The Importance of Brake Maintenance for Truck Fleets
While truck maintenance is easy to put off, there is never a better time than today when it comes to truck and brake maintenance. A truck weighing tens of thousands of pounds that needs to stop quickly.
Whether your truck fleet is large or small, brake maintenance is crucial for driver safety, product safety, and the safety of everyone around you on the road. While truck maintenance is easy to put off, there is never a better time than today when it comes to truck and brake maintenance. A truck weighing tens of thousands of pounds that needs to stop quickly to prevent an accident definitely can’t do so without proper brake maintenance. Here are some of the reasons why brake maintenance is so important for your truck fleet.
Insufficient Brake Maintenance
The biggest cause of truck accidents is brake systems that are not functioning properly. While many people assume that means that the brakes stop working as a result of the pieces of equipment themselves, cases of the actual equipment failing are few and far between. Brake failures are typically the fault of improper brake maintenance and not the brakes themselves. Many times they go unnoticed because the driver gets used to lower levels of braking without difficulty. However, in emergency situations when stopping immediately is important, failure occurs. Insufficient brake maintenance can cause brake imbalances, thinning brake pads, brakes that are covered in grease, or worn out brakes.
Brake Imbalances
Brake imbalances frequently occur as a result of general truck maintenance not occurring regularly. If your brakes are imbalanced, there is a large chance that you would lose control of your truck in the case of an emergency. Most commercial trucks with imbalanced brakes will jackknife in serious situations.
Take Advantage of Brake Safety Week
Every year, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance hosts a week where safety officials can perform free roadside inspections on commercial vehicles to identify any brake problems or violations. Taking advantage of this free program is a great way to make sure that your truck brakes are in good working condition and that your truck maintenance is up to date.
Middleton & Meads Co. for Your Fleet
Middleton & Meads. provides quality truck and bus repair, service, and fleet management for the Baltimore, MD area. We have over 90 years of experience in the trucking industry and will provide you with customer service like you have never experienced before! If you are interested in seeing how we can help your business, give us a call at (410) 752-5588 or visit us online today! For more articles and trucking tips, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and LinkedIn.
