2021 CVSA Brake Safety Week: DOT Inspection Results

Nearly 4,000 commercial motor vehicles in the U.S. with critical brake violations removed from roadways during 2021 Brake Safety Week

During the annual CVSA Brake Safety Week enforcement blitz, from August 22-28, 2021, enforcement officials inspected 35,764 commercial motor vehicles across the U.S, Canada, and Mexico.

According to CVSA’s released data, 12% of the vehicles inspected were placed out of service (OOS) due to critical brake-related inspection item conditions until critical brake violations were corrected, much like the brake safety week results of 2020 and a slight decrease from the 2019 blitz.

The annual inspection blitz was conducted at fixed weigh stations, temporary pop-up inspection sites and during roving roadway patrols.

HOW TO PASS CVSA BRAKE SAFETY WEEK INSPECTIONS

What was the inspection focus?

According to the US federal regulations and the North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria, if your brake system efficiency falls below the minimum of 43.5%, your vehicle will be put out of service.

In Canada, 1,903 commercial motor vehicles were inspected. The brake-related out-of-service rate was 15.4%. The out-of-service rate related to brakes in the U.S. was 13.5% out of the 28,694 commercial motor vehicles inspected. And in Mexico, 5,167 inspections were conducted with a brake-specific out-of-service rate of 2.6%.

In addition, during Brake Safety Week, inspectors in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. recorded 5,667 brake hose chafing violations, which are a common brake-related violation, whether out-of-service or not. 

Inspectors focused on violations involving brake hoses and brake tubing, which resulted in identifying:

• 1,970 violations – Wear extends into outer protective material, where applicable.
• 1,730 violations – Wear extends through outer protective material into outer rubber cover.
• 1,026 violations – Wear makes reinforcement ply visible, but ply is intact.
• 567 violations (OOS) – Reinforcement ply is visible, and ply is completely frayed, severed, or cut through.
• 374 violations (OOS) – Wear extends through reinforcement ply to inner rubber layer.

Why is CMV brake safety a big deal?

The CVSA brake safety enforcement and awareness campaigns are meant to remove unsafe drivers from roads and remind drivers that braking systems need to be checked regularly.

Brake-related violations accounted for more OOS vehicle conditions (26.5%) than any other vehicle violation during CVSA’s three-day International Roadcheck inspection in May.

According to the FMCSA latest “Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts” report, “Brake system” was the third most cited vehicle-related factor in fatal commercial motor vehicle and passenger vehicle crashes.

Regular checks help to preserve the safety of both the drivers and others on the road. Although this campaign had a specific focus on brake violations, inspecting the brakes is a normal part of procedure during roadside inspections.

Stay DOT compliant

Knowing what your CSA score is and how it affects your company and all of the requirements to pass inspections, whether it be for brake safety or suspension and steering, will allow you to stay compliant and plan your operations more efficiently.

All CNS services are geared toward keeping your trucking company safe and compliant so that you stay on the road and pass all truck inspections.