15% of Trucks Put Out of Service During 2025 Brake Safety Week
During Brake Safety Week, commercial vehicle inspectors put 15% of vehicles inspected out of service for brake violations.
inspectors conducted more than 15,000 commercial motor vehicle inspections with a focus on brake systems and components.
Photo: CVSA
During the 2025 Brake Safety Week, North American commercial vehicle inspectors put 15% of vehicles inspected out of service for brake violations.
During the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s annual Brake Safety Week, August 24-30, inspectors throughout North America conducted 15,175 commercial motor vehicle inspections with a focus on brake systems and components.
Inspectors placed 2,296 vehicles out of service (OOS) due to brake-related violations overall across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
In the U.S., the percentage was also about 15%, with 2,035 brake-related out of service violations found during 13,700 inspections.
The most-cited reason a vehicle was placed out of service was because 20% or more of the vehicle’s (or combination of vehicles’) service brakes had an out-of-service condition. Inspectors identified 1,199 such violations, which is a 52.2% out-of-service rate.
The out of service rate was slightly higher than the 2024 results. Last year, out of the 16,725 commercial motor vehicle inspections conducted, 2,149 had brake-related out-of-service violations, a 12.8% out-of-service rate. The rate was similar looking at U.S. results alone.
The most-cited reason a vehicle was placed out of service was because 20% or more of the vehicle’s (or combination of vehicles’) service brakes had an out-of-service condition.
Source: CVSA
Drums and Rotors, PBBTs
Inspectors also provided violation data for drums and rotors, the focus for this year’s brake safety initiative. There were 113 drum and rotor violations. Thirty-nine commercial motor vehicles were placed out of service for rotor and/or drum violations. (There may be more than one violation on some vehicles/combinations.)
Fifteen states with performance-based brake testers conducted 528 inspections using their PBBTs during this year’s Brake Safety Week.
A PBBT 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 the combination of vehicles to have a minimum braking efficiency rating of 43.5% in order to pass a PBBT Inspection.
Twenty-five (4.7%) vehicles failed to meet the required 43.5% minimum braking efficiency rate and were placed out of service.
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.
Next year’s Brake Safety Week is scheduled for Aug. 23-29, 2026.
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