Tag: #brakesafety

CVSA’s Brake Safety Week Scheduled for Aug. 20-26

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Original article published by CVSA

CVSA’s Brake Safety Week Scheduled for Aug. 20-26

Photo: CVSA

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has scheduled this year’s Brake Safety Week for Aug. 20-26 with a focus on brake lining/pad violations.

During Brake Safety Week, commercial motor vehicle inspectors highlight the importance of brake systems by conducting inspections of their components and removing commercial motor vehicles found to have brake-related out-of-service violations from our roadways until those violations are corrected.

Throughout Brake Safety Week, CVSA-certified inspectors will conduct their usual inspections; however, in addition, they will be reporting brake-related inspection and violation data to the Alliance. CVSA will compile that data and publish a press release this fall with the results.

“The focus of this year’s Brake Safety Week is on the condition of the brake lining and pad,” said CVSA President Maj. Chris Nordloh with the Texas Department of Public Safety. “Brake lining and pad issues may result in vehicle violations and could affect a motor carrier’s safety rating.”

When inspectors conduct the brake portion of a Level I or Level V Inspection, they will:

  • Check for missing, non-functioning, loose or cracked parts.
  • Check for contaminated, worn, cracked and missing linings or pads.
  • Check for S-cam flipover.
  • Listen for audible air leaks around brake components and lines.
  • Check that slack adjusters are the same length (from center of S-cam to center of clevis pin) and the air chambers on each axle are the same size.
  • Ensure the brake system maintains air pressure between 90-100 psi (620-690 kPa) and measure pushrod travel.
  • Inspect for non-manufactured holes (e.g., rust holes, holes created by rubbing or friction, etc.) and broken springs in the spring brake housing section of the parking brake.
  • Inspect required brake system warning devices, such as anti-lock braking system (ABS) malfunction lamp(s) and low air-pressure warning devices.
  • Inspect the tractor protection system, including the bleedback system on the trailer.
  • Ensure the breakaway system is operable on the trailer.

Brake safety awareness, education and outreach are major elements of the Brake Safety Week campaign. CVSA has outlined the brake-system inspection procedure (noted above) so that drivers and motor carriers know exactly what inspectors will be checking during roadside inspections. This transparency aims to remind drivers and motor carriers to take proactive steps to ensure their commercial motor vehicles are safe and compliant with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Improperly installed or poorly maintained brake systems can reduce the braking capacity and stopping distance of trucks or buses, which poses a serious safety risk.

CVSA’s  is dedicated to improving commercial vehicle brake safety throughout North America. The goal is to reduce the number of highway crashes caused by faulty braking systems on commercial motor vehicles by conducting roadside inspections and educating drivers, mechanics, owner-operators and others on the importance of proper brake inspection, maintenance and operation.

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.

CVSA Releases 2022 Brake Safety Week Results

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Original article published by CVSA

Photo: Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

Commercial motor vehicle inspectors in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. conducted 38,117 inspections of commercial motor vehicles Aug. 21-27 for Brake Safety Week. Of the total number of the commercial motor vehicles inspected, 13.3% were placed out of service for brake-related critical vehicle inspection item violations. That also means that nearly 87% of the commercial motor vehicles inspected throughout North America during Brake Safety Week did not have brake-related critical vehicle inspection item violations.

The inspections conducted during Brake Safety Week are no different from the inspections conducted any other day of the year. During the week, inspectors compiled and then submitted brake-related data to the Alliance for compilation, analysis and release.

Fifty-three Canadian and U.S. jurisdictions, and Mexico’s Ministry of Communications and Transportation participated in this year’s Brake Safety Week, which is a voluntary brake-safety inspection and enforcement initiative.

Broken out by country, inspectors in Canada inspected 1,975 commercial motor vehicles and placed 351 (17.8%) out-of-service for brake-related violations. In Mexico, 1,740 commercial motor vehicles were inspected. Forty-four (2.5%) were placed out of service. In the U.S., of the 34,402 commercial motor vehicles inspected, 4,664 (13.6%) were placed out of service (OOS).

Table 1: Percentage and number of brake-related OOS violations by country

Also, inspectors identified and documented 6,305 brake hose/tube chafing violations, which are a common brake-related violation and was the focus area for this year’s Brake Safety Week. Inspectors reported brake hose chafing violations in four different categories, with varying levels of chafing severity, including two which were out-of-service violations. Read More»

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, USDOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.

Inspectors Remove More Than 1,200 Commercial Motor Vehicles With Critical Brake Violations From Roadways During CVSA’s Unannounced Brake Safety Day

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

First published by CVSA

Commercial motor vehicle inspectors in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. conducted 10,091 inspections and placed 1,273 vehicles out of service for brake-related critical vehicle inspection items on May 26. Inspectors tracked and reported this data to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) for Brake Safety Day, the Alliance’s unannounced one-day inspection and enforcement initiative focused on brake systems.

“Inspectors conducted their usual inspections and reported brake-related data to CVSA for Brake Safety Day,” said CVSA President Sgt. John Samis with the Delaware State Police. “We are sharing the results to call attention to the importance of commercial motor vehicle brake safety.”

Why does CVSA devote an inspection day specifically to brakes? Brakes are one of the most important systems within a commercial motor vehicle; however, despite our knowledge of how crucial those systems are, brake-related violations continue to dominate vehicle out-of-service conditions. Brake system violations was the top vehicle out-of-service category during last year’s three-day International Roadcheck commercial motor vehicle and driver inspection and enforcement safety initiative.

Each year, for Brake Safety Day, CVSA-certified inspectors conduct inspections, focusing on the vehicle’s brake systems and components, and remove commercial motor vehicles with brake-related out-of-service violations from roadways. Here are the results from May 26:

  • Six jurisdictions from Canada, 42 U.S. jurisdictions, and Mexico’s Ministry of Communications and National Guard participated.
  • Inspectors in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. conducted 10,091 inspections and placed 1,273 vehicles out of service for brake violations.
  • The brake-related out-of-service rate in North America was 12.6%.
  • The U.S. brake-violation out-of-service rate was 13.3%. In Canada, the rate was 11.4% and in Mexico, the rate was 2.9%.
  • In Canada, 946 inspections were conducted. In Mexico, inspectors conducted 487 inspections, and in the U.S., 8,658 inspections were conducted.
  • Fourteen vehicles were removed from roadways in Mexico for brake violations. In Canada, 108 vehicles were placed out of service for brake violations, and in the U.S., 1,151 vehicles had to be removed from roadways due to brake violations. Read More»

McCraren Compliance can help you understand and comply with FMCSA, DOT and ADOT and ensure your drivers and your vehicles operate safely and efficiently.

Call us Today at 888-758-4757 or email us at info@mccrarencompliance.com to schedule your free FMCSA Compliance Assessment.