Defective or poorly adjusted brakes continue to be the leading reason for removing trucks from North American highways, according to reports
made public by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and the Ontario Trucking Association.
In addition to enforcement statistics on brake inspections, the reports contain more than 140 pages of findings and proceedings of the first North American Brake Safety Conference held last September to address the long standing and perplexing problem of brake safety. To consider the issue from many angles, the conference brought together manufacturers, regulators, drivers, carriers, engineers and enforcement officials to provide their perspective and suggest solutions.
While the report acknowledges, “There is no silver bullet that will improve brake compliance,” it does make recommendations for improving brake safety. Some of those recommendations call for increased use of visual stroke indicators, increased used of long-stroke brake chambers, uniform penalties for brake defects, improved design of brake systems and components, more inspections in the vein of CVSA’s Operation Air Brake and increased education concerning brake compliance matters and brake performance.
CVSA is preparing to send letters to approximately 60 stakeholder organizations in the United States and Canada asking for a response to one or more of the 12 recommendations outlined in the reports. According to the sponsoring organizations, the intent is to challenge the commercial vehicle community to take positive steps affecting brake safety in ways that have not previously provided results. The reports also are intended to serve as a baseline and building block for improving existing programs and initiatives that have demonstrated the ability to improve safety.