The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Brake Safety Week, the annual brake-focused inspection event when enforcement officials throughout North America will conduct roadside safety inspections on commercial vehicles, has been scheduled for September 15 -22, 2019.

During Brake Safety Week, vehicles with critical brake violations or other critical vehicle inspection item violations, will be restricted from traveling until the violations are corrected. Vehicles that have passed inspection will receive a CVSA decal that reflects compliance.

Every Brake Safety Week has a specific focus and this year inspectors will be paying close attention to brake hoses and tubing. CVSA is highlighting hoses and tubing as a reminder of the part’s importance to vehicle mechanical fitness and safety.

“We all know how important a properly functioning brake system is to vehicle operation,” said Jay Thompson, CVSA president and chief with the Arkansas Highway Police. “All components of the brake system must always be in proper operating condition. Brake systems and their parts and components must be routinely checked and carefully and consistently maintained to ensure the health and safety of the overall vehicle.”

The goal of Brake Safety Week is to reduce the number of crashes caused or made more severe by faulty brake systems on commercial motor vehicles by conducting roadside inspections and identifying and removing unsafe commercial motor vehicles from our roadways. It is part of the Operation Airbrake Program, sponsored by the CVSA in partnership with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators.

Out of adjustment brakes and brake system violations are a common problem, making up 45% of all out-of-service vehicle violations issued during the 2018 International Roadcheck enforcement campaign. Brake-related violations accounted for six of the top 20 most frequently cited vehicle violations in 2017, according to the FMCSA’s 2018 Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics.

Last year’s Brake Safety Week saw nearly 5,000 out-of-service violations. About half of the violations were trailers with ABS violations with a nearly equal amount of air-braked power units with ABS violations. A small number of hydraulic-braked trucks were also cited for ABS violations.

In addition to inspections and enforcement, Brake Safety Week will include outreach and awareness efforts by law enforcement agencies to educate drivers, motor carriers, mechanics, owner-operators and others on the importance of proper brake maintenance, operation and performance that are integral to the success of this safety initiative, according to CVSA.