Brake Safety Week begins Sunday, Sept. 15. Are you ready?

September 13, 2019

Land Line Staff

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The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Brake Safety Week 2019 starts Sunday. Are you ready for the scrutiny inspectors will be putting on your brakes next week?

Brake Safety Week is scheduled for Sept. 15-21. Enforcement officials will conduct roadside safety inspections on commercial motor vehicles across North America throughout the week.

Inspectors will be paying special attention to brake hoses/tubing. CVSA is highlighting brake hoses/tubing as a reminder of their importance to vehicle mechanical fitness and safety, according to a news release. These brake system components are always a part of the North American standard inspection program, however.

“Being proactive is a big deal. And it’s not as difficult as some people may think,” Andy Malion with Spectra Products told Land Line Now’s Mary McKenna. Malion explained to listeners what they can expect next week and what to look for on their own brakes.

Out-of-adjustment brakes and brake-system violations represented 45% of all out-of-service vehicle violations issued during last year’s three-day International Roadcheck enforcement campaign, according to a news release.

Brake Safety Week is part of the Operation Airbrake Program, sponsored by CVSA in partnership with FMCSA and the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators.

Operation Airbrake is a comprehensive program dedicated to improving commercial vehicle brake safety throughout North America. The Operation Airbrake campaign was initially developed in Canada in 1998, according to the CVSA website.

Brake Safety Week 2018

In 2018, nearly 5,000 commercial vehicles were ordered out of service for critical brake safety violations in the U.S. and Canada.

Brake Safety Week data also captured antilock braking systems violations, indicating how well ABS are maintained in accordance with federal regulations.

The CVSA reported 26,143 air-braked power units required ABS and 8.3% of them had ABS violations. There were 17,857 trailers that required ABS, and 12.5%t (2,224) had ABS violations.

CVSA

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is a nonprofit association comprised of local, state, provincial, territorial and federal commercial motor vehicle safety officials and industry representatives.

It began in 1980 as an informal gathering of western state agencies and Canadian provinces responsible for conducting commercial motor vehicle enforcement functions. CVSA’s bylaws were ratified in 1982. It hired an executive director in 1985. Its headquarters is in the Washington, D.C., area. CVSA has five regions.

CVSA, which had been made up of Canada and the United States, expanded to include Mexico in 1991.