Brake Safety Day is scheduled for Thursday, Sep. 7, according to a Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance press release.
Inspectors will primarily conduct the North American Standard Level I Inspection, which is a 37-step procedure that includes an examination of driver operating requirements and vehicle mechanical fitness. Inspections conducted will include inspection of brake-system components to identify loose or missing parts, air or hydraulic fluid leaks, worn linings, pads, drums or rotors, and other faulty brake-system components.
ABS malfunction indicator lamps are also checked. Inspectors will measure pushrod stroke, where applicable. Vehicles with defective or out-of-adjustment brakes will be placed out of service.
In the 10 jurisdictions using performance-based brake testing (PBBT) equipment, vehicle braking efficiency will be measured. PBBT systems include a slow speed roller dynamometer that measures total vehicle weight and total brake force from which braking efficiency is determined. The minimum braking efficiency for trucks is 43.5 percent, required by U.S. federal regulation and the CVSA out-of-service criteria.
Law enforcement agencies across North America will conduct inspections on large trucks and buses to identify out-of-adjustment brakes and brake-system and antilock braking system violations as part of the CVSA Operation Airbrake Program. Brake Safety Day activities seek to educate drivers, mechanics, owner-operators and others on the importance of proper brake maintenance, operation and performance with outreach and educational efforts.
Brake-related violations composed the largest percentage (representing 45.7 percent) of all out-of-service violations cited during Operation Airbrake’s companion International Roadcheck campaign in 2016, which focused on inspections of commercial motor vehicles and drivers.
This year’s Sept. 7 Brake Safety Day follows up on CVSA’s May 3, 2017, unannounced Brake Safety Day and replaces the seven-day Brake Safety Week campaign from previous years.
The May unannounced enforcement campaign checked the brake systems of nearly 10,000 commercial motor vehicles, and roughly 12 percent of those vehicles had brake violations that would render them out of service.
More than 3.4 million brakes have been inspected since the program’s inception in 1998.