It’s just over a month from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Administration’s (CVSA) Brake Safety Week. Brake Safety Week takes place August 21 through 27. A day-long unannounced inspection day will be held at a later date.
Brake Safety Week is part of “Operation: Air Brake,” a program designed to improve safety on North America’s roads by focusing on the vital braking system of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs).
“Operation Airbrake is a comprehensive program dedicated to improving commercial vehicle brake safety throughout North America. The goal is to reduce the number of highway crashes caused by faulty braking systems on commercial motor vehicles by conducting roadside inspections and educating drivers, mechanics, owner-operators and others on the importance of proper brake inspection, maintenance and operation.”
CVSA
Brake Safety Week focuses on hoses and tubing with new categories
Brake-related violations make up the largest portion of all out-of-service (OOS) violations cited during roadside inspections. Improperly installed or poorly maintained brake systems can reduce the braking capability and increase the stopping distance needed for trucks and buses. That poses a serious risk to drivers and to public safety.
According to last year’s three-day International Roadcheck data, brake systems and brake adjustment violations accounted for 38.9% of all vehicle OOS violations. That was the most of any category of vehicle violation.
This year, CVSA inspectors will be targeting hoses and tubing especially. A new change in the categories of abrasion simplifies how the violations are rated. Former categories 4 and 5 have been combined into just category 4.
So now, any damage to the corded reinforcement layer of the hose or tubing now is an OOS violation. It must be repaired/replaced before the truck can be placed back in active status. A copy of the flier explaining the new guidelines can be downloaded from CVSA.
Get those trucks checked out now!
I’ll say it again for the thousandth time, “ GET YOUR TRUCK MID-TRIP INSPECTED NOW!!!” I know it’s a pain to have to stop making money to get your truck checked out thoroughly, but there’s no excuse to be caught with faulty equipment.
Most of the major truck shops have promotions offering some type of discount, including free, mid-trip inspections. TA/Petro even have an appointment function in their app now to schedule yours in advance.
As professional drivers, there’s no excuse for being placed OOS. It makes the industry as a whole look bad. I know there will be that one truck pulled over on some back road, trying to bypass the inspections, having the book thrown at the driver for having no brakes at all. Unfortunately, it happens every year.
Once again, Brake Safety Week begins August 21 through 27, with another day-long unannounced inspection blitz to be held at a later date as well.
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