The commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has announced the dates for its upcoming Brake Safety Week, an event meant to identify and remove commercial motor vehicles with brake violations from the roadways.

The annual Brake Safety Week will be held nationwide on September 16th through the 22nd. During the seven day period, inspectors will be conducting Level 1 Inspections – a 37 step examination of the semi truck’s mechanical fitness, as well as the driver’s operating requirements.

Some of the components to be checked during inspection are as follows:

loose or missing parts
air or fluid leaks
defective rotor conditions
measurement of pushrod travel
mismatched air chamber sizes across axles
air reservoir integrity and mounting
worn linings, pads, drums or rotors
brake-system warning devices

In addition to the traditional inspection, 12 unnamed jurisdictions will be using performance based brake testing equipment to measure the cumulative brake force of the vehicle, allowing officials to determine the overall braking efficiency through a simple equation.

Any vehicles found with defective or out-of-adjustment brakes during this time will be placed out of service.

According to the CVSA, during last year’s one day brake safety initiative, 14% of all conducted inspections placed a commercial vehicle out of service. The CVSA also claims that, of trucks involved in braking-related crashes, 45.5% had some sort of brake violation.

The inspections and enforcement during this week in September will also be accompanied by outreach from law enforcement in an attempt to educate the public about the importance of proper brake maintenance.