CSVA ANNUAL BRAKE SAFETY WEEK IS SEPTEMBER 16-22

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CSVA) will conduct its annual Brake Safety Week September 16-22. CVSA is an alliance of federal, state and local commercial motor vehicle enforcement authorities that conducts several coordinated nationwide roadside inspection enforcement actions each year.

Last year, as you may recall, CSVA condensed its brake inspection blitz into a single Brake Safety Day. This year, however, the brake inspection period will again last a full week. Most inspections performed during this period will be complete North American Standard Level I Inspections, but inspectors are likely to pay special attention to brake-system components. "Vehicles with defective or out-of-adjustment brakes will be placed out of service," CSVA writes.

Commercial motor vehicle owners and fleet operators can prepare their trucks for the inspection by correcting brake issues related to the following, before September 16:

• Loose or missing parts
• Air or hydraulic fluid leaks
• Defective rotor conditions
• Measurement of pushrod travel
• Mismatched air chamber sizes across axles
• Air reservoir integrity and mounting
• Worn linings, pads, drums or rotors
• Required brake-system warning devices
• Other brake-system components

In addition, fleet operators should ensure compliance with all of the items checked under a normal Level I inspection. (Review those here.)

Last year, 14 percent of all trucks inspected during the one-day brake inspection blitz were placed out of service for brake-related violations. Earlier this year, during an unannounced Brake Safety Day, 1,595 commercial motor vehicles were removed from service for brake violations (13.8% of 11,531 inspections across the U.S. and Canada). These violations are also usually the primary reason for vehicles being placed out of service during CSVA’s International RoadCheck inspection blitz, as was the case last year.

Read more about Brake Safety Week here.

Got questions? Contact NEFI Regulatory Counsel Mark S. Morgan at: mark@nefi.com.