Truck Topics

The Pre-trip Inspection is Your Friend

There are a number of very good reasons for you as a commercial motor vehicle driver to perform a thorough pre-trip inspection.

First, it is Federal law. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations state, " “Before driving a motor vehicle, the driver shall be satisfied that the motor vehicle is in safe operating condition……” ( 49 CFR, Part 396.13)

Add to that the risk of death and injury to yourself and others, costly breakdowns, out-of-service orders, fines, traffic jams, wasted time and the embarassment of explaining any of these occurrences to your company's safety department.

Speaking of costly breakdowns, many drivers have experienced the misery of the roadside equipment failure, particularly during inclement weather and far from a truck stop or service location where they're usually more equipped to handle the problem than road service, which costs a lot more.

Jeff Brown is a recruiter with Panther Expedited Services and a former OTR driver. He says, "The pre-trip inspection is critical and a regulatory requirement."

"A driver should always pre-trip his truck and when he stops for fuel, give it a good lookover. The driver might spot something that can be fixed there in the truckstop instead of being stuck on the side of the road. I don't think you can inspect the truck often enough."

He adds, "Anything you find in a pre-trip could, at the very least, save you some money. There are plenty of law enforcement officers out there who will happily cite you for an equipment violation such as a light out, flat tire, etc."

Pre-trip and post-trip inspections are not complicated or difficult. Isn't it worth a few minutes of your time before and after your trip to make sure your equipment is in safe operating condition?

Loyel Hershberger is a tractor-trailer expediter who says, "I am very critical when doing the pre-trip and very thorough when I do them. I feel it's the number one way of finding a potential problem or finding an existing problem."

"On the typical pre-trip, I'll spend five minutes walking around the truck and then devote fifteen minutes or so during a post-trip. We believe that the post-trip inspection will give you a better picture of the truck's condition after ten or eleven hours of driving."

He continues, "At least once a week, I'll spend at least 30-40 minutes just looking at the truck and checking it over. There have been times when I've caught a potential problem. I will take a tire guage to all the tires, not only for safety but for fuel mileage reasons as well."

"On my inspections, I start at the front on the driver's side then go all the way down that side, around the back and up the passenger's side to the front. I try to use that system every time. Also, if I'm going to be driving at night, towards dusk I stop and clean all my windows and mirrors. Then I'll turn all my lights on and do a walk around to check them. I've been able to catch burnt-out marker lights that way."

If you feel in need of a pre-trip refresher, sources would include you company's safety department, DOT officials in weigh stationsand a number of online sites. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has the information here and the Rand McNally Motor Carrier’s Atlas has an inspection chart in the front section.

Joe Hodges has a background in both OTR tractor-trailer and expedited trucking and he tells us, "I think a pre-trip is very necessary because it tells you what condition your truck is in. Anything can happen between your post-trip and the next pre-trip."

Hodges relates a story that illustrates the importance of a walk-around beore starting out: "I have an owner-operator friend who runs a tractor-trailer and he was parked in a truck stop when someone knocked on his door to ask him to move up a little. "When he got out of his truck the next morning, he found that he had moved onto some small blocks and thieves had stolen all of his outside wheels and tires on the tractor and the trailer."

He continues, "When I first started driving, I used the checklist from the Arkansas DMV and that's how I learned to do the inspection. I know some drivers who will log the pre-trip but not actually do it. That's a real bad habit to get into."

Hodges tells of how a pre-trip can save you grief: "I picked up a pre-loaded flatbed for a trip to California and during the pre-trip I discovered that one of the frame beams was cracked three-quarters of the way through. Maybe nothing would have happened to me but the next driver could have loaded a 40,000 lb. steel coil on that trailer and had it break."

Kim Neumann has worked in expediting in both a cargo van and currently, a straight truck. He says he uses a systematic approach to his pre-trip inspections regardless of vehicle size.

"Everytime I walk to my truck, I give it a visual inspection - looking underneath to see if anything is leaking, or if I left my lights burning, I check to see if they're all working. When I get fuel, I always walk around the truck and give it a once-over."

"Then I pop the hood, start the engine and do my walk-around. I do it the same way every time."

"On an inspection of my cargo van, I once found a coolant leak that turned out to be a water pump that was getting ready to go. Instead of getting stuck out on the highway under load and paying a tow bill, that pre-trip allowed me to get it fixed right there."

Pre-trip and post-trip inspections. The pro's do 'em, shouldn't you?