle inspections conducted throughout the year. Rather than reporting on a single operation, the agency used the figures to illustrate recurring compliance issues across the industry.
The most frequently cited violations recorded in June included brake adjustment defects (186), missing required inspection documentation (169), registration violations (141), excess axle weight (124), underinflated or leaking tires (123), defective brakes (95), automatic brake adjustment failures (93), air brake leaks (92), significant overweight violations (91) and speeding offences (91).
The latest enforcement initiatives demonstrate that transportation regulators across the United States and Canada are placing greater emphasis on roadside inspections to identify licensing violations, maintenance deficiencies and documentation issues. For motor carriers, the increased enforcement underscores the growing importance of maintaining full regulatory compliance while ensuring vehicles and drivers meet all applicable safety standards.
