During the final week in August, truck inspectors throughout North America conducted 16,725 inspections on trucks, checking the condition of their brakes. The annual CVSA (Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance) Brake Safety Week gave a passing grade to 87% of the commercial motor vehicles inspected.
CVSA, the international association of commercial motor vehicle law enforcement agencies and inspectors, conducts three major enforcement events each year. International Roadcheck is a 72-hour inspection of CMVs and commercial drivers throughout North America. Brake Safety Week focuses specifically on braking systems, while Operation Safe Driver Week looks at all vehicle operators, commercial and private.
Unlike normal roadside inspection activity, during these three enforcement events inspectors from the U.S., Canada and Mexico will look at virtually every CMV or vehicle operator, including those from carriers enrolled in a bypass program. The purpose is to identify trends in safety and compliance so motor carriers, and inspectors themselves, can improve highway safety.
Each year these certified inspectors have a focus within the enforcement event. For the 2024 Brake Safety Week, the inspectors paid special attention to brake lining and pad violations, looking for loose, missing or worn brake linings and pads.
Sixty-one jurisdictions participated in this year’s Brake Safety Week, including eighteen states with performance-based brake testers. Canadian inspectors conducted 1,926 inspections, with a 12.6% out-of-service (OOS) rate. Out of service indicates brake violations too severe for continued vehicle operation.
Inspectors in Mexico conducted 107 inspections, with a 5.6% OOS rate. U.S. inspectors looked at 14,692 trucks, putting 12.9% out of service. Between all three countries, 654 lining/pad violations were found.
During the 2023 Brake Safety Week, 12.6% of inspected CMVs were placed out of service. So, brake conditions haven’t changed much, year-to-year, right? The real answer is that over 12% of truck operators need to do a much better job during pre- and post-trip inspections because highway safety dramatically depends on the ability to stop.
The next Brake Safety Week is scheduled for August 24-30, 2025.