More than 1,600 trucks were placed out-of-service during an unannounced nationwide brakes-focused inspection blitz on May 15.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance announced commercial vehicle inspectors conducted 10,358 inspections across the U.S. and Canada and sidelined 1,667 (16.1%) of those trucks.
CVSA says inspectors paid close attention to violations involving brake hoses/tubing and issued violations to 996 trucks for chafed rubber hoses and to 185 trucks for chafed thermoplastic hoses. In total, there were 1,125 violations that included chafed rubber hoses and 124 violations that included kinked thermoplastic hoses.
“Brake hoses and tubing must be properly attached, undamaged, without leaks and appropriately flexible,” said CVSA President Chief Jay Thompson with the Arkansas Highway Police. “Because they are such an important part of the braking system, the failure of hoses or tubing can cause problems for the entire braking system.”
CVSA will hold another brakes-focused enforcement blitz next month, Brake Safety Week, which is scheduled for Sept. 15-21.