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Brake Safety Week runs August 25th through August 31st in 2024. It's the time of the year when the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) shines a light on brake safety in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Based on the inspection and violation results from prior years, we know there is ground to cover when it comes to proactive brake maintenance for trucks and fleets.

Historically, inspections performed during Brake Safety Week have resulted in out-of-service brake violations between 11% and 16% in the years of 2016 through 2023. If you're wondering if the rate of truck brake violations trends lower year-over-year, this isn't the case. The percentage fluctuates, making it anyone's guess if 2024 will have better numbers vs the 12.6% out-of-service brake violations in 2023. One thing's for sure: we'll find out soon enough!

A Reminder on Why Brake Maintenance is Important with Large Trucks

Commercial trucks are always on the move and that often means a significant amount of miles annually. The U.S Department of Energy has data on the amount of mileage different vehicles travel per year on average. In this chart, you'll see that a Class 8 truck travels over 60k miles on average. And whether you meet, beat, or come in a little lower than the average, that's a lot of work to put on a truck's brake system in a year (before adding in environmental conditions between different seasons and states).

Predictive Maintenance Can Help You Avoid Truck Brake Violations

One method that proves invaluable in mitigating brake-related problems is predictive maintenance, which relies on data-driven insights and advanced technologies to anticipate issues before they occur. By utilizing sensors, monitoring systems, and analytics, fleet managers can track the condition of critical components, identify patterns of wear and tear, and intervene when maintenance is needed. This approach allows for tailored maintenance schedules, reduces downtime, optimizes resource allocation, and lowers overall maintenance costs.

What are Inspectors Looking for in Relation to Brakes?

Inspectors look at the following, to name a few items: parts that are missing, nonoperational, loose, or cracked; S-cam condition; air pressure range, pushrod travel, and antilock braking system indicator lights. Check out these tips for Brake Safety Week that include more areas to pay attention to and information on the importance of Brake Safety Week.

Truck Brake Maintenance & Service in North Carolina and Florida

The team at McGee Commercial Tire & Service is also here to do what we can to lower this year's percentage of brake violations through our professional truck and fleet brake services. If you are nearing your brake maintenance interval, on a predictive maintenance plan, or are experiencing brake issues with a truck, we are here to help. We serve truck drivers and fleet managers at North Carolina and Florida commercial locations.

Don't be a stranger. Give us a call and have your brakes inspected and serviced so you don't end up part of this year's violation statistic. That's McGee Commercial Tire & Service, the trusted name in commercial repairs and maintenance.