Everything You Need To Know About The CVSA’s Brake Safety Week
There is always something coming down the pipe it seems. First of all, congratulations on filing Form 2290 by the August 31st deadline…. That is… we hope you filed by the HVUT deadline, and now you need to make sure your brakes are up to code for the upcoming CVSA’s Brake Safety Week.
You have until September 16, 2018, to get your brakes up to speed. Take a minute to read up on everything you need to know about the CVSA’s Brake Safety Week.
What is The CVSA?
The CVSA or the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is a nonprofit organization made up of local, states, 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 train and certify inspectors.
Brake Safety Week: Sept. 16 – 22
During this week CVSA certified enforcement personnel will conduct roadside inspections on CMVs (Commercial Motor Vehicles) to identify and remove those with critical brake violations from public relations and call attention to dangers of faulty brake systems.
The roadside inspection will consist of the North American Standard Level I Inspection, which is a 37-step procedure including driver operating requirements and proper vehicle maintenance. The following equipment will be subject to inspection:
- Brake-Stem Components to identify loose or missing parts
- Air or Hydraulic Fluid leads
- Defective Rotor Conditions
- Measurement of Pushrod Travel
- Mismatched Air Chambers Sizes Across Axles
- Air Reservoir Integrity And Mounting
- Worn Linings
- Pads
- Drums or Rotors
- Required Brakes-System Warning Devices
- Other Brake-system Components
If your vehicle has defective or out-of-adjustment brakes, it will be placed out of service.
Performance-Based Brake Testing (PBBT)
In addition to the North American Standard Level I Inspection,12 jurisdictions will be using performance-based brake testing (PBBT) equipment to measure your vehicle’s braking efficiency. This will measure the total brake force for your entire vehicle and then divide it by the total vehicle weight to determine the overall vehicle’s braking efficiency.
“The minimum braking efficiency for trucks is 43.5 percent, required by 393.52 of the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the CVSA North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria.”
Again, keep in mind 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. Also, you should continue performing your pre- and post-trip inspections.
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’s Brake Safety Week in the comment section below and be sure to follow us on social media!
