WisDOT: Operation Air Brake on May 5 – Wisconsin State Patrol will intensify inspections of commercial motor vehicle brakes and safety equipment

For more information, contact:

Lt. Patricia Hansen, Wisconsin State Patrol

(608) 266-0094, patricia.hansen@dot.wi.gov

To help reduce large truck crashes and make highways safer for all motorists, commercial motor vehicle inspectors from the Wisconsin State Patrol and other law enforcement agencies will participate in the annual Operation Air Brake program on May 5, sponsored by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Alliance of North America.

“The State Patrol plans to work on May 5 with approximately eight county sheriff’s departments around the state and five police agencies to increase inspections of air brakes and other safety equipment on commercial motor vehicles. We’ll also check drivers’ compliance with safety regulations,” says State Patrol Lt. Patricia Hansen of the Motor Carrier Enforcement Unit. “Last year during Operation Air Brake, the State Patrol inspected 395 commercial motor vehicles and placed 69 of them (17 percent) out of service for brake violations. An additional 41 commercial motor vehicles (approximately 10 percent) were placed out of service for other violations.”

Commercial motor vehicle safety inspection, enforcement and education initiatives, like Operation Air Brake, have helped reduce large truck crashes in Wisconsin—especially fatal and serious injury crashes—in recent years. Compared with 2008, large truck crashes in Wisconsin in 2009 declined 22 percent. Moreover, large truck crash fatalities declined 13 percent and serious injuries declined 26 percent in 2009, according to preliminary statistics from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.