It’s Brake Safety Week 2021. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) Brake Safety Week runs from September 22-28th. During this annual event, drivers across the nation are reminded about the importance of stopping to considering the importance of their brake systems. Inspections on trucks are a big deal. A grade of less than 43.5% on the Performance-Based Brake Tester (PBBT) part of the CVSA inspection can put one or more of the trucks in your fleet out of service. That means you lose time, money and possibly your driver. This blog centers on Brake Safety Week as we explore three tips to help pass the inspection and keep your fleet on the road.
Prevention
How do your brakes sound, work and feel right now? With such a complex air braking system on the trucks in your fleet, there is a lot to keep an eye on. For example, as you already know, discovering braking system concerns is best completed by the drivers in your fleet well before CVSA Brake Safety Week. The goal is staying on the road and passing any checkpoints you run into. Making sure you stay up to date on anything related to the brakes will help guard against the delays that would come from being grounded by a failed brake system test.
Inspection
No one wants to be off the road. Everyone wants to be safe on the road. An impasse? Or, a compromise. If your trucks are subject to one of the CVSA inspections, it could involve a visual inspection of critical brake parts as well as the more comprehensive PBBT test; if that system is available in the tested area. If you are aware of the condition of your braking system both from a visual and performance standpoint, you stand a much better chance of passing the visual or more complex CVSA inspection with flying colors and in turn fly right back onto the interstate.
Repair
Yes. Sometimes, it’s time for the repair or replacement of some or all parts of a brake system. This is unfun because it can take time away from driving and costs money. However, it will have to be done eventually. It’s also worth remembering that if you are cited with the under 43.5% PBBT score from a CVSA Brake Safety Week inspection, the time the truck takes out of your fleet will be a decision made by someone other than yourself. It can be better to bite the bullet and repair any brake system issues before it’s too late.
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