Apr 28, 2009 8:45 AM, From Bulk Transporter

Monthly maintenance and repair expenses for tractor/trailer antilock braking systems (ABS) average 85 cents for tractors and 25 cents for trailers, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) analysis.

Costs for repairs to underride guards averaged 16 cents per month of service, NHTSA stated in a request for comments posted in the Federal Register April 24.

According to NHTSA: "The presence of ABS did not increase expenses to other parts of the brake system. The estimated lifetime maintenance and repair expenses were notably smaller than the cost of equipping new vehicles with ABS."

Repair receipts from in-service vehicles were analyzed to estimate the maintenance and repair expenses to the ABS and underride guards because the agency is interested in learning of any additional data that may be useful in the evaluations.

NHTSA said the availability of data on later model year tractors and trailers is especially relevant because ABS-equipped vehicles in the analysis could have been at most six years old. NHTSA will submit to the docket a response to the comments and, if appropriate, will supplement or revise the report.

NHTSA noted that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 121 and 105 mandate ABS on all air-braked vehicles and hydraulic-braked trucks and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or greater.

Standards 223 and 224 require underride guards (URG) meeting a strength test on trailers with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or greater.

Comments on the analysis must be received no later than August 20, 2009. The information is posted in the online Federal Register.