The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, or CVSA for short, recently held a “Brake Safety Day” to promote safety in commercial vehicles. The day was unannounced and consisted of random inspections of vehicles in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The day was held on April 30th and the CVSA is now announcing the results of their inspections. According to their reports, around 4,898 vehicle inspections were conducted. Of the 4,898 inspections, 570 of them resulted in vehicles being pulled from service due to their conditions. The brakes revealed “critical violations” that did not meet safety standards. The other near 88% of inspections, which was 4,328 vehicle inspections, resulted in passes without violation.
This surprise inspection day is an annual event in which the CVSA will select a random day to inspect vehicles unannounced.
The purpose of this inspection and the randomness of it is to promote year round safety. When these inspections happen, designated inspectors with CVSA certification are sent out and conduct the inspections roadside, often at weigh stations and borders. The CVSA looks at the overall safety and condition of the vehicle; however, they do particularly focus on the brakes, as those are the most commonly ignored feature. Any vehicle that fails the inspection is stopped en route and unable to continue road travel until the violation has been addressed.
The overall program with the CVSA that sponsors the Brake Safety Day is called Operation Airbrake.
Operation Airbrake is a program from the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance that promotes commercial vehicle brake safety in North America. The program hosts Brake Safety Weeks around the year in which inspections and other events are held.
Of the 570 vehicles with violations, 330 of them had 20% brake violations. This meant at least 20% of the brake system was not in proper working condition. Another 256 violations had more pointed violations, such as a broke brake drum, worn down brake lines, etc. In general, the brakes were in very poor condition for 570 vehicles and catching these violations and stopping them from driving proved the mission of Operation Airbrake and the CVSA to be successful.
