Be Prepared For CVSA’s Brake Safety Day
There’s always one thing after another! You just filed your Heavy Vehicle Use Tax Form 2290, or at least we hope you did since the deadline was yesterday, and now you need to make sure your brakes are up to code for the upcoming break inspection on Thursday, September 7th!
That gives you just about a week to get your brakes up to speed, including this weekend. Take a minute to read up on everything you can expect during CVSA’s Brake Safety Day so you won’t be caught by any surprises.
CVSA Brake Safety Day
CVSA or the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is a nonprofit organization made up of local, state, and federal motor vehicle safety officials and industry representatives. It’s their goal to focus on improving vehicle and driver safety by educating organizations that enforce commercial motor vehicle inspections. They also certify inspectors.
You have them to thank for making the roads a safer place, and they’re also responsible for a number of annual safety inspections throughout the year. Some inspections are announced, while others are kept secret to catch unsuspecting drivers.
On September 7th they will be focusing on brakes! Law enforcement agencies all across North America will be inspecting large trucks and buses to look for out-of-adjustment brakes and brake-system and antilock braking (ABS) violations.
The inspection will actually consist of 37 steps to examine the vehicle’s mechanical fitness and driver operating fitness. A few things examiners will have an eye out for include:
- Air or hydraulic leaks.
- Worn linings, pads, and drums.
- ABS error indicators.
- Loose or missing parts.
- If applicable, your pushrod stroke will be measured.
The goal of this check is to educate transportation professionals and others on how important proper brake maintenance is for operating and performing properly. This will also hopefully reduce the number of wrecks on the road to make highways a safer place.
Poorly maintained or improperly installed brakes can increase the stopping time and distance for heavy vehicles. Also, ABS can help drivers maintain control of their vehicle to prevent wrecks in some cases.
Brake violations are actually the largest percentage of violations found by CVSA, with a total of 45.7% of citations made during the 2016 International Roadcheck and since the program’s inception in 1998 more than 3.4 million brakes have been inspected.
Be aware that vehicles with out-of-adjustment or defective brakes will be placed out of service. So, that’s a headache you can easily avoid by taking the time to work on your brakes. There have already been 3 unannounced break safety days this year, so keep those babies maintained. The unannounced inspections are actually replacing the annual Brake Safety Week.
Be Prepared For CVSA’s Brake Safety Day
If you need to perform a little maintenance on your truck now is the time, because if you don’t pass the inspection you will get parked! Also, please do what you can to spread awareness about brake safety to your fellow drivers to reduce the number of crashes out there.
Please share your thoughts about the CVSA Brake Safety Day in the comment section below and for more trucking blogs visit TruckLogics.com.
