Now is the time to ask yourself, “Is my fleet ready for the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) Brake Safety Week coming up 23 to 29 August.”
All you have to do to answer that question is look at last year’s records. If your stats are anything like the other commercial motor vehicles (CMV) across North America, yours are probably not ready.
According to the CVSA, “During last year’s International Roadcheck inspection and enforcement initiative, brake system and brake adjustment violations accounted for 45.1% of all out-of-service conditions.”
That causes too much downtime waiting for on-site maintenance. These Out-of-Service (OOS) orders likely resulted in missed delivery deadlines, blown reputations, and canceled orders. All of these result in business losses. Regrettably, “In the first half of 2019, around 640 trucking companies went bankrupt…” according to Broughton Capital. Overall, 2019 was one of the worst in the history of the trucking industry.
Another thing to think about is that August is Brake Safety Awareness Month across America and Canada. Therefore, at every level, law enforcement officers will be looking at CMVs at roadside inspection points and weigh stations.
How to Prepare for Brake Week
Give the Ultimate Fleet professionals a call to schedule your trucks for brake inspection and maintenance. We will inspect each vehicle’s brake system to determine safety and ensure proper adjustment and make other maintenance checks as directed by you.
Take this opportunity to protect your reputation against delays caused by OOS orders that could make your delivery late. Nearly 14 percent of the 67,000 vehicles checked in the 2019 inspection “blitz” had brake-related problems that led to an OOS order.
“Failure of any component of a brake system could be catastrophic,” says SGT Samis of the Delaware State Police & the CVSA President. But is he telling us anything we don’t know?
It’s simply a matter of following through on what we know and getting the maintenance our vehicles need. It’s crucial to our drivers’ lives and the safety of the other vehicles on the road. Let’s get together and get this done.
Call Ultimate Fleet Today
We can call to schedule your regular preventive services and checks, (651) 454-8775. We service Freightliners, ProMasters, Sprinters, Ford Transit vans, buses, and many others.
