CVSA: Nearly 600 Commercial Motor Vehicles Removed from North American Roadways due to Brake Violations

Certified commercial motor vehicle inspectors throughout North America conducted 4,021 inspections of commercial motor vehicles in one day and restricted 574 (14.3%) of those vehicles from travel due to brake-related out-of-service (OOS) violations.

A commercial motor vehicle is placed out of service when an inspector determines the vehicle has safety violations serious enough to make continued operation hazardous. Out-of-service orders are designed to prevent crashes from happening.

Of the 4,021 total inspections conducted, 3,447 commercial motor vehicles did not have any brake-related out-of-service violations – 85.7% of the total number of vehicles inspected. Vehicles that did not have any critical vehicle inspection items may have received a CVSA decal.

Brake Safety Day is the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) annual brake-safety inspection, regulatory compliance and data-collection initiative. Forty-seven jurisdictions throughout Canada, Mexico and the U.S. participated in this year’s Brake Safety Day, which was April 14 and was not publicly announced in advance.

This year, emphasis was placed on drums and rotors. Inspectors identified 43 drum and rotor violations, of which 21 were out-of-service violations.

Inspectors identified 313 commercial motor vehicles that met the 20% defective brakes out of-service criterion, which is when 20% or more of the vehicle’s (or combination of vehicles’) brakes have a condition that impairs braking ability to a degree that the brake is considered defective.

In addition, inspectors identified 121 out-of-service violations related to brake hoses and/or tubing, 47 vehicles had steering axle out-of-service violations, 40 vehicles failed an air loss rate test, and there were 193 other out-of-service brake violations, such as inoperative tractor protection system, hydraulic or electric brake violations, inoperative parking/emergency brake, inoperative low-air warning device, etc.

Ten U.S. jurisdictions conducted 349 inspections utilizing a performance-based brake tester (PBBT), which 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%. Twenty-six (7.45%) vehicles failed to meet the required 43.5% minimum braking efficiency rate and were placed out of service.

Most of the inspections completed (3,643 or 90.6%) on Brake Safety Day were North American Standard Level I Inspections. A Level I Inspection is a thorough 37-step procedure that examines the driver’s operating requirements and assesses the vehicle’s mechanical fitness. The Level I Inspection is the most-commonly conducted inspection type overall.

CVSA’s Brake Safety Day is part of Operation Airbrake, a CVSA program dedicated to improving commercial motor vehicle brake safety throughout North America. CVSA’s seven-day brake safety campaign is scheduled for Aug. 23-29.