Inspectors identified 237 (59.5%) CMVs that met the 20% defective brakes criterion. That is when 20% or more of the vehicle’s (or combination of vehicles’) brakes have an out-of-service condition. (Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance via Facebook)
[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
Unsafe brake-related problems led to nearly 10% of some 4,560 commercial motor vehicles being taken out of service in a single day of inspections conducted recently across the United States and into Canada and Mexico.
Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance-certified commercial motor vehicle inspectors conducted a surprise one-day inspection and enforcement event April 22. The focus was brake safety, with routine roadside inspections covering brake systems and components, and commercial vehicle drums and rotors.
A nonprofit, CVSA consists of local, state, provincial, territorial and federal commercial motor vehicle safety officials and industry representatives in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
In all, 91.3% of the 4,569 inspections revealed no brake-related, out-of-service violations.
However, inspectors identified 398 (8.7%) commercial motor vehicles with violations of critical brake-related items. Those vehicles were immediately restricted from further travel until the violations were addressed.
Inspectors conducted 4,569 commercial motor vehicle inspections in one day and placed 398 (8.7%) of those vehicles out of service due to brake-related violations. View the news release for more data and information. https://t.co/wGgG5h3tBW pic.twitter.com/KPHIluB8sh
— CVSA (@CVSA) June 17, 2025
“Brake drum and rotor issues may affect a commercial motor vehicle’s brake efficiency and result in violations or out-of-service conditions that may affect a motor carrier’s safety rating,” CVSA noted. “Furthermore, broken pieces of drums or rotors may become dislodged en route and damage other vehicles or result in injuries or fatalities.”
Inspectors discovered 32 commercial motor vehicles (8%) had drum/rotor violations, of which nearly half resulted in the vehicle or combination being put out of service.
They found 237 commercial motor vehicles (60%) reaching the threshold for a 20% defective brakes criteria — when 20% or more of the vehicle’s (or combination of vehicles’) brakes have an out-of-service condition.
Matt Silver, CEO of Cargado, discusses how AI, data and smarter platforms are reshaping cross-border shipping. Tune in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com.
“In addition, inspectors identified 77 out-of-service violations related to brake hoses and/or tubing, 48 vehicles had steering axle out-of-service violations, 38 vehicles failed an air-loss rate test, and there were 112 other out-of-service brake violations, such as worn brake lines/hoses, inoperative tractor protection system, inoperative low-air warning device, air leaks, hydraulic fluid leaks, etc.,” according to CVSA.
Canada had a higher percentage of brake-related out-of-service violations — 13% of the 744 commercial vehicles inspected — compared with an 8% out-of-service rate for 3,819 U.S. commercial vehicles. There were no out-of-service violations for the six vehicles inspected in CVSA’s Mexico jurisdiction.
CVSA has five regions, of which four span the U.S. Region IV includes Mexico along with Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Canada entirely occupies Region V.
Want more news? Listen to today’s daily briefing below or go here for more info:
