2026 Roadcheck Results: What CVSA's Official Numbers Reveal

While International Roadcheck Week is a highly anticipated event on the calendar - with the 2026 version occurring May 12-14 - once those days pass, many put it in the rearview mirror. That's because it takes awhile for the actual results to come in (understandably with the thousands of inspections spread across North America over that three-day period). In this case, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) released the official results in August. What did they find and what does it tell us about the state of trucking (and freight) in 2026?

What was predicted before the inspection blitz?

Leading into the CVSA's 72-hour inspection and enforcement initiative aimed at both drivers and the trucks themselves, the discussion was largely centered on the already heightened Federal focus on operator English-language requirements and non-domiciled licenses, as well as ELD decertification. On The Intermodal Logistics Podcast in April, DAT's Dean Croke zeroed in on ELDs (electronic logging devices) - pointing out that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) had already flagged several as non-compliant at that time.

Dean noted that drivers would potentially be running with paper logs due to the many ELDs that were decertified for inaccuracy or tamper-ability. He also expected capacity to take a hit during Roadcheck as those worried about getting flagged for violations (ELD or otherwise) would sit it out. Similar predictions centered around concerns about ICE involvement at some inspection locations. Aside from the driver issues, the inspections tend to have an even greater impact on the rigs themselves as they're checked for safe operability. All this was against the backdrop of a truckload market already in capacity decline (and rate increase-mode) for a few months at that point.

What do the official 2026 roadcheck numbers show?

The overall numbers of 2026 International Roadcheck show inspectors conducted 54,575 inspections of drivers and vehicles at locations throughout North America over three days. Of those, 10,350 commercial motor vehicles (19%) and 3,184 drivers (5.8%) were placed out of service (OOS) due to violations "serious enough to make continued operation unsafe." Those vehicles and drivers were then removed from the road until the violation is addressed or compliance is gained.

From a positive perspective, that means 81% of vehicles and, better yet, 94.2% of drivers did not have OOS violations. And it's important to note that 31,241 of the inspections were Level I (the full 37-point), 11,502 were Level II (walk-around), 10,528 were Level III (driver-only, and 1,304 were Level V (vehicle-only.

Getting back to the issues, the top OOS violations for drivers was the lack of a medical card, which took 27% of violators off the road. That was followed by hours of service, which accounted for 23.4% of violations. A lack of CDL was the issue for 15.6% of violators, while English language proficiency and false records of duty status rounded out the top 5 issues with 9.1% and 6.7%.

Going back to the ELD issue, the CVSA notes in its report that tampering, falsification or manipulation was a focus of their inspections this year. However, it came in 7th among OOS violations, with 3.7% of violators cited. The association notes ELD manipulation can relate directly to hours of service violations, affecting driving safety. Interestingly, the top driver OOS violations in 2025 were hours of service at 32.4% and no CDL at 24.4%, while the overall OOS rate was almost the same at 5.9%.

So what happened with the trucks themselves, which had about a 1% higher rate of OOS violations in 2026 vs last year? Them's the brakes.  

Why were brakes the focus, again?

Brake systems were the top vehicular violation that placed trucks out of service, accounting for 24.3%. When combined with the third highest violation - 20% defective brakes - that number grows to just over 39% of all violations. That figure is similar to 2025 (though down slightly), which combined saw brakes at just over 41% of the OOS cause. It's the 15th straight year brakes were the biggest Roadcheck problem for trucks.

Tires were the second largest issues among violators, affecting 20.9%. Lights came in 5th at 11.9%.

Jumping back to 4th place was the CVSA's vehicle violation focus for 2026 - cargo securement, which took 12.4% of violators off the road. Cargo securement violations occur when freight is inadequately packed, tied down, restrained, immobilized, etc., and the association says it's an issue that can cause rollovers, jackknifes and deadly highway debris.

What does this mean for intermodal shippers?

The first place shippers think of when it comes to intermodal is the railroad, but trucks connect freight at the beginning and end of the journey. Drayage drivers are also commercial operators, and while there's no readily available breakdown of how many inspected were short haul vs long haul, it's worth noting that some of the same issues likely apply.

On a broader level, concerns about truckload capacity and safety can certainly point shippers toward intermodal, as the long-haul rail portion of each shipment limits exposure to some over-the-road issues that pop up more the longer cargo is in a truck. And the rate spread has been significant all year, with truckload spot rates running 40-plus percent above 2025 while intermodal spot stands just a few points ahead of last year - setting aside record diesel prices.

Tying up the loose end of trucking rates leading into and out of International Roadcheck, Dean's prediction proved prescient as there was a spike across the board for over the road related to that week in May, with a significant drop in capacity that returned the week after.

If you're looking to add more intermodal to your freight mix, at InTek Logistics, we'd be happy to work with you on door-to-door, truck-like solutions. Reach out to us through our brief form, or find more about what we offer on our Intermodal Service page.