The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) last major truck inspection event of 2021 starts this weekend.

This year’s CVSA Brake Safety Week will take place August 22 — 28. The area of special emphasis for this year’s effort is on hoses and tubing.

During the week-long enforcement effort, commercial vehicle inspectors with law enforcement agencies across the country will team up to inspect trucks with a focus on the vehicle’s brake systems and components. Inspectors will be compiling data on hoses and tubing to submit to the CVSA.

During last year’s Brake Safety Week, 12% of the 43,565 commercial motor vehicles inspected were placed out of service for brake-related violations.

How to Check for Worn or Chaffed Hoses

The CVSA’s Operation Airbrake FAQ section offers the following information on how to identify chaffed or worn hoses:

Air hoses and tubing must not be worn so as to render them likely to fail. Pages 26-27 of the April 1, 2014, CVSA “North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria Handbook and Pictorial” state the following:

Brake Hose/Tubing

Roadside enforcement inspectors look for wear and damage to brake hoses and tubing. The following are descriptions of out-of-service (OOS) conditions, along with the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation number for reference:

1. Any damage extending through the outer reinforcement ply. (393.45(a))

NOTE: Rubber impregnated fabric cover is not a reinforcement ply.

NOTE: Thermoplastic nylon tube may have braid reinforcement or color difference between cover and inner tube. Exposure of second color is an out-of-service condition.

2. Bulge/swelling when air pressure is applied. (393.45(a))

3. Audible air leak at other than a proper connection. (393.45(a))

4. Improperly joined such as a splice made by sliding the hose ends over a piece of tubing and clamping the hose to the tube. (393.45(a))

Damaged by heat, broken, or crimped in such a manner as to restrict air flow. (393.45(a))