Changing drivers and HOS

jjoerger

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
US Army
When changing drivers is it necessary for the new driver to do a 15 minute pretrip? We do, but not sure if it is required.
The other driver does a post trip and a VIR.
 

zorry

Veteran Expediter
Don't know what's really required.

We usually do PTI and fueling at the same time. If rushed, one will do PTI as other does their PTI. It's faster with two people doing it. They can overlap.

We may have more PTIs than required.
That's better than too few.
 

GandJ

Active Expediter
< 396.12 396.15 >
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Inspection, repair, and maintenance

§ 396.13Driver inspection.
Before driving a motor vehicle, the driver shall:
(a) Be satisfied that the motor vehicle is in safe operating condition;
(b) Review the last driver vehicle inspection report; and
(c) Sign the report, only if defects or deficiencies were noted by the driver who prepared the report, to acknowledge that the driver has reviewed it and that there is a certification that the required repairs have been performed. The signature requirement does not apply to listed defects on a towed unit which is no longer part of the vehicle combination.


396.9 396.12 >
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§ 396.11Driver vehicle inspection report(s).
(a) Equipment provided by motor carrier. (1) Report required.Every motor carrier shall require its drivers to report, and every driver shall prepare a report in writing at the completion of each day's work on each vehicle operated, except for intermodal equipment tendered by an intermodal equipment provider. The report shall cover at least the following parts and accessories:
(i) Service brakes including trailer brake connections;
(ii) Parking brake;
(iii) Steering mechanism;
(iv) Lighting devices and reflectors;
(v) Tires;
(vi) Horn;
(vii) Windshield wipers;
(viii) Rear vision mirrors;
(ix) Coupling devices;
(x) Wheels and rims;
(xi) Emergency equipment;
(2) Report content. The report shall identify the vehicle and list any defect or deficiency discovered by or reported to the driver which would affect the safety of operation of the vehicle or result in its mechanical breakdown. If no defect or deficiency is discovered by or reported to the driver, the report shall so indicate. In all instances, the driver shall sign the report. On two-driver operations, only one driver needs to sign the driver vehicle inspection report, provided both drivers agree as to the defects or deficiencies identified. If a driver operates more than one vehicle during the day, a report shall be prepared for each vehicle operated.


Sorry for the above but didn't want to get anything incorrect.

So pretrip is a quick walk around and verify that the previous dvir is showing no defects. Whatever time it takes you then you are good to go. Just remember that you are responsible for the condition of the equipment and can't say to DOT, I didn't know the tire was bald.....etc.
The DVIR is your thorough 15 minute minimum view of the equipment and a report.

**** each driver of the day MUST do a report at the end of their shift or before midnight east coast time****

Wife and I do our shifts 8 3 3 8 so 4 fast per trips and 2 dvirs and no 1/2 hour breaks needed

Others may do their shifts 11 then 11
2 fast pretrips 2 dvirs and 2 half hour breaks but you must get in the dvirs before midnite east coast time.....

That's my understanding and am open to any information that shows different.
 

TeamCaffee

Administrator
Staff member
Owner/Operator
GandJ great information and glad you backing it up with the regulations.
 

zorry

Veteran Expediter
My confusion is two fold.
I do not believe midnight comes into play.
As a solo, starting at 2200 my workday ended between 0600 and 1200. Thats when I did my Post-trip. ( anytime you do a postrip it will be before the next midnight. :) )
Also, I believe my carrier has stated that one driver can do a Pretrip, then we switch, and the other driver can do the post-trip. I may have mis- understood this point. I've always believed each driver must do his own pretrip and postrip.
 

layoutshooter

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
We both do a pre-trip and post-trip, every time we start, end or change. That ended the confusion. More covers all.
 

zorry

Veteran Expediter
G and J
You keep confusing me with the before midnight DVIR.

Let's sat I start my week at 2100 on the 1st.
I'm not going to do my first DVIR until the end of my shift, probably around 1100 the following day.
If my co-driver starts at 1100 on the second, she may work until 01:30 on the third, which is when she'd do her DVIR.
Do you agree we are doing it right ?
If not, one of us is wrong.
 

layoutshooter

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
G and J
You keep confusing me with the before midnight DVIR.

Let's sat I start my week at 2100 on the 1st.
I'm not going to do my first DVIR until the end of my shift, probably around 1100 the following day.
If my co-driver starts at 1100 on the second, she may work until 01:30 on the third, which is when she'd do her DVIR.
Do you agree we are doing it right ?
If not, one of us is wrong.

This confusion is a result of poorly written regulations. All that was needed was a couple of lines. Each driver must to a pre-trip before starting work. Each truck must have a DVIR done once in every 24 hour period during which it works.

Complicated regulations are not made with safety in mind. Complication leads to confusion which leads to mistakes. Mistakes equal revenue, which is the primary reasons for regulations such as this.
 

zorry

Veteran Expediter
This clears up two things.
If only one DVIR is needed per 24 hours, if both drivers are operating in that period, only one would need to do a DVIR.
The DVIR in my example would be needed within 24 hrs of the trip start. Not 3 hours into the trip, prior to midnight.
Anytime you do a DVIR it will be prior to the NEXT midnight.
The word midnight really doesn't need to be mentioned.
 

GandJ

Active Expediter
Don't know Zorry..... that is why i entered the code above. Some time ago I thought Terry wrote about each driver of a day having a dvir before the end of the day.
We too have had it where I have been on a little while and had to do a dvir then keep going . I always error on the side of safe. LOS is correct in that it could be written clearer for teams....
Terry is an excellent support to your question. I'm sure he will straighten it out for us.
You keep doing what you think is proper as you will have to be the one showing your logs to dot.
 

CCDriver

Active Expediter
I asked safety about the pretrip posttrip when running teams and also when they wanted the postrip done here is what was told to me. Try and do the posttrip as close to midnight as possible when you are running straight through. They also said as long as one driver is doing their pretrip then the other driver didn't have to do a pretrip. That was what they said anyways though DOT might have a bit different opinion. One thing that remains confusing is this to do DVIR you should be doing a posttrip. To do a posttrip correctly you need to be on duty which if doing a posttrip each day you would never be able to get a restart.
 
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