2024 CVSA Brake Safety Week

The dates for the 2024 Brake Safety Week have been officially revealed by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has officially announced that the 2024 Brake Safety Week will be held from August 25-31, with a specific focus on inspecting the condition of brake linings and pads.

During the week, commercial motor vehicle inspectors will be out in force conducting their usual inspections. In addition to reporting inspections and brake-related out-of-service violations to CVSA, inspectors will also capture and provide data on brake lining/pad violations.

If a vehicle is discovered to have brake equipment violations, it may be deemed unfit for service. Here are some valuable tips provided by CVSA to assist drivers in successfully navigating their inspections:

• Inspect visible portions of the brake lining and pads as part of your pre- and post-trip inspections.
• Look for signs of missing lining, such as grooves in the drum from rivet contact.
• Look at the shoe-to-drum clearance and ensure there is adequate lining on the shoe.
• Look for any signs of leaks from the hub or other components that may be contaminating the lining/pad surface.
• Ensure there are no missing lining blocks/pads.
• Check for visible cracks or voids in the lining block.
• Check for any exposed rivets or lining blocks that look loose on the shoe.
• On disc brakes, pay particular attention to the condition of the rotor, such as heavily rusted rotors across the entire friction surface on either side or metal-to-metal contact.
• Make sure all repairs are consistent with the brake manufacturer’s requirements and guidelines.
• Note any issues in your driver vehicle inspection reports and report them to the motor carrier to have the defective linings/pads repaired.

Last year, 18,875 commercial vehicles were inspected during Brake Safety Week, with nearly 90% of those vehicles passing their inspections with no brake-related critical violations.

CVSA, a nonprofit organization comprised of commercial motor vehicle safety officials and industry representatives from various regions including the United States, Canada, and Mexico, coordinates the annual weeklong inspection and enforcement event known as Brake Safety Week.

“Brake Safety Week is a commercial motor vehicle and driver inspection and regulatory compliance enforcement initiative, a brake-safety awareness and outreach opportunity, and a brake-related inspection and violation data-collection project,” the agency said.

In addition to Brake Safety Week, the agency also coordinates Operation Safe Driver Week – a “safe-driving awareness and outreach initiative aimed at improving the driving behaviors of passenger vehicle drivers and commercial motor vehicle drivers through educational and traffic enforcement strategies and interactions with law enforcement.”

This year’s Operation Safe Driver Week is scheduled to take place from July 7-13.