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SPECIAL EDITION: Check Those Brakes! Get Ready for CVSA Brake Safety Week

A close up of hand checking things off a list on a clipboard.

Are the brakes on your vehicle doing their job? Knowing the answer could keep you safer on the road and save you time and money.

The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) will hold its annual Brake Safety Week from Aug. 25 – 31. The weeklong event aims to improve brake safety throughout North America by raising awareness and educating drivers about proper brake maintenance.

During Brake Safety Week, law enforcement personnel will perform roadside inspections, focusing on brake systems and components. If your vehicle is found to have a brake-related out-of-service (OOS) violation, your truck will be removed from the roadway until the violation is corrected. OOS violations also carry fines and impact your carrier’s CSA scores.

This year’s focus is on brake linings and pads. Get your vehicle inspection ready. Focus on these important tips from the CVSA:

  1. Conduct thorough pre- and post-trip inspections. Check the parts of the brake lining and pads that you can see.
  2. Check for signs of missing linings, such as grooves in the drum from rivet contact.
  3. Look at the shoe-to-drum clearance and check the thickness of the brake lining.
  4. Search for any signs of leaks from the hub or other components that may be contaminating the surface of the brake lining or pads.
  5. Verify all brake lining blocks and pads are present.
  6. Check for visible cracks or voids in the lining block.
  7. Seek out any exposed rivets or lining blocks that look loose on the shoe.
  8. Look for signs of wear on disc brakes, such as metal-to-metal contact or heavily rusted rotors across the entire friction surface on either side.
  9. Note any brake issues in your driver vehicle inspection reports and report them to your carrier so they can be addressed.

In addition:

Get your paperwork together. Keep your license, registration and logs updated and ready for review by inspectors.

Maintain proper braking efficiency. In jurisdictions that allow it, inspectors may use performance-based brake testers (PBBTs), which are machines that assess your vehicle’s braking performance. To pass the PBBT test, a minimum of 43.5% braking efficiency is required.

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