Commercial motor vehicle (CMV) inspectors from across the United States, Canada and Mexico will converge on Columbus, OH, August 14-18 for the 2018 North American Inspectors Championship (NAIC).
The competition, run by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is held annually alongside the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) National Truck Driving Championships/Nation Step Van Driving Championships, bringing the “best of the best” in safety enforcement and truck driving together in one location. Winners are recognized at a joint awards banquet on Saturday the 18th.
NAIC competitors will be judged in six enforcement categories, from Level 1 Inspections to hazardous materials inspections, cargo tank Inspections, motor coach Inspections and out-of-service criteria. There are both written exams and timed events, where North America’s top inspectors move around a CMV, calling out safety violations planted by CVSA judges.
Those judges often include regional directors from HELP Inc., the provider of PrePass, with Paul Sullivan and Greg Kindle in attendance this year. HELP Inc. is a platinum sponsor of CVSA.
Awards are given in each inspection category, for the top competitor from each country, and for the overall “grand champion.”
Competition is great, but safety improvement is the true purpose of NAIC. In addition to the competitive events, each inspector receives training on the latest safety information, technology, standards and inspection procedures. That training is then shared with CMV inspectors back home, raising the bar for the whole profession and ensuring that motor carriers and CMV drivers enjoy uniform inspection standards and procedures wherever they travel, interstate or internationally.
CMV inspectors are professionals, highly-trained and committed to public safety. Through NAIC, many of them are also award winners!
Steve Vaughn is National Director of Field Operations for HELP Inc., the provider of truck weight station bypass system PrePass as well as other trucking safety technologies. He previously served with the California Highway Patrol and is a past president of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.