Source: Commercial Car Journal
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) annual Brake Safety Week is scheduled for Sept. 15-22 with a focus on brake hoses and tubing, and if the results of June’s 72-hour International Roadcheck inspection blitz are any indicator, trouble lies ahead for many operators.
CVSA placed 12,019 trucks and 2,784 drivers out of service, accounting for a 17.9 percent vehicle OOS rate and a 4.2 percent driver OOS rate during the blitz. In total, inspectors across the U.S. and Canada conducted 67,072 inspections June 4-6. The top out of service violation for vehicles in June were braking systems, accounting for 4,578 out of service violations – or 28 percent of the total.
While it’s easy to hear a busted diaphragm inside a brake’s air chamber, checking chamber pushrod tolerances take more time and may warrant more work than first realized if out of adjustment. Other components could be to blame which can still take the truck out of service not long after an out of spec pushrod is allegedly fixed.
Throughout the CVSA Brake Inspection Week in mid-September, inspectors will conduct roadside inspections, honing in on brake violations.
CVSA says brake hoses and tubing are essential for the proper operation of braking systems in trucks. Inspectors will be checking to make sure the hoses and tubing are properly attached, undamaged, without leaks and appropriately flexible.
Regular and thorough inspections, like those of CVSA Brake Week, will help prevent brake problems from leading to OOS violations.
