Annual Nationwide Roadside Inspection To Focus On Commercial Motor Vehicle Brakes

Energy marketers operating cargo tank and transport motor vehicles should be prepared for a major upcoming nationwide roadside inspection blitz.

The roadside enforcement and inspection sweep is organized by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) and is scheduled to take place August 21 to August 27, 2022.

CVSA is a group of federal, state and local commercial motor vehicle enforcement agencies.

CVSA is preparing to put more than 10,000 inspectors at over 1,500 sites nationwide to conduct approximately 75,000 roadside inspections during Brake Safety Week.

Inspectors will conduct their usual North American Standard Level I and V Inspections and capture and report brake-related data to CVSA.

This year’s focus will be on total vehicle and driver inspections, brake-related out-of-service violations and brake hose/tubing chafing violations.

According to CVSA, brake-related violations account for the largest percentage of all out-of-service vehicle violations cited during roadside inspections.

During last year’s three-day nationwide Roadcheck inspection event, brake systems and brake adjustment violations accounted for 38.9 percent of all vehicle out-of-service violations, the most of any category of vehicle violations.

During the brake portion of a vehicle inspection, inspectors will look for missing, nonfunctioning, loose, contaminated or cracked parts on the brake system, and nonmanufactured holes (such as rust and friction holes and broken springs) in the spring brake housing section of the parking brake.

Inspectors will also listen for audible air leaks around brake components and lines, and ensure the air system maintains air pressure between 90-100 psi.

Inspectors will also check for S-cam flip-over and measure pushrod travel, and that slack adjusters are the same length from center of S-cam to center of clevis pin, and air chambers on each axle are the same size.

In addition, inspections of required brake-system warning devices, such as ABS malfunction lamps and low air-pressure warning devices and bleed-back system on trailers.

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