CVSA Brake Safety Week is a seven-day enforcement and outreach campaign run by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). During the week, certified inspectors in the United States, Canada and Mexico conduct routine commercial motor vehicle inspections with extra attention on brake systems and components, and they take vehicles with brake-related out-of-service violations off the road until the problems are fixed. It is held each year in late August.
For motor carriers, the week is a public, high-volume check on how well maintenance programs are working. Out-of-service orders cost time, loads and money, and brake violations show up on roadside inspection records long after the week ends.
When Is CVSA Brake Safety Week in 2027?
CVSA has not yet announced the 2027 dates. The alliance announces the dates and the focus area for each year's campaign in advance on its website, so check back with CVSA before you plan.
Recent campaigns have all fallen in the second half of August: Aug. 20–26 in 2023, Aug. 24–30 in 2025 and Aug. 23–29 in 2026. Each year CVSA also names a focus area. In 2025 and 2026 the emphasis was on brake drums and rotors, since damaged or worn drums and rotors reduce braking efficiency and broken pieces can come loose and strike other vehicles or people.
Why It Matters at Work
Brake problems regularly take trucks and buses off the road during roadside inspections. CVSA's 2025 Brake Safety Week results show that inspectors in 52 jurisdictions completed 15,175 inspections and placed 2,296 vehicles, or 15.1%, out of service for brake violations. The most-cited reason was having 20% or more of a vehicle's service brakes out of service, with 1,199 violations.
Those numbers come from one week of routine inspections, not targeted stops of problem vehicles. They point to the same gaps fleets see every day: brakes out of adjustment, worn linings, air leaks, chafed hoses and defects that were noticed but not reported or repaired. A driver vehicle inspection report that lists a brake problem, followed by a repair that never gets certified, is exactly the kind of record gap an inspector or auditor will find.
The cost of a brake failure goes well beyond the citation. A heavy vehicle that cannot stop in time puts the driver, other motorists and pedestrians at risk, and a crash investigation will look closely at maintenance records.
How to Take Part
Brake Safety Week is not something fleets sign up for. The best way to take part is to treat it as a deadline for your own brake program and as a teaching moment for drivers and technicians.
- Watch for the announcement. When CVSA publishes the dates and focus area, share them with drivers, shop staff and dispatch.
- Run an internal brake blitz. In the weeks before the campaign, have qualified technicians check adjustment, linings and pads, drums and rotors, air lines and low-air warning devices across the fleet.
- Review open defects. Pull recent DVIRs and confirm every brake defect has been repaired and certified before the vehicle went back out.
- Refresh pre-trip habits. Walk drivers through an air brake check and remind them what to look and listen for during a walkaround.
- Use CVSA materials. CVSA publishes flyers and tips for each year's focus area that you can post in the shop and driver areas.
- Debrief afterward. If any of your vehicles are inspected, review the results with the driver and maintenance team and log any findings as corrective actions.
Toolbox Talk: Brakes Before You Roll
Use this short outline at a driver meeting or yard safety huddle.
- Why we are talking about brakes. Inspectors across North America focus on brakes during Brake Safety Week, and in 2025 about 15% of vehicles inspected that week were taken out of service for brake problems.
- Your pre-trip matters. Check air pressure build-up, the low-air warning, governor cut-in and cut-out, and listen for leaks with the brakes applied.
- Look, do not guess. Check for cracked or broken drums and rotors, missing or thin linings, damaged hoses and loose or missing parts during your walkaround.
- Write it up. Any brake defect goes on your DVIR, every time. If it affects safety, the vehicle does not leave until it has been repaired and signed off.
- Read the last report. Before you drive, review the previous DVIR and confirm that any listed defects were repaired.
Discussion question: What brake problem have you found on a pre-trip that someone else missed, and how did you catch it?
Related Requirements
FMCSA rules in 49 CFR Part 396 require motor carriers to systematically inspect, repair and maintain their vehicles, and to keep parts and accessories, including brakes, in safe and proper operating condition at all times. Key points include:
- Maintenance records for each vehicle, kept for one year where the vehicle is housed or maintained and for six months after it leaves the carrier's control (396.3).
- Written post-trip reports covering service brakes, trailer brake connections and the parking brake, with safety-related defects repaired and certified before the vehicle is driven again (396.11).
- A driver review of the last report before driving (396.13) and a periodic inspection at least once every 12 months (396.17).
- Brake work done only by qualified brake inspectors, with evidence of their qualifications kept on file (396.25).
See our summary of Vehicle Maintenance Rules for more detail.
How SMS360 Helps
The Vehicle Management module in SMS360 keeps a fleet's maintenance program organized in one place. Drivers can complete digital inspections and checklists from a mobile device, defects can be assigned as corrective actions with clear owners and due dates, and maintenance records and documents stay stored and searchable by vehicle. Dashboards make it easier to see open defects and upcoming inspections before an inspector does.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is CVSA Brake Safety Week 2027?
CVSA has not yet published the 2027 dates. Recent campaigns have been held in late August, including Aug. 24–30 in 2025 and Aug. 23–29 in 2026. CVSA announces each year's dates and focus area on its website ahead of the campaign.
What happens during Brake Safety Week?
Inspectors in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. perform their usual commercial vehicle inspections with added attention to brake systems. Vehicles with brake-related or other out-of-service violations are removed from the road until repaired. CVSA then collects the inspection data and publishes the results later in the year.
What is the focus area for Brake Safety Week?
CVSA picks a focus area each year and announces it with the dates. Brake linings and pads were the focus in 2024, and drums and rotors were the focus in 2025 and 2026. Check CVSA's announcement for the 2027 focus area.
