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.

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.