CVSA: Unannounced Brake Inspection Shows Maintenance Improvement
U.S. and Canadian trucks and buses improved their safety performance during a May inspection push compared with a similar event in 2014, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance reported.
CVSA, which represents law enforcement working in vehicle inspection, said July 22 that officers in 32 states and provinces performed 6,337 roadside inspections May 6, with an emphasis on brakes.
Out-of-service citations for brake stroke violations dipped to 9% this May from 9.5% a year ago. For brake component violations, the day’s OOS rate declined to 7.7% from 8.5% in 2014.
The overall out-of-service rate for the unannounced brake-check day was 14.2% compared with 15.2% last year.
CVSA also has announced an extended campaign for brake inspections for one week in September.
Violations include cracked or missing components, air leaks, damaged brake hose or tubing, drums and rotors.
CVSA noted that brakes equipped with manual adjusters were 2.5 times more likely to be out of adjustment than those equipped with self-adjusting hardware. Brake systems with automatic slack adjusters have been required on U.S. commercial vehicles since 1994, and in Canada since 1996.
CVSA said its members write more citations for brake violations than any other single reason.
