Brake Safety Week: 12.8% of commercial vehicles taken out of service

Certified inspectors from Canada, Mexico, and the United States conducted a total of 16,725 inspections.

The Brake Safety Week in North America took place from August 25 to 31, organized by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). During this week, certified inspectors from Canada, Mexico, and the United States conducted a total of 16,725 inspections on commercial vehicles, aiming to reduce accidents caused by brake system failures and educate industry members on the importance of proper vehicle maintenance.

This year’s results showed that approximately 87% of the inspected vehicles did not have out-of-service violations and were considered safe to operate. However, 12.8% (2,149 vehicles) were found to have violations that qualified them as out-of-service. When a vehicle is placed out of service, it means critical inspection failures have been found according to the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria (OOSC). In these cases, the vehicle is restricted from operating until all violations are corrected.

Results of the North American Brake Safety Week: out-of-service commercial vehicles

Among the 2,149 out-of-service commercial vehicles, violations were divided as follows according to the inspection categories established by CVSA:

63.1% (1,355) of the inspected vehicles had standalone out-of-service brake violations, making it the most common violation.
A total of 10.1% (217) of commercial vehicles had out-of-service violations in the steering axle brakes.
Lastly, 56.6% (1,216) of the inspected commercial vehicles did not meet the CVSA’s 20% defective brake criteria.

Since this year’s Brake Safety Week focused on brake lining and pads violations, inspectors found the following issues:

Contaminated: 248 vehicles
Cracks/obstructions: 180 vehicles
Wear: 172 vehicles
Loose/missing: 54 vehicles
Total violations: 654 commercial vehicles

Results in Canada, Mexico, and the United States

During Brake Safety Week, 61 jurisdictions participated in inspections of commercial vehicles. In Canada, 1,926 inspections were conducted, with a 12.6% out-of-service violation rate. 107 inspections resulted in a 5.6% violation rate in Mexico. And in the U.S., 14,692 inspections revealed a 12.9% out-of-service rate. The violations included brake lining issues in various motor units and trailers across all three countries.

Certain brake violations can combine to place a vehicle out of service if 20% or more of its brakes are defective. Examples of these violations include cracked linings and improperly adjusted brakes. This year, 12.8% of the inspected vehicles were taken out of service, a slight increase from 12.6% the previous year. The next Brake Safety Week will be held from August 24 to 30.