The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has announced Aug. 25-31 as the dates for this year’s Brake Safety Week.
During Brake Safety Week CVSA-certified inspectors will conduct routine commercial motor vehicle inspections, focusing on brake systems and components. Commercial motor vehicles found to have brake-related out-of-service violations will be removed from roadways until those violations are corrected.
For this year’s Brake Safety Week, inspectors will focus on the condition of brake linings and pads. Brake lining and pad issues may result in vehicle violations and could affect a motor carrier’s safety rating.
In addition, some jurisdictions have performance-based brake testers (PBBT) and will be using them during Brake Safety Week. A PBBT is a machine that assesses the braking performance of a vehicle.
Educational efforts by inspectors, motor carriers and others in the industry also take place during Brake Safety Week and are integral to the success of the campaign.
In addition to educational outreach by law enforcement agencies, transportation safety organizations and individual officers, CVSA also aims to help prepare drivers, motor carriers, owner-operators and mechanics for this year’s Brake Safety Week. The organization suggests:
- Viewing the inspector’s inspection procedure.
- Downloading a checklist that outlines the tools needed to inspect S-cam brakes, what to look for and how to measure pushrod stroke.
- Learning about the components of the vehicle that the inspector will check.
- Downloading a flyer with 10 brake lining and pad tips.
Brake Safety Week also serves as a reminder to drivers and motor carriers of the importance of a proactive vehicle maintenance program and provides an opportunity for law enforcement to highlight the importance of brake safety.
Throughout Brake Safety Week, inspectors will capture data about brake inspections and violations and report that data directly to CVSA. In addition to general inspection and violation data, CVSA will also be collecting data about brake linings/pads.
CVSA said brake-related violations comprise the largest percentage of all out-of-service vehicle violations cited during roadside inspections. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s 2023 vehicle violation data, six out of the top 20 vehicle violations were brake related. And last year’s CVSA International Roadcheck results showed that brake-system violations was the top vehicle violation, comprising 25.2% of all vehicle out-of-service violations during that three-day data snapshot of roadside inspections.