CVSA shares 8 brake drum and rotor tips to help truckers through Brake Safety Week 2025

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) shared several tips to help truckers pass through the big brake blitz successfully.

The CVSA’s Brake Safety Week inspection campaign is taking place throughout North America from August 24, 2025, through August 30, 2025.

Each year during the Brake Safety Week campaign, the CVSA chooses an area of emphasis related to commercial vehicle brake systems. This year, the area of emphasis is on drums and rotors.

The CVSA released the following tips to help truckers check drums and rotors to ensure they’re ready to pass inspection:

1. Inspect visible portions of the drum or rotor as part of your pre- and post-trip inspections.
2. Look for signs of cracked or broken pieces in the friction surface of the rotor.
3. Look for cracks that run through to the outer portion of the drum or missing pieces, where visible.
4. On disc brakes, pay attention to the condition of the rotor. Heavily rusted rotors across the entire friction surface indicate an inoperative brake.
5. If the rotor is grooved, indicating metal-to-metal contact, that means the brake pads are worn and the shoe is making contact with the rotor.
6. Ensure the rotor is not worn to the extent that the center vents are exposed.
7. Make sure all repairs are consistent with the brake manufacturer’s requirements and guidelines.
8. Note any issues in your driver vehicle inspection reports and report them to the motor carrier.

See the flier below for visual examples of brake violations from CVSA.