This year’s Brake Safety Week is scheduled for August 22-28. During Brake Safety Week, commercial motor vehicle inspectors emphasize the importance of brake systems by conducting inspections and removing commercial motor vehicles found to have brake-related out-of-service violations from roadways. At the same time, many motor carriers work to educate their drivers and maintenance service providers on the importance of brake system safety.
Throughout the week, inspectors will conduct North American Standard Inspections of commercial motor vehicles, focusing on the vehicle’s brake systems and components. In addition, inspectors will compile data on brake hoses/tubing, the focus area for this year’s Brake Safety Week, to submit to the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). CVSA will report its findings later this year. Jurisdictions devote a week to conducting commercial motor vehicle inspections, identifying brake violations and removing vehicles with out-of-service brake violations because:
- Brake system and brake adjustment violations accounted for more vehicle violations than any other vehicle violation category, accounting for 38.6% of all vehicle out-of-service conditions, during last year’s three-day International Road check inspection and enforcement initiative.
- “Brake system” was the third most cited vehicle-related factor in fatal commercial motor vehicle and passenger vehicle crashes, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) latest “Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts” report.
- Brake-related violations accounted for eight out of the top 20 vehicle violations in 2020, according to FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Management Information System.
- During last year’s Brake Safety Week, 12 percent of the 43,565 commercial motor vehicles inspected were placed out of service for brake-related violations.
August is also Brake Safety Awareness Month. Law enforcement agencies will work to educate commercial motor vehicle drivers, motor carriers, mechanics, owner-operators, and others on the importance of proper brake maintenance, operation and performance through outreach, education and awareness campaigns.
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