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CVSA to hold Brake Safety Week September 6-12
GREENBELT, Md. — The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance said Tuesday that Brake Safety Week will be held September 6-12.
During that week law enforcement agencies across North America will conduct brake system inspections on large trucks and buses to identify out-of-adjustment brakes and brake-system violations.
Outreach and educational efforts by commercial motor vehicle (CMV) inspectors, participating motor carriers and others in the industry also take place during Brake Safety Week and are integral to the success of the campaign, according to CVSA Executive Director Steve Keppler.
"Properly functioning brake systems are crucial to safe CMV operation," Keppler said, noting that commercial motor vehicle brakes are designed to hold up under tough conditions, but they must be routinely inspected and maintained carefully and consistently so they operate and perform properly throughout the vehicle's life.
Brake-related violations comprised the largest percentage (representing 46.2 percent) of all OOS violations cited during Operation Airbrake's companion International Roadcheck campaign in 2014, which is focused on both vehicles and drivers. Improperly installed or poorly maintained brake systems can reduce the braking capacity and increase stopping distance of trucks and buses, which pose serious risks to driver and public safety.
Brake inspections conducted during Brake Safety Week include inspection of brake-system components to identify loose or missing parts, air or hydraulic fluid leaks, worn linings, pads, drums or rotors, and other faulty brake-system components. Antilock braking system (ABS) malfunction indicator lamps also are checked. Inspectors will inspect brake components and measure pushrod stroke where applicable. Defective or out-of-adjustment brakes will result in the vehicle being placed OOS. Read more about CVSA's inspection procedures.
Additional inspections may include some Level I Inspections and, in the 10 jurisdictions currently using performance-based brake testing (PBBT) equipment, overall vehicle braking efficiency will be measured. These systems include a slow speed roller dynamometer that measures total vehicle weight and total brake force from which braking efficiency is determined. The minimum braking efficiency for trucks is 43.5 percent, required by U.S. federal regulation and the CVSA OOS criteria.
Last year, inspectors from participating agencies inspected 13,305 vehicles during Brake Safety Week and placed 2,162 commercial vehicles OOS for brake violations. Of the vehicles inspected, the OOS rate for all brake-related violations conducted in North America was 16.2 percent, compared with 13.5 percent for the 2013 event. The OOS rate for brake adjustment was 10.4, and the OOS rate for brake components was 9.3 percent. View the 2014 results.
More than 3.4 million brakes have been inspected since the program's inception in 1998.
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 (FMCSA).
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