Air Brake Certification

So any Joe can be an owner op and work on their brakes. Even if they know squat? I was unaware of this. Makes me feel safer for my family.

 

I work on my own brakes...and anything else on my truck that needs attention. We all knew squat at some point....then we learned some stuff and figured out how to get things done.

 

That's wonderful and all, that still doesn't make it right. Why does a mechanic have to be certified but you don't? Brakes are brakes across all cmvs.

Safety is safety across the whole industry and your saying it's OK if some new o/o forgets to put a spring back on or forgets something that will compromise the safety of that vehicle?
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I read if as that.

 

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/396.25

And it's right there. Section 3 part I and II. There is more to being qualified than just filling out a paper.

State sponsored apprenticeship program.

 

Or experience doing it on the job, you seem to have ignored that part.

 

I didn't write the rules. Just trying to understand them the best way, as they are written. Only o/o who have been at it for a year plus can claim part (b).

So what is the excuse for a brand new o/o, doing their own brake work. I don't see that qualification.

At least not without prior qualifications.

 

What is the problem with o/o working on their own brakes without certification? I see it much the same as I do a back yard mechanic doing a brake job on their F150. An F150 is just as deadly as a semi truck. Air brakes are not complex systems that require a master degree to service. Anyone with even a nominal mechanical ability can get in there and do them.

 

Where does it say a mechanic has to be certified? By who? That is state dependent, in my home state of Pennsylvania there is no licensing requirements to operate a garage or work as a mechanic except if you perform state safety inspections, then your station is licensed and each inspector is also licensed, other than that anyone can hang up a sign and be a truck garage.

As for an owner operator doing their own brake work, there is nothing wrong with it as long as they know what they are doing. I would much rather be around an o/o who does their own work than someone who trusts the truck stop tech to do everything without any idea of what is right or wrong. The o/o has a lot riding on doing their brake job right, they stand to loose everything they own, including their freedom (meaning jail time) if they are negligent in the work they do to their truck.

A new o/o could still meet the requirements to be a certified brake technician just by the "reason of experience", what says they didn't work in a garage prior to becoming an o/o, or some other qualifying job position? I was 18, just graduated high school in June and working as a diesel mechanic on a fleet of school buses by August, no formal vo-tech training, just on the job training and reasonable intelligence/mechanical aptitude was all that I needed.

 

Most O/O's care a heck of a lot more and do things to their truck with a lot more diligence than a lot of the mechanics in shops doing brake jobs for close to minimum wage. The top skilled mechanics ain't doing brake jobs and oil changes.

 

And people say trucking is over regulated.

I was unaware it was that easy to work on safety sensitive functions. In 2008 when graduating school we were certified I guess for state inspections when we would get to an inspection shop. Hell if I know.