Brake systems again top violations in 2025 International Roadcheck
Key Highlights
- Despite 81% of vehicles not having any out-of-service (OOS) violations, 2025's International Roadcheck put 10,148 vehicles OOS
- The top five vehicle violations were Brake Systems, Tires, 20% Defective Brakes, Lights, and Cargo Securement
- This year's inspeciton focus was tires, with inspectors finding 2,899 tire-related OOS vehicle violations (21.4% of all vehicle OOS violations)
Once again, brake systems were the top culprit for out-of-service (OOS) violations in the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CVSA) International Roadcheck event.
In 2025, the alliance conducted 56,178 commercial vehicle, driver, and cargo inspections from May 13-15, during which 18.4% of vehicles had an OOS violation. In total, inspectors found 13,553 violations and put 10,148 vehicles OOS. This puts this year’s OOS rate at 18.1%, which is about 5% lower than last year’s.
For more International Roadcheck data:
Tires under pressure
This year, CVSA focused on tires during its vehicle inspections. Tires have ranked as the second-most-common violation for the past four years, second only to brake systems. 2025 was no different, as inspectors found 2,899 tire-related OOS vehicle violations during the 2025 Roadcheck, which comprises 21.4% of all vehicle OOS violations. This put the percentage of tire violations higher than they’ve been for the last four years.
A couple examples that CVSA listed as tire-related damage included flat tires, insufficient tread depth, and severe cuts exposing cord ply, as well as other damage that resulted in tires with bulges, improper repairs, those not rated for the load they carried, or those not rated for highway use.
All of this is in line with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s inspection data as of September 26, 2025, which also found 74,367 instances of leaking tires or those at less than 50% of the maximum inflation pressure, constitution 13.86% of OOS violations.
This is particularly troubling given that MacAllister Machinery reported that inflation even 20% below the correct level can lead to casing fatigue, which can lead to a zipper rupture or failure. And business-wise, it’s a general rule of thumb that 10% underinflation costs 1% in fuel economy, cutting into fleet profits.
On the upside, improving tire violation rates is simple to do with proper pre-trip and weekly inspections, which should include checking inflation and tread wear. Additionally, fleets have plenty of tire pressure monitoring sensors (TPMS) and automatic tire inflation systems (ATIS) to help them better manage their tires, including the TruSensor S58R TPMS kit by Ranger, the Meritor Tire Inflation System (MTIS) from Pressure Systems International, and Hendrickson‘s TIREMAAX.
Other violations
However, tire violations weren’t the only frequent face at the top of the International Roadcheck list. Once again, brake systems were the top issue for trucks, with 3,304 OOS brake system violations, which made up almost a quarter of all vehicle OOS violations. While 2024’s International Roadcheck didn’t feature a ‘Brake Systems’ category in its top five violations, it did feature an ‘Other Brake Violations’ category, which was the third-most-common violation.
This year, the third-most common violation was also related to brakes, 20% Defective Brakes counting for 2,257 OOS vehicle violations. Combined, Brake Systems and 20% Defective Brakes violations encompassed 41.1% of OOS vehicle violations during International Roadcheck.
About the Author
Alex Keenan
Alex Keenan is an Associate Editor for Fleet Maintenance magazine. She has written on a variety of topics for the past several years and recently joined the transportation industry, reviewing content covering technician challenges and breaking industry news. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.