Is your fleet ready for Brake Safety Week?

The annual CVSA Brake Safety Week is scheduled for Sunday, August 22nd through Saturday, August 28th, 2021. In this post we’ll explain why Brake Safety matters, how it might affect your fleet and ways you can prepare in advance.

What is Brake Safety Week?

The annual Brake Safety Week is part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) program Operation Airbrake and sponsored in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The primary goal of the program is to reduce the number of highway crashes caused by commercial vehicles with faulty braking systems. Each year during this week, officials conduct roadside inspections of commercial motor vehicles with an emphasis on the vehicle’s brake systems and components. Any vehicle with critical violations will be placed out of service.

In 2020, brake related violations accounted for 8 of the top 20 vehicle violations as tracked by FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Management Information System.

Brake hosing and tubing are the key focus for 2021 Brake Safety Week.

How Does Brake Safety Week Affect My Fleet?

While the focus is on brakes, drivers and fleet managers should also be prepared for a complete roadside inspection through the week much like July’s Operation Safe Driver Week. Any vehicles found to have brake- related or other critical violations will be removed from the roadway until all violations have been resolved.

During the 2020 Brake Safety Week, 13% of inspected vehicles were placed out of service for brake related violations.

How can I prepare my fleet for Brake Safety Week?

The CVSA shares dates in advance to encourage fleet managers to proactively check and schedule vehicle maintenance. Recent studies have shown announcing campaigns for enforcement, rather than surprising motor carriers, improves overall DOT compliance and safety of the roads for longer periods after the event has taken place.

Here are a few things that you can do ensure your fleet isn’t placed out of service, potentially costing thousands in violations and missed opportunity:

• Include brake checks in pre-trip inspections
• Educate drivers and maintenance team on the importance of brake safety
• Check out the North American Roadside Inspection Cheat Sheet
• Check out the CVSA Brake Inspection Checklist

Establishing best practices within your organization as it relates to vehicle maintenance can help in avoiding fines, penalties, or even a potential crash.  Ensuring that your drivers are properly trained on how to perform pre-trip and post-trip inspections before sending them out on the road is one step towards preventing unwanted risk. NTCI’s consultants, all with former motor carrier law enforcement experience, can perform a wide array of trainings to help ensure that your drivers have the skills to stay in compliance with the FMCSRs.

Have questions about DOT compliance and not sure where to start? Our experts can help.

National Transportation Consultants have completed thousands of audits. As former top motor carrier enforcement officers, motor carrier inspectors, auditors, and administrators they brings significant enforcement experience with federal and state authorities to help fleets that want to do the right things for the right reasons.