The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has just released results from the annual Brake Safety Week, held in September, as part of their Operation Airbrake program.
Dedicated to improving commercial vehicle brake safety, the national blitz saw a total of 18,385 inspections conducted, and more than 5,000 trucks placed out-of-service (OOS)!
Critical Violations
Brake Safety Week included the inspection of brake-system components to identify loose or missing parts; air or hydraulic fluid leaks; cracked, damaged or worn linings, pads, drums or rotors; and other faulty brake-system components.
This year saw 13.2% of all vehicles inspected placed OOS for brake-specific violations.
Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) Findings
Inspectors also checked anti-lock braking system (ABS) malfunction indicator lamps for compliance, an effort that began during CVSA’s unannounced Brake Check Day in May.
Anti-lock braking systems, in most cases, help vehicles remain in control where there is the possibility of wheel slippage when braking. ABS reduces the chance of jackknifing and increases control in braking situations.
The ABS survey for 2016 Brake Safety Week found the following:
- 8.8% of trucks with air brakes that required ABS (based on age of truck) had ABS related violations
- 8.8% of trucks with hydraulic brakes had ABS related violations
- 15.8% of trailers that require ABS had ABS violations
- 7.6% of inspected trailers were not air brake equipped – they were not subject to ABS requirements
- 328 buses and motorcoaches were inspected – of the 80.8% with ABS, only 2 buses had ABS related violations
May vs. September Infractions
Just as foundation brakes must be well maintained and tires must be properly inflated, safety systems that rely on ABS cannot help keep the vehicle in control, or help to prevent crashes, when they are disconnected or poorly maintained. Brake systems that are improperly installed or poorly maintained can reduce the braking capacity and stopping distance of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), a serious safety risk.
A few months may not seem like a very long time, but infractions have fallen since May’s unannounced Brake Check Day – a great sign of the move towards keeping drivers safe on the road!
How BigRoad Can Help
BigRoad makes keeping up-to-date on maintenance easy. Streamlined driver vehicle inspection reporting (DVIR) allows drivers to easily inspect and report on the condition of their vehicles before they hit the road. Get started today with a free 30-day trial and see how easy compliance can be!
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