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CVSA releases 2013 numbers from brake enforcement campaign

The number of commercial vehicles ordered out of service for brake-related issues dropped nearly 2 percent compared with last year, according to the latest figures released by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

CVSA conducted two annual commercial vehicle enforcement events focusing specifically on brakes – an unannounced Brake Check day in May, and a seven-day Brake Safety Week in September. The organization released its figures from the two events on Nov. 4.

CVSA conducts this weeklong campaign every year with support from federal, state, provincial and local safety inspectors across North America. This year, participating agencies inspected 20,067 vehicles throughout Brake Safety Week.

Of those, 2,714 commercial vehicles were placed out-of-service for brake violations, roughly 13.5 percent for all brake-related violations conducted in North America, compared with 15.3 percent for the same week in 2012.

“This rate for brake violations ties with May 2013 and September 2010 for the lowest OOS rates recorded since similar events began in 1998,” the agency stated in the press release. “The OOS rate for brake adjustment rose slightly to 9.0 percent, still near a record low, and the OOS rate for brake components was 7.1 percent, the lowest it has been since 2000.”

Brake Safety Week Results at a Glance:

20,067: number of vehicles inspected in 2013, compared with 21,255 inspections in 2012. 1,811 (9 percent): number of vehicles placed OOS for brake adjustment, compared with 9.4 percent in 2012, 8.4 percent in 2011, and 8.9 percent in 2010. 1,434 (7.1 percent): number of vehicles placed OOS for brake components, compared with 7.8 percent in 2012, 7.9 percent in 2011, and 8 percent in 2010. 2,714 (13.5 percent): number of vehicles placed OOS for brakes overall, compared with 15.3 percent in 2012, 14.2 percent in 2011, and 13.5 percent in 2010.
CVSA inspectors conducted their annual Brake Safety Week outreach and enforcement campaign September 8-14, in both the U.S. and Canada.

Brake Safety Week is part of the Operation Airbrake program sponsored by CVSA in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

During that week, inspectors conducted Level IV inspections on brake systems to verify regulatory compliance.

The press release also stated that OOS rates for inspections in Canada were lower than in the U.S., which is historically consistent. The OOS rate for brake adjustment was 9.2 percent in the U.S. and 6.2 percent in Canada. The OOS rate for brake components was 7.2 percent in the U.S. and 5.4 percent in Canada. The OOS rate for brakes was 13.6 percent in the U.S. and 11.6 percent in Canada.

More than 3.4 million brakes have been inspected since the program’s inception.

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