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 million trucks annually. In 2021, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officers (CVEOs) assigned to the POEs conducted 26,754 commercial vehicle safety inspections resulting in 3,503 vehicles and 2,081 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 106 comprehensive reviews in 2021.
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 1,053 audits in 2021.
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 2021, the School Bus Inspection Program was responsible for the inspection of over 10,000 school buses assigned to 295 school districts and nine 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 2021 was challenging for most everyone. Not only were employees continually adapting to new COVID restrictions, they also faced mandates that negatively impacted productivity. As COVID cases fluctuated in 2021, 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 from 2019 to 2020. Alternatively, productivity was up from 2020, with 34,899 CMV inspections conducted division wide. This included placing 2,420 drivers out of service, which accounted for 20 percent of inspections. An additional 4,681 trucks out of service, which accounted for seven percent of inspections. These efforts promoted additional safety on Washington Roadways.
Successes of 2021
Although 2021 was a challenging year, the MCSD team accomplished a lot. A new Instagram account was established, which has been successful in bringing additional qualified applicants to the division. This platform is utilized to promote commercial vehicle enforcement, highlight the great work of our employees, and to increase our applicant pool. Additionally, the 15th CVEO Basic Class graduated in 2021 and the 16th CVEO Basic Class started during 2021. Typically training classes are more than a year and a half apart. The result of the two graduating classes added 18 newly commissioned officers to the bureau.
