The time for commercial vehicle brake testing is now. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has just announced that its Brake Safety Week will be taking place across the country this September 6-12, so truckers and anyone else who drives a commercial vehicle should be prepared for heightened law enforcement activity surrounding braking during this time.
Brake Safety Week is set aside each year for law enforcement agencies to intensify their inspections of commercial vehicles for brake problems. Large trucks and buses are stopped and checked for poorly-adjusted brakes and brake system violations. The week also gives the CVSA a chance to conduct educational outreach on the subject of braking issues.
Commercial vehicles' braking systems not only affect the safety of those driving the vehicles, but everyone else on the road as well. Improperly maintained or installed brake systems increase stopping distance dramatically in large vehicles, making them a safety risk for other drivers.
The inspections conducted during this week will include looking for leaks and missing or worn-out parts in trucks and buses' braking systems, along with checking antilock braking system (ABS) malfunction indicator lamps. If any defects are found during an inspection, the vehicle in question will be put out of service until they have been fixed.
2014's Brake Safety Week saw 13,305 vehicles inspected by law enforcement and 2,162 placed out of service for braking issues. If vehicles are recommended for further inspection, they are sent for tests using performance-based brake testing (PBBT) equipment. A dynamometer will be used to measure braking efficiency and determine whether the vehicle is road-worthy.
To test your vehicle's brakes ahead of time, contact Greening Testing Laboratories for information about the tests we can run at our facility.