Out-of-service criteria changes coming soon

Posted February 24, 2023

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has announced changes to the North American Out-of-Service Criteria (OOSC) set to take effect on April 1, 2023. Here is a list of this year’s changes:

• Drivers found to have used drugs in the previous 24 hours, based on self-admission or an officer’s findings, will be placed out of service for 24 hours.
• Hours-of-service (HOS) changes that apply to drivers operating in the U.S. include:
  • A driver will only be placed out of service for false logs if the falsification was an attempt to disguise a violation of an hours limit and:
    • It took place since the last qualifying break that can be verified in the case of the daily limits, or
    • Results in the driver being in violation of the 60- or 70-hour limit.
  • The out-of-service (OOS) period for false logs will change to the amount of time necessary for the driver to come into compliance, rather than an automatic 10 hours.
• Hours-of service changes for drivers operating in Canada include:
  • A driver who does not have a log or does not have the previous 14 days of logs will be placed OOS until they can present legal logs covering the current and previous 14 days.
  • A driver will be placed OOS for log falsification if the falsification occurred since the last qualifying break that can be verified, and the falsification is disguising an HOS violation.
  • The OOS period for falsification remains 72 hours.
  • A violation for not presenting supporting documents will be removed from the OOSC.
• Logging apps and malfunctioning electronic logging devices (ELDs) functioning as an app that cannot print when required will not be an OOS violation, provided the driver can present the logs on the device.
• Rust on the friction surface of a disc brake rotor must be across the entire face on either side to be an OOS violation.
• A cargo securement note is being updated to clarify that there does not need to be a tiedown in each 10 feet of cargo — the 10-feet reference is only needed to determine the required number of tiedowns.
• Clarification is being added to the OOSC on what suspension components should result in an OOS order, even if the axle is not shifting.

Other changes related to roadside inspections

Other changes made by CVSA apply to the procedures for conducting an inspection, operational policies, general information/diagrams provided in the OOCS, and inspection bulletins or the references to them in the OOSC. These changes include:

• Adding references to the under-21 driver programs and the related inspection bulletin.
• Conducting the antilock brake system (ABS) check earlier in the inspection process and updating the ABS inspection bulletin.
• Requiring officers to check the gross vehicle weight rating of the vehicle.
• Adding updated diagrams of the suspension components.
• Updating the Canadian license guide.
• Adding instructions to an operational policy instructing officers to avoid using the general 396.3(a)(1) violation code in favor of the correct Part 393 or specific 396.3(a)(1) code whenever possible.
• Adding references to the following newly developed inspection bulletins:
  • Identifying Undeclared Lithium-Ion Battery Shipments,
  • Passenger Carrying Vehicle Emergency Exit Inspection,
  • Dust Caps on 400-Series Low Pressure Cargo Tanks, and
  • Inspecting Placards on Flammable and Combustible Liquids.

This article was written by Tom Bray of J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.