Preparing Your Trucks for Brake Safety Week

Every year, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) conducts Brake Safety Week to help reduce the number and severity of crashes caused by defective brakes. This year the CVSA will conduct roadside safety inspections on September 15-21 across the country. Any commercial vehicle found to have a critical vehicle or brake violation will be placed out of service until the driver corrects the issue. Vehicles that pass inspection will receive an official CVSA decal.

What is the Focus of This Year’s Inspections?

CVSA will be paying special attention to brake hoses and tubing this year. While hoses and tubing are part of a standard inspection, CVSA wants to highlight their importance in keeping commercial vehicles mechanically sound and safe for operation. During last year’s three day International Roadcheck, brake system violations and out-of-adjustment brakes accounted for 45% of out-of-service violations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) echoed this finding in their 2018 Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics, reporting that brake violations accounted for six of the top 20 most frequent violations.

Brake hoses and tubing are critical components to the braking system as a whole. When they degrade, the entire system begins to experience problems. Prior to Brake Safety Week, fleets and drivers should inspect their hoses and tubing for the following:

• Properly attached
• Undamaged
• No leaks
• Good flexibility

Knowing how to identify chaffed or worn hoses is critical to remaining in operation. Inspectors will look for the following when checking hoses and tubing:

• Any damage that extends through the outer reinforcement ply. An important note: Thermoplastic nylon tubing sometimes utilizes braiding that differs in color between the inner and outer layer. If the second color is visible, this is an out-of-service violation.
• If there is any bulging or swelling when they apply air pressure.
• Audible air leakage.
• Improper joining/clamping of hoses to tubes.
• Airflow restriction due to heat, clamping, etc.

Before your next road trip, drivers should take a break, and check their brakes, to make sure they will pass inspection. This makes sense from both a business and safety perspective.

With September rapidly approaching, the time is now to prepare for Brake Safety Week and Interstate Motor Carriers can help. With more than 75 years of experience in the trucking industry, we know trucking safety and truck insurance. Contact us to learn how we can help your fleet.