Not Too Soon to Plan for Brake Safety Week

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has announced Aug. 21-27 as the dates for this year’s Brake Safety Week. Brake Safety Week is an annual commercial motor vehicle brake safety inspection, enforcement, and education initiative conducted by law enforcement jurisdictions in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.

But that’s over two months away, you say! Yes, it is, but we want ICSA members to have plenty of time to address any potential brake issues on their equipment. Brake-related violations represent the largest percentage of all out-of-service vehicle violations cited during roadside inspections. Based on last year’s three-day International Roadcheck data, brake systems and brake adjustment violations accounted for 38.9% of all vehicle out-of-service violations, the most of any category of vehicle violations.

To address the high number of brake-related out-of-service violations, Brake Safety Week will:

• Identify and remove commercial vehicles with critical vehicle inspection violations identified in the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria
• Conduct inspections and identify and acknowledge commercial vehicles that do not have critical vehicle inspection violations by giving them a CVSA decal
• Encourage proactive vehicle maintenance in advance of the week
• Remind drivers and motor carriers about the importance of proper brake maintenance and vehicle pre-trip and post-trip inspections
• Provide an opportunity for outreach and educational brake-safety efforts by inspectors

In addition to reporting total inspections and brake-related out-of-service violations, inspectors will also capture and provide data on brake hose/tubing chafing violations, a primary focus for this year’s Brake Safety Week.