16K inspections put 2K trucks out of service

Top 3 violations of Brake Safety Week 2024

Most out-of-service (OOS) violations were issued for stand-alone brake violations:

1. Stand-alone OOS brake violations — 1,355 (63.1 percent)
2. Failing the 20 percent defective brakes criterion (defective brakes equal more than 20 percent of service brakes) — 1,216 (56.6 percent)
3. Steering axle brake violations — 217 (10.1 percent)

A vehicle placed OOS is restricted from travel until all the OOS violations are corrected.

Brake Safety focus – Lining/pad violation

In addition to OOS violations, inspectors also focused on brake lining/pad violations. Brake lining/pad violations can lead to serious problems if left unaddressed and can qualify as OOS violations combined with other brake violations or if found on the steering axle.

This year, inspectors checked for violations concerning:

• Brake lining/pad cracks, contamination, and voids; and
• Loose, worn, or missing brake lining/pads.

Inspectors found 654 total brake lining/pad violations:

• 272 for towed trailer units, and
• 382 for power tractor units.

Brake Safety Week participants

Of the 16,725 commercial motor vehicle inspections held across 61 U.S., Canadian, Mexican states/provinces/territories, there were:

• 14,692 U.S. inspections with 1,900 brake-related OOS violations (12.9 percent OOS rate),
• 1,926 Canadian inspections with 243 brake-related OOS violations (12.6 percent OOS rate), and
• 107 Mexican inspections with 6 brake-related OOS violations (5.6 percent OOS rate).

Next year’s Brake Safety Week will take place from August 24-30, 2025.