Overview
The Commercial Vehicle Division (CVD) is committed to making Washington’s highways the safest in the nation. CVD is responsible for ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations while sustaining the safe and efficient movement of commercial motor vehicles throughout Washington State. When fully staffed, the division consists of 64 commissioned troopers, sergeants, and lieutenants serving alongside 46 Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officers. All of these officers join an administrative team of 10 in both SafetyNet and staff support under the command of one captain.
Key Measurements and Statistics
The COVID pandemic created unusual traffic patterns and volumes for commercial motor vehicles. As we continue to observe supply chain issues as well as the return to work of many passenger vehicle commuters, collisions involving commercial motor vehicles have begun to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Our officers also began to increase inspection numbers, continuing to follow our 3, 2, 1 philosophy for roadside stops. This encourages officers to make every contact with commercial motor vehicle driver’s start as a Level 3 inspection of the driver documentation and a cursory view of the vehicle. If there is reason to escalate based on deficient equipment or other violations, or a company safety history, officers apply the proper level of safety inspection. Officers also conduct Level 1 or 2 inspections when assisting in collision investigations.
Successes of 2021
CVD examines collision data involving commercial motor vehicles along with the overall output of traffic stops, weighing operations, and safety inspections to determine the effectiveness of work effort. Preliminary data shows in 2021, 74 people tragically lost their lives in collisions involving commercial motor vehicles on Washington roadways. Injury collisions in 2021 were 928, an increase from 819 in 2020, and 857 in 2019. In 2021, CVD conducted 54,046 safety inspections on commercial motor vehicles and placed 35 percent of the vehicles and 5 percent of the drivers contacted out of service for dangerous safety violations. Another component of the measurement of our success in CVD is violator contacts and enforcement. CVD contacted 81,637 violators in 2021 and discovered 22,348 of the top collision causing violations. This data suggests our officers continue to target locations and violations leading to an inspection and enforcement when appropriate.
CVD SafetyNet (CVDSN) retains responsibility for in-house data collection/distribution, while reporting to WSP partners in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on matters of joint concern. During the year, CVDSN analysts collected, compiled, and distributed data from collisions, enforcement activities, inspections, complaints, and community outreach education; thus allowing our troopers and Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officers to focus their efforts when and where they would have the greatest impact on commercial motor vehicles involved injury and fatal collisions. CVDSN achieved a 100 percent rating in four of the eight areas measured by FMCSA, three were at 99 percent and one at 97 percent. This resulted in significant incentive funding from FMCSA to the State of Washington.
CVD provides regulatory oversight in partnership with the Department of Licensing over Registered Tow Truck Operators (RTTO), many of whom also have a Letter of Appointment to provide towing services to the WSP to aid in collision scene clearance and the removal of disabled and abandoned vehicles on our roadways. Troopers conducted inspections on over 397 separate RTTO businesses, each with multiple tow trucks. Troopers also inspected over 389 wrecking yards, hulk haulers, and scrap processors. Inspectors were able to modify their practices to still provide quality reviews of companies while observing necessary pandemic protocols.
CVD continues to incorporate Virtual Weigh in Motion (WIM) into its Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan. Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officers and troopers conduct portable weighing operations to identify overweight commercial motor vehicles for the purpose of preventing roadway damage caused by heavy vehicles.