Imagine it’s a hot July afternoon, and you hear a squeal in the brakes of one of your carrier’s trucks. It grabs your attention for a second but not long enough to take your attention away from the next several items you already had on your plate to make sure your fleet and office run efficiently. 

You refrain from looking into the tractor’s brake condition – you’ve heard the same noise hundreds, even thousands of times over your career. If there was an issue, someone would have raised it, right? 

Now, also think about a situation where your fleet might need a bit of a green driver to drive on some mountain routes. He or she may be inclined to overuse the brakes on a downhill road without being acquainted with the twists, turns, and grade that lie ahead. If the brakes aren’t in good condition, the best-case scenario may be a close call or a ride into a runaway truck ramp. Less-optimal outcomes could be downright catastrophic. 

And even if you’ve got the most seasoned of drivers at the wheel, brakes that aren’t well-maintained could still produce an awful incident during a pileup that’s not initially the driver’s fault. 

The potential consequences of a brake issue make it worth a fleet’s while to spend the money to maintain a truck’s brake system, even if it means not using a tractor until it gets serviced. Carriers that take a lax approach on brakes may have the choice taken out of their hands later in the summer. 

What to know about Brake Safety Week 2024 

From August 25-31, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) – the same organization that conducts International Roadcheck across North America each May – will be administering Brake Safety Week.  

According to the CVSA, 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.”

Brake Safety Week is part of CVSA’s larger Operation Airbrake Program, which also includes an unannounced, one-day brake safety inspection blitz. This one-day event for 2024 took place on April 30, with 570 vehicles taken out of service for critical, brake-related violations out of 4,898 total inspections. The violation rate of 11.6% represented an improvement upon the 12.6% rate from Brake Safety Week 2023, but went the wrong direction when compared to the unannounced brake inspection day from last year at 11.3%. 

It may help to think of Brake Safety Week as the brake-focused version of Roadcheck, especially as the two events are directly related to each other for keeping the roads safe. 

During Roadcheck 2023, more than a quarter of all out-of-service violations had to do with the brake system. Per the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s 2023 data of all violations, 30% of the top 20 violations were brake related. Brakes aren’t something carriers may want to think about, but too many trucks are still on the roadways with brake systems that aren’t up to snuff. 

If you have trucks that you know haven’t received a brake system inspection in a while or have doubts about whether some will pass the inspection currently, don’t fret. The CVSA has several resources you can consult, including: 

• The brake inspection procedure used by CVSA-sanctioned inspectors 
• A brake inspection checklist to perform your own inspections 
• A downloadable flyer about this year’s Brake Safety Week focus area, brake lining and pad condition 

Telematics can help you manage brakes in between inspections 

By employing solutions from ATI, Transflo’s telematics division, your fleet can take advantage of customized solutions built specifically for your carrier and its drivers. 

For example, a fleet could set up preventive maintenance alerts to perform a new brake inspection after a certain number of days, miles, or trips. It could also create a rule to keep tabs on every significant hard braking event a driver and truck go through. If paired with video telematics like in-cab and outward-facing dash cams, a carrier can also use this braking data for driver coaching. Depending on your brake system or manufacturer, you may be able to monitor pad and lining wear through telematics, too. 

If you’re interested in learning about how telematics can help you maintain your brakes and avoid costly out-of-service time, click here to get in touch with a member of our team today.