Law enforcement personnel in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico will conduct commercial motor vehicle inspections, and educate drivers and motor carriers about the importance of brake safety during the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's annual Brake Safety Week scheduled for Aug. 24-30.
The CVSA said certified inspectors will conduct routine commercial motor vehicle inspections throughout the week, focusing on brake systems and components. In addition, inspectors will focus on drums and rotors, the emphasis for this year’s brake-safety initiative.
Commercial motor vehicles found to have brake-related out-of-service violations, or any other out-of-service violations, will be removed from roadways until those violations are corrected.
Last year, out of the 16,725 commercial motor vehicle inspections conducted during Brake Safety Week, 2,149 of those vehicles had brake-related out-of-service violations, which was a 12.8% out-of-service rate.
Also last year, of the 2,149 commercial motor vehicles placed out of service, 1,355 (63.1%) had stand-alone out-of-service brake violations and 217 (10.1%) had steering axle brake out-of-service violations
During Brake Safety Week, inspectors will capture data about commercial motor vehicle inspections, brake systems and components, and brake-related violations and report that data to CVSA. Some jurisdictions will use performance-based brake testers (PBBT) to assess the braking performance of vehicles and submit PBBT-specific data to the alliance. CVSA will collect and analyze all data and report the results publicly later this year.
In addition, brake-safety educational efforts by inspectors, motor carriers and others in the industry take place during Brake Safety Week. CVSA also offers resources to help drivers, motor carriers, owner-operators and mechanics prepare for Brake Safety Week.
