OOSC, Part II, Item 1. Brake Systems, d. Trailer Breakaway and Emergency Braking
| Entry Date | August 14, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Issue Number | 09-040-VEH |
| Name | Charles Longfellow |
| Agency | Texas Department of Public Safety |
| Address | P.O. Box 4087Austin, TX, 78773United StatesMap It (opens in a new tab) |
| Phone | 512-424-2880 |
| Fax | (512) 424-5262 |
| [email protected] | |
| Committee | Vehicle Committee |
| Status | Closed |
| Summary of Issue | The April 1, 2009 North American Standard Out-of-Service Criteria (OOSC) states a trailer is out-of-service for a ?missing or inoperable breakaway braking system.? Trailer manufacturers commonly place two spring brakes on a single axle trailer and four on a tandem axle. The question arises, how many spring brakes must be caged or found inoperable to place the trailer out-of-service? Webster?s defines a ?system? as ?an assemblage or combination of things or parts forming a complex or unitary whole.? If a tandem axle has four spring brakes and one, two or three are caged, then has the system lost its complex or unitary whole? Or is one working spring brake out of four still considered sufficient to comply with the requirements of a breakaway braking system? |
| Justification or Need | To determine the applicability of the OOSC for missing or inoperable breakaway braking systems. |
| Request for Action | We would like a better definition of the application of the out-of-service language. |