Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance Conducts Brake Safety Week in North America

Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, a non-profit organization that promotes motor safety, recently held an annual 'Brake Safety Week'. CVSA-certified safety inspectors conducted inspections into the bake systems of trucks and buses throughout North America. Through the week long program, motor safety officials of the state and provincial governments throughout the United States and Canada conducted roadside inspections to identify under-standard braking systems. “Brake related violations comprise the largest percentage of all out-of-service violations cited during roadside inspections,” said CVSA President, Maj. Jay Thompson. “Improperly installed or poorly maintained brake systems can reduce braking capacity and increase stopping distance of large trucks and buses, which poses serious risks to driver and public safety,” he added.

“For everyone’s safety, it’s vital that every vehicle operating on our highways and roads is mechanically sound and properly maintained,” said Scott Darling, the acting administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). He further added, “We thank the CVSA members across North America for their longstanding strong partnership, for their professionalism and their dedication toward protecting the motoring public each and every day.”

As a part of the roadside inspections, the officers helped flush out loose or missing parts, fluid leaks, cracked, damaged or worn linings, and other faulty brake related components. The officials also made a thorough check of the anti-lock braking system, which was a crucial element of a commercial vehicle's safety on the road. Altogether, the inspectors managed to conduct checks on 18,817 vehicles throughout the 'Brake Safety Week', placing 2,321 vehicles out of service (OOS) for brake violations. The OOS rate for this year, among all the vehicles checked, came to 12.3%, signaling an improvement from last year's 16.2%. The OOS rate for brake adjustment was 7.7%, significantly lower than 10.4% in 2014. Lastly, the OOS rate for brake components was 6.9 percent, while for 2014, the figure was higher at 9.3%. The OOS rates recorded for Canada was greatly lower than those in the United States.