In this post
Your drivers probably already do a pre-trip. They walk around the truck, check the lights and the tires, and sign a sheet. The trouble starts after that. The sheet goes in a door pocket, the defect doesn't reach the shop, and the next driver takes the truck out without knowing.
This post covers what the federal rules ask of a pre-trip and a driver vehicle inspection report, where paper falls short, and what to look for if you're moving it to an app. It explains the rules. It isn't legal advice, so read them before you change your program.
Who the rules cover
The FMCSA rules apply to commercial motor vehicles, defined in 49 CFR 390.5. In short: a vehicle in interstate commerce with a gross weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, a vehicle built to carry 9 or more passengers for pay or 16 or more without pay, or a vehicle hauling hazardous materials that need placards.
Many states apply the same rules to trucks that never cross a state line. And many fleets require a written pre-trip on pickups and vans too, because it's good practice, even where no rule asks for it.
Before the trip: 396.13
49 CFR 396.13 says that before driving, the driver has to be satisfied that the vehicle is in safe operating condition. The driver reviews the last vehicle inspection report.
If the last driver noted defects, the new driver signs that report. The signature says they've seen it, and that the defects were repaired or the carrier certified a repair wasn't needed.
After the trip: the DVIR in 396.11
49 CFR 396.11 is the driver vehicle inspection report, the DVIR. At the end of each day's work, the driver reports on each vehicle driven. The report covers at least the service brakes, including the trailer brake connections, the parking brake, steering, lights and reflectors, tires, the horn, windshield wipers, mirrors, coupling devices, wheels and rims, and emergency equipment.
Since 2014, a driver of a property-carrying vehicle doesn't have to submit a DVIR when no defect is found or reported. Drivers of passenger-carrying vehicles still submit one every day, defects or not.
When a defect is reported, the carrier has to repair it, or certify that a repair isn't needed, before the vehicle is driven again. The carrier keeps the original report, the repair certification and the next driver's review for three months.
Where paper falls short
The sheet is filled out in the cab, in the dark, in the rain. Half of it is a guess at what the driver wrote.
The defect stays on the sheet. Nobody tells the shop until the sheets get turned in, if they get turned in.
The next driver doesn't see it. 396.13 says they review the last report. That's hard when it's in a stack on someone's desk.
Three months later, nobody can find it. When an inspector asks for the report and the repair, the answer is a box of paper.
What an app should do
Work with no signal. Trucks sit in yards, basements and dead zones. A check that needs a connection to start won't get done.
Open the right vehicle. Scanning a tag or a code on the truck beats picking from a list, where it's easy to check unit 14 and drive unit 41.
Ask for the odometer or hour meter. It ties the check to how the vehicle was used.
Make every item get marked, with a photo when one fails. A blank line is a question nobody can answer later.
Send a defect to someone. A failed item should become a repair with an owner, not a note.
Stop the vehicle when it should stop. Some defects mean it doesn't move until it's fixed. The app should hold it out of service until a repair is signed off.
Keep the whole chain together. The driver's report, the repair, the certification and the next driver's review, in one record, with names and times. FMCSA's rules allow electronic records and signatures, under 49 CFR 390.32.
Be easy for drivers. Big buttons, plain words, and their own language. If it's slower than paper, they'll go back to paper.
Questions to ask before you buy
- What happens on the driver's phone when there's no signal, start to finish?
- Who gets told when a driver fails an item, and how fast?
- Can a defect take the vehicle out of service, and who can put it back?
- Can I pull every check and every repair for one vehicle in one place?
- Can I export the records for an audit, without calling you?
- What does it cost per driver, and does it charge for the people who only look at reports?
Where PortalBase fits
PortalBase runs the pre-trip on the driver's phone, in English or Spanish, and it works with no signal. Scan the QR code on the truck to start its check. A failed step takes a photo and becomes a repair with an owner. A failed critical step can take the truck out of service, and it can't be inspected or assigned again until it's repaired and released. Each vehicle keeps its own history of checks and repairs.
Whether a setup meets 396.11 for your fleet is your call. Start with the free sheet at portalbaseai.com/tools/vehicle-pre-trip-inspection-checklist, read the guide at portalbaseai.com/guides/pre-trip-inspection-guide, or see the app at portalbaseai.com/products/inspections.
Sources
49 CFR 390.5, definitions, 390.32, electronic documents and signatures, 396.11, driver vehicle inspection reports, and 396.13, driver inspection, at ecfr.gov.
This post explains the federal rules. It isn't legal advice. States can set their own rules for vehicles that stay in the state, so check yours.