Is a post trip inspection officially required by D.O.T.?

The actual regulations agree with @ZVar

§396.13 Driver 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.


It doesn't say the driver has to inspect, only that the driver is satisfied that the vehicle is in safe operating condition.

 

I always log a 15 minute pretrip and a 15 minute post trip.
Don't want any hassles.

 

how do you know if the condition is good bad or what ever without inspecting it. What i do know is to how to keep DOT off my butt, and what they want to see. You get into an accident , kill someone and tell them its not your responsibility to inspect the tractor/trailer and see how it works out.

You can not inspect a rig in less than 15 minutes.

The problem with forum is too many arm chair drivers that have never seen the inside of a truck.
Not the case here. go check anything I post with a dot officer they will back me up completely.

 

Best practice, no doubt

 

While primary correct about the issues, the post-trip does require drivers to inspect certain issues. Pre-trip a driver just must be "satisfied."

 

I agree with your point. Further I spend a lot of time in several Facebook Closed groups with good friends and other people I have networked with that are in safety depts and some people that are heavily involved with CVSA. I asked a question about part 396 in regard to the pre/post trip and record keeping. The reply I got from several people was the FMCSA and CVSA was currently OK with the current structure of part 396 and have no plans to change it. The reason is the carriers themselves have developed policies mandating these inspections and these polices are checked during FMCSA audits. Then they said all the FMCSA regulations are reviewed from time to time and if part 396 needs work the FMCSA will make changes through notice of rule making in the federal register.

Sounds to me like the feds have left this up to the carriers but are ready to act if it ever becomes a problem.

 

Do you actually perform those inspections or just log them and make it look like?

If you perform the inspection like stated, you're on the right path.
An old DOT officer in Utah once told me:"Do your walk around in the morning and you're off the hook."

Which I did already and passed that level one with a sticker for the windshield.

For those drivers who claim to save time on their 70 which could be used for driving and reaching their destination. Be honest. How many times were you dispatched to the last minute and you had no time to spare from your 70?

 

I drove in both the days before the 34 hour reset and after. Losing time on my 70 was never much of a problem for me in regard to my truck inspections or loading/unloading. If I had the hours I drove, if I did not I sit until either I finished a 34 or passed midnight and got some hours back. It was really all I could do.

 

Before elogs, I flagged a pretrip at the start of the day, and logged a 15 minute post trip at the end of the day. In 25 years of driving and through dozens of inspections, not to mention the yearly audits, I have never had a problem doing it this way.

Now with elogs, I do it exactly the same. Flag a PTI at the beginning of the shift and 15 minutes at the end.

I have been in the same truck for over two years, we have a relationship you could say. She lets me know when somethings not right by the way she behaves. I bump her tires when I fuel, make sure all the lights are working, and give her a good long look over. About two or three times a week I put on my coveralls and check her out top to bottom, front to back, guage the tires, check the fluids etc.

I take care of the equipment because the equipment keeps me safe and makes me money. I fill out the forms the way they want, because the DOT would like to take that money. This ain't brain surgery fellas.