Operation Air Brake, a 12-hour program conducted earlier this month in the United States and Canada, resulted in 14,665 roadside inspections focusing on commercial vehicle braking systems.

The numbers were the largest total so far and show a strong, continued visible enforcement presence.
Sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) and Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, the goal is to decrease violations and incidents related to brakes by encouraging drivers and motor carriers to increase their knowledge of brake inspection and maintenance, compliance with safety regulations and vehicle braking performance.
While this month’s out of service rates were essentially unchanged from the last year’s rates, there was a significant difference in 2003 between the "unannounced" campaign in May and the publicly "announced" event on Sept. 5.
In May, 13.2 % of vehicles inspected were out of service for brake adjustment, 8.1% out of service for brake components, and 18% total out of service for brakes.
September’s numbers: were 11% of vehicles inspected were out of service for brake adjustment, 7.5% for brake components, and 16.5% total out of service for brakes.
Manual slack adjusters comprised 26.2% of the 119,978 total brakes inspected: 8.7% of these were placed out of service for adjustment problems. The remainder of the brakes were equipped with automatic slack adjusters, 3.7% of which were placed out of service.
Peter Hurst, CVSA president, said "Operation Air Brake is a continuing reminder for all of us – industry and enforcement – to remain vigilant in our responsibilities for ensuring proper brake inspection and maintenance."
For more information about Operation Air Brake, contact Steve Keppler at CVSA Headquarters, (202) 775-1623.