Be Prepared: Brake Safety Week Is Aug 20-26

Last year, 5,059 trucks were placed out of service during last year’s Brake Safety Week. Those trucks represented 13.3% of the 38,117 commercial motor vehicles inspected across the United States, Canada, and Mexico during the annual weeklong event run by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA).

The 2023 Brake Safety Week happens August 20-26. We have practical tips for being prepared, staying safe, and passing inspection from Bendix.

What Is Brake Safety Week?

Brake Safety Week roadside inspectors conduct North American Standard Inspections, which cover a range of driver qualifications, documentation, and vehicle equipment conditions.

Inspectors will also look for contaminated, worn, cracked, and missing linings or pads – the focus of this year’s Brake Safety Week.

They’ll be checking for:

• Missing, nonfunctioning, loose, or cracked parts.
• Holes caused by rust and through rubbing or friction.
• Broken springs in the spring brake housing section of the parking brake.
• Air leaks around brake components and lines.
• Air pressure in the target range of 90-100 psi.
• Proper pushrod travel.
• Slack adjusters not at the same length.
• Mismatched air chamber sizes across axles.
• Warning device functionality (such as antilock braking system indicator lights).
• Proper operation of the tractor protection system, including the bleed-back system on the trailer.
• The breakaway system being operable on the trailer.

How to Get Ready for Break Safety Week

Bendix recommends pre-trip walk-arounds to look at every inch of your vehicles.  

Items to check daily:

• Check for damaged or loose-hanging air chambers, pushrods, or slack adjusters. 
• Slack adjusters on each axle are extended out to the same angle. Different angles can indicate an out-of-adjustment brake or a broken spring brake power spring.
• Examine tubing and hose condition, positioning, and connections.

Items to check weekly:

• Perform a 90- to 100-psi brake application with the wheels chocked and the parking brakes released, and listen for leaks.
• Check air disc brake rotors for cracks.
• Inspect drum brake linings for wear and cracks.

Items to check monthly:

• Check for moisture in the air system to prevent contamination that leads to component deterioration and system leaks.

Any time you’ve got a vehicle in the shop, it’s also worth greasing the S-cam brake tubes and automatic slack adjusters.

This quick process helps prevent rust and corrosion, and it helps keep the slack functioning properly.