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TIRE MAINTENANCE & CSA

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR TIRES

Tire maintenance violations under the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) Program are very serious, and always have been because they pose such a high safety risk. The majority of the tire violations are those that could cause a tire to rapidly lose pressure and render the vehicle "Out of Service" (OOS). These count much higher against a fleet and driver in the Safety Management System (SMS) score point system. It is in the interest of the driver to keep an eye on the vehicle's tires, as well as the other critical safety items.

CSA uses data gathered from roadside inspections to assign a score from seven different Behavior, Analysis, Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC) areas. These include:

  • Unsafe driving
  • Fatigued driving
  • Driver fitness
  • Controlled substances/alcohol
  • Cargo related
  • Crash indicator
  • Vehicle maintenance

Tire violations are tracked under the "vehicle maintenance" area. The most severe violations are weighted at 8, while the less severe are weighted at 3. Tire violations including flat tire or exposed fabric, ply or belt material exposed, tread or sidewall separation, audible air leak, cut exposing ply or belt material and tread depth carry an eight-point violation. Re-grooved tires, tire load weight rating and under-inflated tires carry a three-point violation. Both fleet and driver scores are affected by violations and any vehicle maintenance violation stays with the fleet for 24 months.

VIOLATION DESCRIPTIONS

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Section Violation Description Shown on Roadside Inspection Group Weight OOS Driver Resp.
393.75(a) Flat tire (pressure 1/2 of sidewall max pressure) or fabric exposed Tires 8 Yes Yes
393.75(a)(1) Tire—ply or belt material exposed Tires 8 Yes Yes
393.75(a)(2) Tire—tread and/or sidewall separation Tires 8 Yes Yes
393.75(a)(3) Tire—flat (pressure 1/2 of sidewall max pressure) and/or audible air leak Tires 8 Yes Yes
393.75(a)(4) Tire—cut exposing ply and/or belt material Tires 8 Yes Yes
393.75(b) Tire—front tread depth less than 4/32 of inch Tires 8 Yes Yes
393.75(c) Tire—other tread depth less than 2/32 of inch Tires 8 Yes Yes
393.75(d) Tire—bus re-grooved/recap on front wheel Tires 8 Yes Yes
393.75(e) Tire—re-grooved on front of truck/truck-tractor Tire vs. Load 3 Yes Yes
393.75(f) Tire—load weight rating/under-inflated Tire vs. Load 8 Yes Yes
393.75(f)(1) Weight carried exceeds tire load limit Tire vs. Load 8 Yes Yes
393.75(f)(2) Tire under-inflated Tire vs. Load 3 Yes Yes

HOW TO AVOID OOS TIRE VIOLATIONS:

INSPECT TIRES PRIOR TO EACH TRIP

Drivers can perform pre-trip inspections to ensure the tractor and trailer tires comply. Each tire issue is simple for a driver to spot while inspecting the vehicle. Here are the issues you should check for during your pre-trip inspection:

  • Proper tire pressure
  • Tread depths
  • Irregular wear
  • Inspect suspension components
FOLLOW RECOMMENDED PROCEDURES

Follow recommended repair procedures outlined by Tire Maintenance Council (TMC) to reduce the risk of a citation.

UTILIZE TRAINING RESOURCES AVAILABLE

Keep an eye on your vehicle's tires, as well the other critical safety items to avoid a dangerous driving situation and to avoid an unwanted CSA violation. For more details on tire maintenance protocol and CSA standards, visit http://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov.