Inspectors in 52 jurisdictions throughout North America conducted 15,175 commercial motor vehicle inspections with a focus on brake systems and components as part of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) annual Brake Safety Week, Aug. 24-30.
The majority of the commercial motor vehicles inspected (84.9%) did not have any out-of-service brake violations that deemed them unsafe to proceed on their route. However, commercial motor vehicle inspectors did place 2,296 vehicles out of service (OOS) due to brake-related violations. That is a 15.1% out-of-service rate out of the total number of vehicles inspected.
Every year, approximately 4 million commercial motor vehicle inspections are conducted throughout North America at weigh/inspection stations, during roving patrols and at temporary inspection sites to ensure the commercial motor vehicles traveling on our roadways are safe and compliant with federal regulations. An inspector will place a vehicle out of service if they discover critical vehicle inspection items during an inspection. This means the driver cannot operate that vehicle until all out-of-service violations have been fixed.
Every year, CVSA devotes a week to brake-safety inspections, enforcement and education because brake-related violations continue to be the most cited out-of-service vehicle violation during roadside inspections, and properly functioning brake systems are crucial to safe commercial motor vehicle operation.
During the seven days of the brake-safety inspection and enforcement initiative, in the U.S., inspectors conducted 13,700 inspections and discovered 2,035 (14.9%) brake-related out-of-service violations. In Canada, inspectors conducted 1,459 inspections and discovered 260 (17.8%) brake-related out-of-service violations. In Mexico, inspectors conducted 16 inspections and discovered one (6.3%) brake-related out-of-service violations. Combined, 15,175 inspections were conducted, and 2,296 (15.1%) brake-related out-of-service violations were identified throughout North America.
The most-cited reason a vehicle was placed out of service was because 20% or more of the vehicle’s (or combination of vehicles’) service brakes had an out-of-service condition. Inspectors identified 1,199 such violations, which is a 52.2% out-of-service rate.
Table 1 – OOS Brake Violations
| Violation Description | Number of Violations |
| 20% Defective Brakes Violations | 1,199 |
| Other Brake Violations | 375 |
| Brake Hoses/Tubes | 306 |
| Steering Axle Violations | 199 |
| Air Loss Rate | 100 |
In addition to the other brake components that are examined as part of a routine North American Standard Inspection, inspectors provided violation data for drums and rotors, the focus for this year’s brake safety initiative. There were 113 drum and rotor violations. Thirty-nine commercial motor vehicles were placed out of service for rotor and/or drum violations. Note: There may be more than one violation on some vehicles/combinations.
Table 2 – Drum and Rotor Violations
| Violation Description | Air Disc Brakes | S-Cam Brakes | Hydraulic |
| Broken Rotor | 22 | 0 | 3 |
| Rusted Rotor | 50 | 0 | 4 |
| Metal-to-Metal | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Broken Drum | 0 | 32 | 2 |
| Total Violations | 72 | 32 | 9 |
Fifteen states with performance-based brake testers (PBBT) conducted 528 inspections using their PBBTs during this year’s Brake Safety Week. A PBBT is a machine that assesses the braking performance of a vehicle. U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and CVSA’s North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria require the combination of vehicles to have a minimum braking efficiency rating of 43.5% in order to pass a PBBT Inspection. Twenty-five (4.7%) vehicles failed to meet the required 43.5% minimum braking efficiency rate and were placed out of service. On the other hand, 503 of the vehicles tested passed the PBBT Inspection.
Brake Safety Week is part of the CVSA’s Operation Airbrake Program, a comprehensive program dedicated to improving commercial motor vehicle brake safety throughout North America. The goal is to reduce the number of commercial motor vehicles by conducting roadside inspections and educating drivers, mechanics, motor carriers, owner-operators and others on the importance of proper brake inspection, maintenance and operation.
Next year’s Brake Safety Week is scheduled for Aug. 23-29, 2026.
View the results from CVSA’s previous brake-safety inspection and enforcement initiatives.