GREENBELT, Md. — Sunday, Aug. 23, kicks off the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) annual Brake Safety Week. During the weeklong event, law-enforcement officials will conduct inspections on commercial motor vehicles. Commercial vehicles that have critical out-of-service brake violations or other critical vehicle out-of-service inspection item violations will be restricted from traveling until the violations are corrected. Vehicles that pass eligible inspections may qualify for a passed-inspection CVSA decal.
Brake Safety Week is part of law enforcement’s effort to reduce brake-related crashes by conducting roadside inspections and identifying and removing unsafe commercial motor vehicles from roadways. Checking brake-system components is always part of the roadside inspection process; however, inspectors will be paying special attention to brake hoses/tubing during this year’s Brake Safety Week to highlight the importance of those components to a vehicle’s mechanical fitness and safety.
“Safety is always our top priority and it’s our mission to ensure the vehicles on our roadways have met all safety standards and regulations,” said CVSA President Sgt. John Samis with the Delaware State Police. “This is especially important as we rally behind truck drivers as they transport essential goods during this public health crisis. We need to do everything we can to ensure that the vehicles truck drivers are driving are as safe as possible.”
To help carriers and fleet managers make sure drivers are ready for inspection, EROAD, a global provider of fleet management, electronic tax reporting and ELD compliance solutions, offers the following checklist:
- Drivers must have license, authority number, registration and RODS ready for inspection.
- Ensure preventive maintenance is current.
- Examine all brake shoes and drums.
- Inspect air systems to ensure they are not contaminated with oil or other fluids.
- Make certain low air warnings are working.
- Check low air signals and listen for leaks.
- Walk around trucks to check for leaks or loose hoses.
- Check for cracks on air disc brake rotors.
- Inspect brake friction (linings for thickness, any cracks, any visible wear).
During CVSA’s 2019 International Roadcheck inspection and enforcement initiative, brake system and brake adjustment violations accounted for 45.1% of all out-of-service conditions. That’s more than any other vehicle violation category. In addition, during last year’s Brake Safety Week, 13.5% of the commercial motor vehicles inspected had brake-related vehicle inspection item violations and were placed out of service.
“Brakes are one of the most important systems in a vehicle,” Samis said. “Failure of any component of a brake system could be catastrophic. Routine brake system inspections and component replacement are vital to the safety of commercial motor vehicles.”
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Drivers, get out your wallet. They say it’s for Safety , but it mostly about the money ?.