The 2022 International Roadcheck Week is just three weeks away, and for carriers, this means a renewed focus on brake safety. This year the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) will focus on wheel-ends, including the wheels, rims, hubs, brakes, and tires on a commercial motor vehicle. According to the CVSA, violations involving wheel-end components historically account for about one-quarter of vehicle out-of-service violations discovered during International Roadcheck Week.
Last year, more than 40,000 commercial motor vehicle inspections were conducted during International Roadcheck Week, with approximately 83.5% of vehicles examined during the three-day safety blitz having zero out-of-service (OOS) violations. However, inspectors did remove 6,710 commercial motor vehicles and 2,080 drivers from roadways. This amounts to 16.5% of vehicles and 5.3% of drivers discovered to have OOS violations.
Of the 9,691 OOS violations issued, the top five violations were:
- Brake system: 26.5%
- Tires: 18.6%
- Lights: 14.1%
- Brake Adjustment: 12.4 %
- Cargo Securement: 12.3%
Get the clearest, most accurate view of the truckload marketplace with data from DAT iQ.
Tune into DAT iQ Live, live on YouTube or LinkedIn, 10am ET every Tuesday.
Why the focus on brakes again this year?
According to the CVSA, wheel-end components support heavy loads carried, maintain stability and control, and are critical for braking, keeping the vehicle safely on the road. Failure of these components may also lead to a catastrophic crash. Considering brake-related violations accounted for 38.9% of all vehicle OOS violations in 2021, the CVSA is right on target this year.
How should shippers, carriers, and brokers prepare for Roadcheck week?
The correct answer is that they shouldn’t. Brake safety is an everyday event, and trucks and trailers should have perfectly working brakes all the time. CVSA’s annual high-volume, high-visibility inspection, and enforcement initiative conducted over 72-hours will see CVSA-certified inspectors posted at weigh stations and designated inspection sites in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. For drivers, this means they need to be prepared well in advance.
During Roadcheck Week, inspectors will primarily conduct the North American Standard Level I Inspection, a 37-step procedure that includes examining driver operating requirements and vehicle mechanical fitness. Steps 15 and 18 focus specifically on a commercial motor vehicle’s wheels, rims, and hubs. The detailed list can be found here.
