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kc0iv · Joined: 03 Feb 2005 Posts: 1113 Location: Kansas City, MO

[quote="yoopr"] kc0iv wrote: Myth_Buster wrote: Quote: ?396.25 Qualifications of brake inspectors.

Question 1:[/b] Does a CDL with an airbrake endorsement qualify a person as a brake inspector under ?396.25?

Guidance: No.

You seem to just slide over this key point.

kc0iv

Which was my Arguement
But to make things easier when EVERYONE goes around this Regulation you can but a Tag gizmo and put it on your Slack Adjuster and when your brake is properly adjusted it will bump up against your housing.

I found this article that that should open the eyes on most drivers. Remember most trucks have been required to have automatic slack adjusters since 1994.
Quote:
NTSB Says Manually Adjusting Automatic Slack Adjusters is Dangerous

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a warning that manually adjusting automatic slack adjusters is dangerous.

The board recommended Feb. 15 that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration develop with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance a North American Standard Inspection training materials module against this practice.

The FMCSA will work with the board to learn how often manual readjustment occurs and to keep this from happening, said Ian Grossman, FMCSA communications director.

?The agency has considered ways to deter manually adjusting automatic slack adjusters, but there is no information that indicates it is a widespread practice ? though we do recognize that some drivers and mechanics do it,? Grossman said.

These adjusters are required on certain air-braked vehicles manufactured on or after Oct. 20, 1994. Motor carriers must ensure that the devices are properly maintained, Grossman added.

Manually adjusting automatic slack adjusters should be done only during installation or for an emergency move to a repair facility, the NTSB said.

Manual adjustment ?fails to address the true reason why the brakes are not maintaining adjustment, giving the operator a false sense of security about the effectiveness of the brakes, which are likely to go out of adjustment again soon,? the NTSB said.

This practice also can cause abnormal wear to the internal adjusting mechanism, which can lead to brake failure, the board said.

The board also advocated that drivers of air braked commercial vehicles weighing less than 26,000 pounds undergo training and testing to demonstrate proficiency with such vehicles.
The board?s recommendations stem from a Feb. 7 report on a 2003 accident in Glen Rock, Pa,. involving a 1995 Ford dump truck on a steep two-lane residential street.

The driver for Blossom Valley Farms was unable to stop at an intersection where four passenger cars were stopped. The truck pushed one vehicle into the intersection, and the car in turn hit three children on a sidewalk. One vehicle driver and an 11-year-old passenger were killed.

The board said the accident?s cause was the lack of oversight by Blossom, which resulted in an untrained driver improperly operating an overloaded, air-braked vehicle with inadequately maintained brakes.

The 21-year-old driver had worked for Blossom less than two weeks. He had never driven an air-braked vehicle before joining the company and had received no training on how to drive one, the board said. Also, the rear truck brakes were out of adjustment, the board said.
Moreover, mechanics misdiagnosed the truck?s brake problems, the board said. Having readily available and accurate information about automatic slack adjusters and stronger warnings against manual adjustment would have helped, the board said.

The accident was similar to a California truck accident the same year in which mechanics did not look for underlying problems with the slack adjusters or other brake components, the NTSB noted.
?Jill Dunn
http://www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=52547

emphasis added

kc0iv

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