“Brake Safety Week,” which runs from August 26 through September 1, is sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) to promote commercial vehicle brake safety across North America.
For the third year running, CVSA-certified inspectors and industry participants will conduct a variety of enforcement and educational activities emphasizing the importance of proper commercial vehicle and automobile brake inspection, maintenance and operation.
Travel Centers of America, Petro Truck Stops and AMBEST networks are providing educational and other brake-related services for their customers during the week. Truck drivers will receive educational and other helpful information, such as the CVSA brochure “Have You Checked Your Brakes Today?” and “Spot Check” brake adjustment indicators.
In addition, the organization’s “In the Safety Lane with CVSA” podcast will include a discussion with leading experts on commercial vehicle brake related issues. Visit www.cvsa.org and click on the podcast icon to listen in.
“More than 3-million roadside commercial vehicle inspections are conducted annually throughout North America, and by far brakes make up the largest percentage of out-of-service violations cited during these inspections,” said Stephen Campbell, executive director of CVSA.
Campbell noted that DOT’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study indicated that brake problems were present at the time of the crash in 29.4% of the incidents. Brakes also comprised the largest percentage (56.6%) of vehicle out-of-service violations cited in roadside inspections conducted during Roadcheck 2007.