
Overview
The Motor Carrier Safety Division (MCSD) promotes the safe operations of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) through education, partnership, and enforcement. The MCSD provides oversight to the following programs:
PORTS OF ENTRY (POEs)
The MCSD is responsible for five (5) POEs strategically located across the state; in Bow Hill, Cle Elum, Plymouth, Ridgefield, and Spokane. The POEs weigh approximately two (2) million trucks annually. In 2020, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officers (CVEOs) assigned to the POEs conducted 22,652 commercial vehicle safety inspections resulting in 2,938 vehicles and 1,610 drivers being taken out of service for safety reasons.
COMPLIANCE REVIEW
A Compliance Review (CR) is an examination of motor carrier operations, including drivers’ hours of service, vehicle maintenance and inspection documentation, driver qualifications, financial responsibility, collision reporting, hazardous materials tracking and safety and transportation records. This program promotes the importance of safety with trucking companies operating commercial vehicles on Washington roadways.
The Compliance Review Section completed 127 comprehensive reviews in 2020.
NEW ENTRANT SAFETY AUDITS
New Entrant Safety Audits examine a motor carrier’s operations, providing educational and technical assistance on safety and operational requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and applicable Hazardous Material Regulations. This program assists new trucking companies in operating commercial vehicles safely in Washington.
The New Entrant Safety Section completed 893 audits in 2020.
SCHOOL BUS INSPECTIONS
The School Bus Inspection Program is a partnership between MCSD and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). The WSP annually inspects all school buses operating in the state during the summer months. Additionally, the WSP conducts inspections on 25 percent of school buses during the winter months, ensuring the safety of children being transported to and from school.
In 2020, the School Bus Inspection Program was responsible for the inspection of over 10,000 school buses assigned to 295 school districts and nine (9) educational service districts. The 18 inspectors assigned to the program completed more than 14,000 inspections for the year.
COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE (CMV) TRAINING
The Training Program is responsible for all aspects of CMV training including 13 weeks of CVEO Basic, annual in-service training and quarterly training for Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) certified officers.
Key Measurements and Statistics
The year 2020 was challenging for most everyone. Not only were employees forced to adapt to new COVID restrictions, they were also faced with monthly furloughs that affected their productivity. Early in 2020, officers were directed to limit potential COVID exposures in the workplace, which affected their productivity. MCSD officers are traditionally proactive in their enforcement. They make dozens of contacts each day and conduct inspections on several trucks during the course of their shift. These types of contacts typically lead to discovering violations that are not so obvious without an inspection. With the onset of COVID, officers were directed to be more focused in their contacts; focusing on critical safety violations. This resulted in a significant drop in overall vehicle contacts. Although productivity was down 23% from 2019, nearly 2,000 drivers were placed out of service for 2020, along with more than 4,000 trucks. These efforts promoted additional safety on Washington Roadways.
- More than 30,000 CMV inspections were conducted and 4,114 trucks were placed out of service, 20% of overall inspections.
- 1,919 Drivers placed out of service, 6% of overall inspections
- 14,416 school bus inspections conducted in 2020, 10,245 summer inspections

Successes of 2020
Although 2020 was a challenging year, the MCSD team accomplished a lot. A new Twitter account was established with four (4) assigned Public Information Officers. This platform will be utilized to promote commercial vehicle enforcement and highlight the great work of our employees. Additionally, two (2) CVEO Basic Classes graduated within one (1) year of each other. Typically training classes are more than a year and a half apart. The result of the two (2) graduating classes added 16 newly commissioned officers to the bureau.
Newly established Twitter account for Commercial Vehicle Enforcement: @wspcveopio