"So we're going down the road, we've got a mudflap missing, and we've got an ABS lamp on the trailer lit up. What does that mean?" 

This edition of Overdrive Radio starts with that question, leading to just a small bit of the wisdom of the many years of experience of former truck operator and longtime compliance consultant Jeff Davis. With his Fleet Safety Services business, operating out of a home base in Ohio, Davis has been a regular presenter at the National Association of Small Trucking Companies' annual conference now for years. At the NASTC show this past November he addressed a packed house of owner-operators and other small fleet owners on the topic of practical steps to take to avoid inspections. 

The answer to his question, as duly, immediately noted by one of the owners in attendance: "Inspect me."  

Regular listeners will recall those trailer malfunction indicators were a focus of the Roadcheck 2023 inspection blitz, and leading into the event Overdrive found that warning-light systems on trailers accounted for well more than half of all air-brake-related ABS violations: https://www.overdriveonline.com/csas-data-trail/article/15447541/toughest-states-for-securement-violations-get-roadcheck-ready

There’s a reason for that, as Davis noted. When something’s awry, that light comes on, giving an easy visual cue for an officer to inspect. And if you’re inspected, well, there’s a likelihood of violations, and issues then can compound for you or your small fleet. The downstream ramifications of any individual inspection were well evident in Warren McCurdy’s story from a couple weeks back here on the podcast: https://www.overdriveonline.com/overdrive-radio/podcast/15663474/truck-inspections-safety-scores-should-be-preventive-not-punitive 

Any adverse roadside inspection will negatively impact all manner of things as it flows through the federal CSA Safety Measurement System and into the federal compliance review program and owner-operators and small fleets’ insurance rates, prospects for business and more. 

Davis further emphasizes all kinds of ways you can minimize the likelihood of getting sideways with auditors and roadside officers, without just bypassing the scale houses altogether.

More on getting Roadcheck-ready (the annual inspection blitz is upcoming in mid-May), and generally ready for any inspection that might come your way: 
**Roadcheck 2024: https://www.overdriveonline.com/regulations/article/15664708/roadcheck-2024-inspectors-guidance-on-drugs-and-alcohol
**Roadcheck 2023 -- how to avoid/ace inspections: https://www.overdriveonline.com/regulations/article/15383460/how-ownerops-can-avoid-or-ace-inspections-at-roadcheck
**Overdrive long-running CSA's Data Trail series: https://overdriveonline.com/csas-data-trail

(Don't) inspect me! With Roadcheck on the horizon, ways to avoid trouble at the scale house

The Overdrive Radio podcast is produced by Overdrive magazine, the Voice of the American Trucker for 60-plus years. Host Todd Dills -- with a supporting cast among Overdrive editors, contributors and others -- presents owner-operator business leading lights, interviews with extraordinary independent truckers and small fleet owners, and plenty in the way of trucking business and regulatory news and views. Access an archive of all episodes of Overdrive Radio going back more than a decade via this link: http://overdriveonline.com/overdrive-radio