The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) will conduct its annual Brake Safety Week from Aug. 21 -27 with a focus on brake hose/tubing chafing violations.
Brake Safety Week aims to reduce the number of crashes caused or influenced by faulty brake systems on commercial motor vehicles by conducting roadside inspections and identifying and removing unsafe vehicles from roadways.
Throughout the week, commercial motor vehicle inspectors across North America will conduct inspections and remove commercial motor vehicles found to have brake-related out-of-service violations from roadways.
The initiative includes outreach and awareness efforts to educate drivers, motor carriers, mechanics, owner-operators and others on the importance of proper brake maintenance operation and performance.
Brake systems on commercial vehicles feature components that work together to slow and stop the vehicle, and brake hoses and tubing are essential for proper operation. Hoses and tubing must be attached properly, be undamaged, without leaks and be appropriately flexible. If those components fail, they can cause problems for the rest of the braking system.
Brake system component checks are part of the regular roadside inspection process, but the extra emphasis on break health reminds drivers of the special role brakes play in the mechanical fitness and safety of commercial vehicles.
Brake-related violations comprise the largest percentage of all out-of-service vehicle violations cited during roadside inspections. During the 2021 three-day International Roadcheck, 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.
Each year, the International Roadcheck emphasizes one aspect of potential violations. This year's emphasis is on tire safety. Inspectors will look for tire tread depth, tire pressure and proper clearance between tires, and examine the overall condition of the tires for things like cuts and bulges. While checking the tires of a vehicle is always a part of roadside inspections, CVSA is highlighting tire safety as a reminder to all drivers and carries of just how important it is.
FMCSA will also be renaming the Cargo-Related BASIC to the Hazardous Materials (HM) BASIC, which will better identify HM-related safety problems and change how HAZMAT carriers are classified to allow for increased intervention scrutiny. Now HAZMAT violations will be placed in the HAZMAT BASIC, which will better identify HAZMAT-related safety problems and change how HAZMAT carriers are classified to allow for increased intervention scrutiny. The HAZMAT BASIC will include items such as placarding and paperwork violations.