During the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s unannounced Brake Safety Day, inspectors throughout Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. conducted 4,898 commercial motor vehicle inspections. More than 500 commercial vehicles were removed from service because of brake violations.
According to CVSA, of the 4,898 inspections conducted, 4,328 (88.4%) commercial motor vehicles had no brake-related, out-of-service violations. However, inspectors identified 570 (11.6%) commercial vehicles with brake-related critical violations. Those vehicles were immediately restricted from travel until the violations could be addressed.
Inspectors identified 330 commercial motor vehicles with 20% brake violations. According to CVSA, this means 20% or more of the vehicle’s service brakes had an “out-of-service condition resulting in a defective brake.” This was the top Brake Safety Day violation, accounting for 57.9% of all brake-related, out-of-service violations.
Inspectors found other brake violations on 256 (44.9%) of the commercial vehicles inspected. According to CVSA, examples of other brake violations include worn brake lines/hoses, broken brake drums, inoperative tractor protection systems, inoperative low-air warning devices, air leaks, and hydraulic fluid leaks.
U.S. data
CVSA reported that 37 U.S. jurisdictions participated in this year’s Brake Safety Day, with inspectors conducting 3,859 Level I, IV, and V Inspections. There were no brake-related, out-of-service violations on 3,411 of those commercial motor vehicles. However, 448 commercial motor vehicles were placed out of service for brake-related violations, which is an 11.6% vehicle out-of-service rate. There were also 74 power units and 46 towed units with brake lining/pad violations.
See also: Brake Safety Week scheduled for late August
Brake lining/pad data
Brake Safety Day focused this year on brake lining/pad health and safety. Inspectors found 108 power units and 66 towed units with lining/pad violations, according to CVSA.
There were 114 brake lining/pad violations discovered on power units. The top brake lining/pad violation on power units was for contamination with 48 violations.
A total of 71 brake lining/pad violations were identified on towed units; 23 violations were for cracks/voids in the linings/pads, the top brake lining/pad violation on towed units.
PBBT data
According to CVSA, nine U.S. jurisdictions with performance-based brake testers used them during Brake Safety Day. A PBBT is a machine that assesses the braking performance of a vehicle. U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and CVSA’s North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria require a minimum braking efficiency of 43.5%.
Eighty-eight PBBT inspections were conducted on Brake Safety Day. Four (4.5%) failed to meet the 43.5% minimum braking efficiency required and were placed out of service.
What is Brake Safety Day?
Unlike CVSA’s announced and scheduled Brake Safety Week, Brake Safety Day is unannounced and can occur at any time. Both Brake Safety Day and Brake Safety Week are part of Operation Airbrake, a CVSA program in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. According to CVSA, more than 3.4 million brakes have been inspected since the program’s inception in 1998.
