CVSA's 2022 Brake Safety Week Tracks Brake Hose and Tubing Chafing

In August 2022, commercial vehicle inspectors in Canada, Mexico and the United States held the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance's (CVSA) annual Brake Safety Week from August 21 to 27, 2022. Alongside their usual roadside inspections, inspectors gathered data on brake hose and tubing chafing violations, which CVSA picked as the focus area for the year.

CVSA announced the dates on June 7, 2022, and published a reminder as the week began on August 21.

Why brakes got a week of their own

CVSA said brake-related violations made up the largest share of all out-of-service vehicle violations cited at roadside inspections. It pointed to several figures:

• During the three-day International Roadcheck in 2021, brake system and brake adjustment violations accounted for 38.9% of all vehicle out-of-service violations, more than any other category.
• During CVSA's unannounced one-day brake safety initiative in April 2022, 14.1% of the 9,132 commercial motor vehicles inspected were placed out of service for brake-related critical violations.
• Brake-related violations accounted for seven of the top 20 vehicle violations in 2021, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Motor Carrier Management Information System.
• In FMCSA's most recent data at the time, from 2019, the brake system was the third most cited vehicle-related factor in fatal large-truck crashes.

CVSA said improperly installed or poorly maintained brakes can reduce braking capacity and increase stopping distances for trucks and motorcoaches.

What inspectors checked

According to CVSA, inspectors would look for missing, non-functioning, loose, contaminated or cracked parts on the brake system, and for non-manufactured holes, such as rust holes or holes worn by rubbing, and broken springs in the spring brake housing section of the parking brake.

They would also:

• listen for audible air leaks around brake components and lines;
• make sure the air system kept pressure between 90 and 100 psi (620 to 690 kPa);
• check for S-cam flip-over and measure pushrod travel;
• confirm that slack adjusters were the same length and that air chambers on each axle were the same size;
• inspect required warning devices, such as ABS malfunction lamps and low air-pressure warnings; and
• make sure the trailer breakaway system worked and inspect the tractor protection system, including the trailer bleed-back system.

Vehicles found with critical violations under the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria were to be placed out of service until the problems were fixed. Vehicles without critical violations could receive a CVSA decal.

Goals of the week

CVSA said the week aimed to remove unsafe vehicles from the road, encourage proactive maintenance ahead of the event, recognize the safety efforts of inspectors, drivers and carriers, remind drivers and carriers of the importance of brake maintenance and pre-trip and post-trip inspections, and give inspectors a chance for brake-safety outreach.

CVSA President Capt. John Broers of the South Dakota Highway Patrol said that "in those split-second emergency situations, the proper functionality of the brake systems on large commercial motor vehicles is crucial."

Brake Safety Week is part of CVSA's Operation Airbrake Program, run in partnership with FMCSA, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, Transport Canada and Mexican authorities. Inspectors were to report their brake data to CVSA, which said it would release the results later in the year.

Archive: this article describes rules and events as of August 2022. Regulations may have changed since, so check the current rule before relying on it.