Background

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is a nonprofit association comprised of local, state, provincial, territorial and federal commercial motor vehicle safety officials and industry representatives. Their mission is to improve commercial motor vehicle safety and uniformity throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico by providing guidance and education to enforcement, industry and policy makers. CVSA’s rulings, recommendations and actions play a direct role in the overall success of SC&RA member companies that transport oversize/overweight (OS/OW) loads within the United States.

Relationship

SC&RA and its members work directly with CVSA’s leadership to share daily OS/OW transportation needs. Conversely, the CVSA looks to SC&RA as the voice of the industry to provide feedback to local, state and highway law enforcement, and various departments of transportation and federal government agencies. SC&RA works to keep the lines of communication open between industry and law enforcement so that members can prepare for safety inspections, participate in discussions on enforcement protocols and take measures to work together on reducing fines and days out of service.

Update

SC&RA continues to work as a consultant on a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) contract to update Pilot Car & Law Enforcement Escort Best Practices and establish a national state template for Pilot Car training & certification.

Recently, SC&RA, the National Pilot Car Association (NPCA), State Permitting and Law Enforcement officials have formed the North American Pilot Vehicle Safety Alliance (NAPVSA) coalition, with a goal of serving as a verification body and industry advocate for all matters relating to the movement of OS/OW loads involving pilot and escort vehicles. In 2017, SC&RA and FHWA partnered together to release rewritten Pilot and Law Enforcement Best Practices, new National Pilot Car Training Curriculum and a Pilot Car Model Certification Plan.

Assignment of Police and Private Escorts

State/province budget shortfalls are more regularly impacting what is required for escorts. SC&RA has identified some challenges and concerns, and requests collaborative discussion between CVSA, AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials), the National Pilot Car Association and other affected stakeholders to develop recommendations and best practices.

Police Escort Threshold

A small number of states require two to four state police for loads more than 200,000 gross pounds. Other states require automatic police beginning at 150,000 gross pounds. Most states have no such triggered weight threshold unless a specific bridge(s) along the route requires a “slow down” provision. In addition, thresholds for when a police escort kicks in for dimension varies from moderately to dramatically. SC&RA maintains that, in the interest of safety and uniformity, a discussion with CVSA and other affected stakeholders may result in meaningful dialogue and recommended best practices.

State Line Permit Inspections

In a handful of states, permit loads are required, prior to entering at a state line, to undergo inspections and weighing that can take up to several hours. At WASHTO (Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) Permit Officials meeting, there has been positive discussion about the repetitive nature of such inspections and the potential for, in some cases, states to share information between themselves – to allow for more efficient commerce and movement of OS/OW loads interstate. SC&RA seeks dialogue with CVSA and other stakeholders regarding a harmonized best-practice recommendation.