Canadian truckers fared considerably worse than those in the U.S. during an unannounced Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) brake blitz on April 22.

There were 744 Canadian trucks inspected, 95 of which had out-of-service brake violations, totaling an OOS rate of 12.8%. In the U.S., 3,819 trucks were inspected, 303 of which had OOS brake violations for an OOS rate of 7.9%.

In total, nearly 400 commercial vehicles were removed from the road during the blitz, dubbed Brake Safety Day. While Canadian results underwhelmed, CVSA noted 91.3% of inspected trucks didn’t have any brake-related OOS violations.

Inspectors focused on drums and rotors. Eight per cent of inspected trucks had drum/rotor violations, with 14 of those resulting in the vehicle being placed out of service. Air disc brakes accounted for 20 brake drum/rotor violations, while just eight trucks with S-cam brakes were in violation. Twelve violations were for rusted rotors.

Inspectors also found 77 out-of-service violations related to brake hoses and/or tubing, while 48 trucks had steering axle OOS violations. Thirty-eight failed an air loss rate test and another 112 were placed OOS for brake violations, including worn brake lines and hoses, inoperative tractor protection systems, air leaks, and inoperative low air warning devices.

Last year during Brake Safety Day, 12.6% of Canadian trucks were placed out of service, while 12.9% of U.S. trucks were parked.