Dates for yearly brake check blitz announced

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) has announced the dates for this year’s Brake Safety Week truck inspection effort.

This year, Brake Safety Week is taking place September 15 — 21 throughout the U.S. and Canada. During Brake Safety Week, law enforcement will be conducting roadside inspections to look for critical brake violations. Vehicles that have critical violations will be placed out of service.

The special emphasis during this year’s inspections will be on brake hoses and tubing.

The CVSA says that the purpose of Brake Safety Week is to reduce the number of crashes caused by commercial vehicle brake defects.

During Roadcheck 2018, brake violations and out of adjustment brakes were the cause for 45% of all out of service orders, according to the CVSA.

“We all know how important a properly functioning brake system is to vehicle operation,” said CVSA President Chief Jay Thompson with the Arkansas Highway Police. “All components of the brake system must always be in proper operating condition. Brake systems and their parts and components must be routinely checked and carefully and consistently maintained to ensure the health and safety of the overall vehicle.”

Last year, Brake Safety Week took place September 16 — 22. During the weeklong campaign, 35,080 commercial motor vehicle inspections were conducted. While conducting these inspections, the CVSA says that critical vehicle inspection items were discovered in the brake systems of 4,955 (14.1%) of inspected vehicles. These vehicles were all placed out of service.