A total of 2,240 commercial motor vehicles — or 12.4% — of the 18,031 inspected in the U.S. during the recent Brake Safety Week enforcement blitz were found to have defects serious enough to have them placed out of service.
A total of 18,875 CMVs were inspected in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico during the inspection effort organized by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and held Aug. 20-26. Of that amount, 295 (12.4%) had steering axle brake violations, 1,127 (47.5%) had stand-alone brake violations and 1,394 (58.7%) failed the 20% defective brakes criterion, which states that a vehicle is out of service if the number of defective brakes is equal to or greater than 20% of the service brakes on the vehicle or combination.
In Canada, 1,327 commercial motor vehicles were inspected. Ten percent (134) had brake-related out-of-service violations. Twenty-six power units and 25 towed units had lining/pad violations. Nine commercial motor vehicles were inspected in Mexico. One (11%) was placed out of service for brake-related violations. Lining/pad violations were identified on one power unit.
Last year, 34,402 vehicles were inspected, and 4,664 (13.6%) were placed out of service. Since last year, CVSA has changed how it collects information accounting for the change in numbers between then and now.
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The focus area for this year’s Brake Safety Week was lining/pad violations. Throughout the week, and just as they do normally when inspecting the vehicle components of commercial motor vehicles, inspectors checked brake lining/pads for cracks, voids and contamination. They also looked for loose, missing or worn brake lining/pads. A total of 379 power (tractor) units and 261 towed (trailer) units had lining/pad violations.
Although lining/pad violations are not necessarily out-of-service violations, CVSA selected lining/pads as the focus for this year’s Brake Safety Week because brake lining/pad violations still affect a motor carrier’s safety rating. If left unaddressed, brake lining/pad violations may lead to more serious problems and can be out-of-service violations if they are on the steering axle or combined with other brake violations for the 20% brake criterion.
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Brake Safety Week is part of the CVSA’s Operation Airbrake Program, a comprehensive program dedicated to improving commercial motor vehicle brake safety throughout North America. The goal is to reduce the number of crashes caused by faulty braking systems on commercial motor vehicles by conducting roadside inspections and educating drivers, mechanics, owner-operators and others on the importance of proper brake inspection, maintenance, and operation.
Next year’s Brake Safety Week is scheduled for Aug. 25-31.
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