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

Regulations Section

Question 25: Section 396.11requires the driver, at the completion of each day’s work, to prepare a written report on each vehicle operated that day. Does this section require a "post trip inspection" of the kind described in §396.15?

Guidance: No. However, the written report must include all defects in the parts and accessories listed in §396.11(a) that were discovered by or reported to the driver during that day.

 

§ 396.15 Driveaway-towaway operations and inspections.
(a)General. Effective December 7, 1989, every motor carrier, with respect to motor vehicles engaged in driveaway-towaway operations, shall comply with the requirements of this part. Exception: Maintenance records required by § 396.3, the vehicle inspection report required by § 396.11, and the periodic inspection required by § 396.17 of this part shall not be required for any vehicle which is part of the shipment being delivered.

(b)Pre-trip inspection. Before the beginning of any driveaway-towaway operation of motor vehicles in combination, the motor carrier shall make a careful inspection and test to ascertain that:

(1) The tow-bar or saddle-mount connections are properly secured to the towed and towing vehicle;

(2) They function adequately without cramping or binding of any of the parts; and

(3) The towed motor vehicle follows substantially in the path of the towing vehicle without whipping or swerving.

(c)Post-trip inspection. Motor carriers shall maintain practices to ensure that following completion of any trip in driveaway-towaway operation of motor vehicles in combination, and before they are used again, the tow-bars and saddle-mounts are disassembled and inspected for worn, bent, cracked, broken, or missing parts. Before reuse, suitable repair or replacement shall be made of any defective parts and the devices shall be properly reassembled.

[ 44 FR 38526, July 2, 1979, as amended at 53 FR 49410, Dec. 7, 1988; 53 FR 49968, Dec. 12, 1988; 78 FR 58485, Sept. 24, 2013]

 

§ 396.11 Driver 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.

(i) The report must 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 a driver operates more than one vehicle during the day, a report must be prepared for each vehicle operated. The driver of a passenger-carrying CMV subject to this regulation must prepare and submit a report even if no defect or deficiency is discovered by or reported to the driver; the drivers of all other commercial motor vehicles are not required to prepare or submit a report if no defect or deficiency is discovered by or reported to the driver.

(ii) The driver must 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.


You are using the guidance that prevents confusing driveaway-towaway operations inspections with regular post-trip truck inspections and confusing the whole situation. The FMSCA clearly wants regular truck drivers to inspect and fill out a DVIR before the finish of the work day.

 

A

 

Nope 396.11 isn’t concerning driveaway-towaway. You can either believe the guidance or not, and if you want to do a full inspection that’s fine, it’s just not required by Regs or guidance.

 

396.11 concerns driveway-towaway and general trucking!

396.15 concerns only driveway-towaway.

It is not about believing the guidance. It is about your reading of it.

If your not involved in driveway-towaway trucking you don't have to post-trip as described int 396.15. You do however have to post-trip as in 396.11, as always.

Work on that reading.

 

Almost. Flag only applies to time increments of 7.5 minutes or fewer. Anything over 7.5 minutes must be logged to the next 15 minute hashmark.

First there is no 15 minute requirement whatsoever.
Second, wow you make it very easy--- for a jury to convict you after a fatality crash.... What do you do, just roll out of bed and turn the key and go? Figure on inspecting later on in the day? If you say you walk around and inspect but do not log it, then that is log falsification right there. Welcome to Rikers.

 

Actually, that is incorrect. If you read the guidance, anything that takes less than 15 minutes is supposed to be flagged with the amount of time that it took noted. In other words, if you stop driving and spend 10 minutes checking your load, you can simply flag that location and write "10 minutes". At the end of the day, remember to properly allocate that flagged time to the appropriate lines. In other words, you could have 12 hours showing on the line 3 graph, but because of 4 load checks and 2 potty breaks that were each 10 minutes, you'd be legal because you only drove 11 hours.

 

Folks stop trying to use the Regs in this matter. Go by what your carrier wants. When it comes to newbies remember to keep it simple. In this matter simple is to listen in those log classes and go by what that carrier wants. As a driver IF your carrier expects to see that PTI logged then it is required. Go ahead and tell that person in safety during a log audt that since the FMCSA don't require a PTI they can't say you have to. See how long that plays out. When I drove for WSE I was sitting in the Safety Office speaking to the man that run safety. In the next office a driver was telling safety that the FMCSA did not require---- (I never really found out what the fuss was about.) The conversation got heated and I was asked to leave.