MARKHAM, Ont. (Sept. 23, 2003) — A gap in air brake out-of-service rates between a surprise enforcement blitz in May and the scheduled Operation Air Brake campaign this month may provoke the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance to conduct more frequent spot checks for air brake violations, says the group’s president Peter Hurst.

When asked if the CVSA would consider the additional enforcement after speaking at the 19th annual Heavy Duty Distributors Council Business Meeting today in Markham, Ont., Hurst said it certainly remains an option.

CVSA reported 11 per cent of vehicles inspected during this year’s Operation Air Brake campaign were out-of-service for brake adjustment, 7.5 per cent for brake components, and 16.5 per cent total out-of-service for brakes. While those numbers are virtually unchanged from last year’s campaign, they’re quite lower than a surprise blitz in May which resulted in 13.2, 8.1, and 18 per cent out-of-service rates for the same categories.

“CVSA still has to analyze in more detail the (differential in the rates),” Hurst told Today’s Trucking. “Intuitively though, one would expect the covert, unannounced inspections are more reflective of what’s really going on out there on a daily basis. That was always the intent — to get a benchmark by not announcing it and compare that to the (scheduled inspection).”

Hurst agreed, however, that the numbers also show Operation Air Brake is having an impact on air brake safety awareness, forcing drivers and operators to be more safety conscious during the campaign.

Meanwhile, Hurst also told Today’s Trucking that CVSA will be reviewing the possibility of incorporating performance-based brake testers into the North American inspection standard. Such devices are already used by enforcement officials in Quebec and parts of the U.S. “This is really being driven by our U.S. partner the (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration),” he said. “The fact that the technology is there means we’re going to look at it. But we need to look at the technology first to make sure what implications it has on the way we currently do inspections, and how it may change the current system.”