December 23, 2023
The pre-trip inspection checklist is the most significant step before the trucks head out with the supplies. The truck pre-trip inspection checklist allows the trucking company and the driver to get their hands on any issue before getting the truck on the road. This is known to be the most crucial aspect as it brings a lot of advantages and safety precautions in the trucking business. With the help of a checklist, the drivers and trucking business owners can prevent accidents, increase safety, limit downtime, and get the drivers to their destination as per the schedule.
The government department dealing with transportation inspection requires the truckers to perform a pre-trip inspection before carrying the haul. There are certain documents that the truckers need to sign to ensure that all the truck parts are in working condition, if not then the truck needs to be repaired.
There are several reasons why the government urges the pre-trip inspection, but the two most crucial reasons are mentioned below.
The pre-trip inspection keeps the drivers and others safe on the road. Since the trucks are heavy-duty vehicles, they can cause fatal, long-lasting damage if an accident occurs while the haul is being carried on the road. As per the facts, truck driving is the 7th most dangerous job in America and US. One of the prime reasons for these life-costing accidents is not doing the vehicle inspection before driving the trucks on the road.
Unfortunately, even after the truck inspection is done, an accident can still occur on the road. If a motorist or driver is hurt, the company will need to prove in court that they took all the necessary precautions to ensure everyone was safe on the road. The official papers proving that pre-trip inspection has been done are highly necessary for a trucking company, as they prove that the company and the driver took all the necessary precautions that were supposed to be taken. The company can prove that they were compliant with the law and there is no negligence from there side.
The Federal Transportation Department keeps a regular check of whether the company and the driver are compliant with the laws and orders. They rate the drivers and fleet managers to see if they are following all the rules and policies or not.
When a driver is not following the rules, they receive a violent note from the department. The note depends upon the certain number of points depending upon the regulation. If the fleet company acquires many points, then it becomes flagged, and it becomes the priority of the department to intervene and assess. If an accident occurs on the road, the lawyers will want to see the pre-trip inspection report, and if the company is unable to provide it they can be fined and be charged guilty for showing the negligence. Not only this but if the company can provide the report but the report states that the inspection time was 10 minutes or less, then again, this will mark a red flag for the company as to how the driver was able to inspect the entire truck in 10 minutes or less.
Fleet managers who do not ask for completely fulfilled inspection reports can get into trouble. This whole negligence can be very costly for the fleet manager as failure to perform daily pre-inspection can lead to the loss of certifications, licenses, money, and in severe cases, the loss of jobs and businesses. The pre-trip inspection takes only 30 minutes, and failure to invest this time in doing it can lead to timeless repercussions for the fleet manager and driver.
CDL pre-trip inspection checklist is an important part of the driver's training. To get one hands-on entry-level truck driving job, the driver needs to pass a pre-trip inspection test. With in CDL pre-trip inspection checklist, the driver demonstrates their knowledge by walking around the vehicle, checking various safety components, and explaining why each part needs to be checked and why. With in CDL pre-trip checklist, the safety inspection consists of checking the coupling system, vehicle lights, engine compartments, tires, brakes, chassis, fuel tanks, and an in-cab inspection.
Below is a brief description of what important things are looked upon during the safety inspection in the pre-trip inspection CDL checklist.
The driver will be checking the engine compartment for any sort of leaks. The driver will also be checking if all compartments are properly mounted and secured.
The driver will be standing alongside the tractor and will perform a series of checks on the mirrors, fuel tanks, batteries, exhaust system, and more. The driver will make sure that nothing is broken, bent, or cracked.
The driver will be standing where the trailer and tractor are connected and will check the electrical lines and airlines to make sure they are accurately mounted and secured on both sides.
During the CDL pre-trip checklist, the driver will inspect the trailer at the headboard and the front wall of the trailer. The driver needs to make sure that there are no dead holes or missing rivets.
In the CDL pre-trip inspection checklist the driver will be checking the lights on the trailer and the tractor. Make sure to check the reflectors and reflective tape to make sure they are properly mounted, secured, and not cracked, bent, or broken. The driver should check there is proper amber color to the front and sides and red to the rear.
The in-cab inspection and air brake check will cover the various gauges and systems inside the cab, along with several tests to make sure that the air brake systems are working properly.
Ensuring that the vehicle and driver's safety is the top priority. So, every vehicle should be properly examined and any defects should be found before bringing the truck on the road.
Inspection of the vehicles can eliminate the risks like breakdowns or severe accidents. It will ensure smooth and on-time operations.
Completion of the pre-trip inspection CDL checklist takes around 15 to 30 minutes, but fixing breakdowns and paying fines requires money and time. So it's wiser to prioritize safety rather than face severe drawbacks.
The completion of orders on time and ensuring smooth operations leads to good customer service. Hence the CDL pre-trip checklist helps the trucking company to offer quality customer service just over the expense of 15 to 30 minutes of inspection time.
Driving a truck is far more challenging than it looks. It requires polished skills, self-confidence, and experience. Without the CDL pre-trip inspection checklist, several more problems and challenges can arise, which can shiver the driver's confidence. The driver can mistakenly get into trouble and problems with shattered confidence.
The trucking company and owner-operators need to keep up with the inspection data. There are a lot of areas to be marked to complete the pre-trip inspection. To keep up with the data there are inspection forms in the form of the paper sheet and form of mobile apps.
The paper forms are easy to use, but missing paperwork or lost paperwork can become an after-issue for the trucking company and driver. There is no doubt that all types of employees can easily understand working with paper forms, but there is a lot of margin for loss and errors associated with the manual inspection form.
Beyond the basic benefits of using mobile apps, several advanced features are of great help during the pre-trip inspection. For example, managing and showing the driver’s schedules and delivery schedules, barcode scanning, signature capture, and GPS capture can help track all the deliveries and maintain business records.
In short, it is safe to say that mobile apps are the better way of filling out inspection forms. There is no tension of losing the documents, storing the documents, etc. The digitized way is an efficient and time-saving way of filling, storing, and maintaining the inspection data. For those businesses who want to modernize their processes using mobile apps, a crucial feature will be the ability to customize the app to meet their business requirements. There are several app builders like GoCanvas, which allows the creation of pre-trip inspection forms and checklists which are deployed to the workers to complete via the mobile app. This is best suited for all the workers working in different locations to work and hold data smoothly while maintaining the standards, too.
At last, it can be concluded that the CDL pre-trip inspection is one of the most important needs of the trucking business. The pre-trip inspection is like a jewel in the crown of the trucking business. If the jewel is missing, the beauty of the crow fades. Likewise, without the pre-trip inspection, the trucking business has troubles and flaws. There is the risk of safety, protection, poor customer service, etc. Not only this but a trucking company without the pre-trip inspection does not fall compliant with the policies and rules. This can be a big issue as it can lead to the imposition of government charges and fines on the trucking company and driver.
Lack of CDL pre-trip inspection also poses risks to common people on the road as there can be accidents causing loss of lives and severe damage due to un-serviced or damaged parts of the truck. This entire tragedy poses a risk to the job of the poor driver and the functioning of the trucking company. Hence, to avoid such consequences, a trucking company owner should never neglect a few minutes of inspection. These few minutes of inspection can be a savior for the trucking company, driver, and other people on the road. It can lead to increased profits as there will be better customer service provided, which will gain customer support and demand for the company, which will add nothing but prosperity to one's trucking business.
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