Nearly 1,600 commercials vehicles with brake violations were removed from roadways during CVSA's enforcement day

Fifty-two U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions conducted 11,531 roadside inspections on commercial motor vehicles and removed 1,595 vehicles with brake violations from our roadways on April 25, 2018, as part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's (CVSA) unannounced Brake Safety Day enforcement initiative.

Brake Safety Day inspection data from Canada and the U.S. featured the following notable results:

A total of 11,531 inspections were conducted for Brake Safety Day.
In all, 1,595 commercial motor vehicles were placed out of service for brake violations. That's 13.8 percent of the total number of vehicles inspected.
A total of 52 jurisdictions participated – 41 U.S. states and 11 Canadian provinces/territories.
The U.S. conducted 10,074 commercial motor vehicle inspections; Canada conducted 1,457.
In the U.S., 14 percent of commercial motor vehicles were placed out of service for brake violations.
In Canada, 12.4 percent of commercial motor vehicles were placed out of service for brake violations.
86.2 percent of the total number of commercial motor vehicles inspected did not have any critical brake-related vehicle violations.

Many participating jurisdictions surveyed anti-lock braking system (ABS) compliance, as follows:

8,128 air-braked trucks and tractors were identified as requiring ABS; 10.2 percent had ABS violations.
5,331 trailers were identified as requiring ABS; 14.3 percent had ABS violations.
1,299 hydraulic-braked trucks required ABS; 3.5 percent had ABS violations.
95 buses required ABS; 2.1 percent had ABS violations.

CVSA holds brake-focused enforcement events throughout the year to identify and remove commercial motor vehicles with dangerous brake issues from our roadways in an effort to reduce the number of crashes caused by or made more severe by deficient braking system performance.

"Inspecting, identifying and removing commercial motor vehicles with brake violations from our roadways is critical to the safety of the traveling public," said CVSA President Capt. Christopher Turner with the Kansas Highway Patrol. "Brake systems that are improperly installed, neglected or poorly maintained reduce braking efficiency and increase stopping distances of trucks and buses, posing a serious transportation safety risk."

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Large Truck Crash Causation Study, large trucks involved in a crash where the braking capacity of the truck was critical were 50 percent more likely to have a brake violation than were trucks involved in crashes where the truck's braking capacity was not critical. Of the trucks involved in brake-critical crashes, 45.5 percent had brake violations, compared with 29.9 percent of trucks involved in crashes of the same type but where their braking was not relevant.

Brake Safety Day also aims to improve commercial motor vehicle brake safety awareness throughout North America. An important component of the safety initiative involves educating drivers, mechanics, owner-operators and others on the importance of proper brake inspection, maintenance and operation.

Brake Safety Day and other brake-related enforcement, education and awareness initiatives are part of the Operation Airbrake Program sponsored by CVSA in partnership with the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

CVSA is holding another brake safety enforcement event this year, Brake Safety Week, which is scheduled for Sept. 16-22 at participating jurisdictions throughout North America. The week is an annual outreach and enforcement campaign designed to improve commercial motor vehicle brake safety.

CVSA also held a two-day Brake Safety Symposium in Schaumburg, Illinois, May 15-16, 2018. The symposium provided information, education and training related to commercial motor vehicle brake technologies, regulations, inspection procedures, tools and maintenance.