Brake Defects Up in CVSA's September Inspection Blitz
Bad components and adjustment caused inspectors to place a higher percentage of trucks out of service during 2014's Brake Safety Week than during the '13 event, says the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
by Staff
January 5, 2015
File photo courtesy Kentucky State Police.
2 min to read
File photo courtesy Kentucky State Police.
Last September’s Brake Safety Week inspections resulted in 16.2% of 13,305 commercial trucks examined in the U.S. being placed out of service, according to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. That’s several points higher than the activity in 2013, the organization said, though fewer trucks were inspected in 2014.
During the Sept. 7-13 campaign, local, state, provincial, territorial and federal motor carrier safety officials throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico conducted roadside inspections to identify out-of-adjustment brakes and brake-system violations.
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Loose or missing parts, air or hydraulic fluid leaks, worn linings, pads, drums and rotors, excessive pushrod stroke, and malfunctioning warning lights for antilock braking systems were among items inspected.
The out-of-service rate for brake adjustment rose to 10.4% from 9% in 2013. The OOS rate for brake components was 9.3%, up from 7.1% in 2013. The 2013 OOS numbers hit a historic low.
Out-of-service rates for Canadian jurisdictions are historically lower than those in U.S. jurisdictions. This can be seen again this year with the OOS rates for brake adjustment violations (10.8% in the U.S. versus 4.6% in Canada; 10.4% combined), brake component violations (9.5% in the U.S. versus 6.8% in Canada; 9.3% combined), and total brake violations (16.6% in the U.S. versus 11.0% in Canada; 16.2% combined).
CVSA gave no statistics from inspections in Mexico.
“The ultimate goal of Brake Safety Week is to reduce the number of highway crashes caused by faulty braking systems on commercial vehicles,” said CVSA President Capt. William Reese of the Idaho State Police. “We strive to reach that goal by conducting roadside inspections and educating drivers, mechanics, motor carriers and others on the importance of proper brake inspection, maintenance and operation.”
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Brake Safety Week is part of CVSA’s Operation Airbrake program sponsored by CVSA and in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. More than 3.4 million brakes have been inspected during Operation Air Brake since the program’s inception in 1998.
CVSA members conduct approximately 4 million driver and vehicle roadside safety inspections each year throughout North America.
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