

NTSB ruled an ASA adjustment had led to a runaway truck accident in Pennsylvania in 2003 that claimed the life of the driver and an 11-year-old child riding in a car that the dump truck had struck during its descent on a steep downgrade.

#SLACK ADJUSTER ON SEMI MANUAL#
The push to end manual adjustments on ASAs is nothing new.įollowing their mandated use on tractor-trailers in 1994 and trailers in 1995, the NTSB issued a scathing report in early 2006 condemning the practice of regularly adjusting ASAs. Accident investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have shown worn and improperly adjusted ASA’s to be a contributing causal factor in some accidents.” “Overriding the automatic adjustment method can cause premature wear on the internal components and eventually result in an early end-of-life condition. “Despite being standard in the industry for almost two decades, there are still veteran technicians who will regularly put a wrench on an ASA to manually adjust it,” Accuride states in an August safety and performance report for Gunite ASAs. With out-of-service brake violations continuing to top the annual Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) International Roadcheck, manually adjusting a slack adjuster can not only lead to more brake problems down the road, it can also lead to accidents. “The reasons behind adjusting an ASA outside of a brake reline should be investigated such as alignments, bushing wear, wheel conditions, etc.,” Christiansen says.

“If a fleet is manually adjusting a slack adjuster regularly it can harm the longevity of the unit,” says Chris Christiansen, warranty/technical services coordinator, Accuride Corporation.

Still, despite years of warnings, automatic slack adjusters (ASA) continue to be manually adjusted by technicians who may not know any better or who may be eager to get a truck out of the shop and back out on the road. We are a Canadian company that is privately owned with locations across Canada.They’re called automatic slack adjusters for a reason, and the manufacturers that make them want to keep it that way.In addition to our online parts store, we have 17 brick-and-mortar retail locations across Canada so you can be confident when you buy from Maxim Truck & Trailer.Shipments arrive at your door within 3-5 business days via Canada Post Expedited Parcel Service.We usually fulfill orders within 12 hours from the business day they are ordered.
#SLACK ADJUSTER ON SEMI FREE#
