Updated April 28, 2021, with poll results and more reporting ahead of the May 4-6 Roadcheck event.
Judge it against the last time we asked a similar question, during Roadcheck last year, and you might think a hugely greater number of owner-operators were planning to sit out next week's three-day inspection blitz this time around. That last poll question, after the event in September of 2020, showed barely 15% actually on vacation for the week, having planned it and took it in advance. Here's what we got over the last month or so since this question was asked in the original version of this 'Channel 19' post April 8.
Almost a fourth of owner-ops were planning to take a vacation for the week to avoid the hassles associated with inspection – delays, for most, violations and the chance of the dreaded out-of-service violation for others. Another five percent, too, would be off the road for planned major maintenance and/or shop inspection, a tack taken by owner-operator Mike Crawford of Long Lane, Missouri, every year over the last several, as you'll see.
Yet those two polls were asking different questions. ... Big difference between did and plan to, after all, between intention and actual action. It's the latter that holds more meaningful results for all manner of analysis, including what we've tended most often to do over the almost 10 years the CSA's Data Trail series has been in effect – that is, to look for patterns and trends in enforcement after the fact that highlight what particular jurisdictions are in fact focusing on, with the hope that helps you prioritize your own attention in those areas as needed.
[Related: Roadcheck preps, in the state where 2020 inspections were up, not down like everywhere else]
For instance, we can glean a good bit from inspection data about just which states tend to pull out the stops during Roadcheck itself. The following map originally ran last year, attendant to this story in advance of the rescheduled inspection event in September. (Isn't it just positively wonderful? Two Roadchecks in 8 months? ... Attentive readers will sense the, er ...)
Likely Roadcheck hotspots | The chart, based on 2019 data, shows that during the then-traditional Roadcheck month of June, 36 of the 48 continental United States performed an above-average number of monthly inspections. Just how far above could well be an indication of boosted Roadcheck inspections. Some were far above their monthly norm, such as Rhode Island, with a 121% jump. Consider the states with darker shades on the yellow-red spectrum as candidates for increased inspection activity during the annual Roadcheck spree.
