The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has designated August 21 to 27 as Brake Safety Week for 2022.
Brake Safety Week is an annual commercial motor vehicle brake-safety inspection, enforcement and education initiative conducted by law enforcement across North America.
Each year, law enforcement conducts commercial motor vehicle and driver inspections at fixed weigh stations, temporary pop-up inspection sites and during roving roadway patrols – paying special attention to brake components and systems.
“Properly functioning brakes may mean the difference between a catastrophic collision or the ability to avoid a crash,” said CVSA President Capt. John Broers with the South Dakota Highway Patrol.
The Statistics Speak
About 22% of collisions involving light vehicles have been attributed to brake-related problems, according to past crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Brake-related violations comprise the largest percentage of all out-of-service vehicle violations cited during roadside inspections. According to last year’s International Roadcheck data, brake systems and brake adjustment violations accounted for almost 40% of all vehicle out-of-service violations – the most of any violation category.
Last year, of the 35,764 commercial motor vehicles that were inspected, 12% were placed out of service due to critical brake-related inspection item conditions.
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Initiatives for Brake Safety Week
This week, inspectors are conducting their usual North American Standard Level I and V Inspections and reporting brake-related data to CVSA.
The goals of Brake Safety Week are to:
- Identify and remove commercial motor vehicles with critical vehicle inspection violation items from roadways
- Capture data on brake hose/tubing chafing violations – the focus area for this year’s Brake Safety Week
- Acknowledge commercial motor vehicles that do not have critical vehicle inspection violations by affixing those vehicles with a CVSA decal
- Remind drivers and motor carriers about the importance of proper brake maintenance and vehicle pre-trip and post-trip inspections
- Encourage proactive vehicle maintenance
- Provide an opportunity for outreach and educational brake-safety efforts by inspectors
Brake Safety Awareness for Fleets
To ensure your drivers are properly inspecting their vehicles and can identify malfunctions in important vehicle components, drivers need to be trained on a frequent basis.
Driver training is not something that should be offered only during onboarding or after a violation occurs. Frequent training helps keep critical safety requirements and skills top of mind for drivers – so you can keep your drivers safe, retain talent and protect the communities that your company serves.
When it comes to frequently training drivers, the evidence of its effectiveness is clear. Those who assign courses monthly have far fewer violations – 25% less than the industry average and 50% less than fleets who train twice a year.
>> Check Out Our Driving Training Courses for Brake Safety <<
There are numerous topics to train your drivers on when it comes to brake safety and ensuring the safe operation of a commercial vehicle. We share a few important driver training courses offered through Qorta University below.
Air Brakes (Heavy Duty)
The air brake systems on commercial vehicles operate differently than most vehicles on the road. Understanding the components and how they work is a critical item for vehicle safety. In this lesson, the learner will be introduced to all the components in the air brake system and how they operate to safely stop the vehicle. The lesson will also walk the learner through the air brake system inspection to ensure that the system is working correctly before operating the vehicle on the road.
After viewing this lesson, the driver will learn:
- The components of the air brake system
- How the system works
- How to check the system for malfunctions
- Items to be inspected
- The use of air brakes on the road
Basic Vehicle Controls (Medium Duty)
This course teaches commercial drivers how to safely use various types of controls within a commercial vehicle, including basic controls, mirrors, engines & transmissions, dashboards & gauges and brakes.
Identification and Diagnosis of Malfunctions (ELDT)
This unit instructs driver-trainees to identify major combination vehicle systems. The goal is to explain their function and how to check all key vehicle systems, (e.g., engine, engine exhaust auxiliary systems, brakes, drive train, coupling systems, and suspension) to ensure their safe operation. Driver-trainees will be provided with a detailed description of each system, its importance to safe and efficient operation and what is needed to keep the system in good operating condition.
A Fleet of Safety-Minded Drivers Requires a Proactive Strategy
Avoiding critical vehicle inspection violations is all about developing the right mindset. That’s why establishing a proactive, positive safety culture with frequent online driver training is so integral.
To get started, download our checklist to learn how defensive driving can elevate your driver training program.
