Brake Check! CVSA Brake Safety Week is Aug. 20-26

Last year, 13.5% of inspected vehicles were taken out of service for brake safety issues. Brake-related issues accounted for over 45% of out of service conditions.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) Brake Safety Week will proceed as scheduled, Aug. 20-26, 2023. Enforcement officials will inspect commercial motor vehicles throughout the week and vehicles found to have critical out-of-service brake violations, or other critical vehicle out-of-service inspection item violations, will be restricted from traveling until those violations are corrected. Vehicles that pass eligible inspections may receive a passed-inspection CVSA decal.

Brake Safety Week is part of law enforcement’s effort to reduce brake-related crashes by conducting roadside inspections and identifying and removing unsafe commercial motor vehicles from roadways.

What to expect:

Roadside checks will include all of the following inspection points, but don’t wait till you get pulled over to find out if your brakes will pass.  Perform this inspection yourself, and put yourself in the place of an enforcement agent.  Would you pass your vehicle?

Brake Inspection Points:

  • Chafing/Rubbing Air Hoses

  • Hoses that are Worn to Second Color

  • Damaged, Broken, or Missing Components

  • Brake Pads/Linings/Thickness

    • Air Drum Brake Pad, 1/4" or more

    • Air Disc Brake 1/8" or more

  • Cracked Pads//Linings or Rust -  Jacked Lining from Shoe (Upper & Lower)

  • Excessive Up/Down & Sideways Camshaft Movement (Worn Bushings)

  • Rusted Drum to Inoperative Brake

  • External Cracks on the Brake Drum

  • Holes in Brake Chamber

In addition to CVSA’s Brake Safety Week, August is also Brake Safety Awareness Month. Along with inspections and enforcement, law enforcement agencies also engage in outreach and awareness efforts to educate drivers, motor carriers, mechanics, owner-operators and others on the importance of proper brake maintenance, operation and performance.

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