The Importance of the Pre-Trip Truck Inspection

There’s a saying that goes, “Proper preparation prevents poor performance.” When it comes to driving a semi-truck—proper preparation, in this case—a pre-trip inspection, prevents much more than poor performance. Semi-trucks are complicated pieces of heavy machinery and, as such, need to be maintained.

While it might be tempting to skip a pre-trip inspection for your semi-truck, this would be a mistake for a number of reasons. This article will cover why it’s important to conduct a pre-trip inspection of your semi-truck.

It’s legally required

A large part of being a truck driver is ensuring your vehicle is working properly and safely. This includes many types of maintenance, including semi-truck pre-trip inspections. A pre-trip inspection is required by law because it might help you find and address a problem, which could prevent injuries and damage. You should report and document any issues you find, as they would be relevant in the event of an audit.

It increases safety

Even if it wasn’t legally required, you should still perform a pre-trip inspection on your semi-truck just because it’s a good safety practice. There are many things that could go wrong when it comes to the operation of a semi-truck, and the required long-haul drives increase the amount of wear and tear. Pre-trip inspections can help you discover major safety issues like faulty brakes, underinflated tires or a loose steering wheel.

It keeps you on the road

If you’re a semi-truck driver, you understand the value of being able to stay on the road. Failing to perform a pre-trip inspection could lead to any number of preventable issues that could take you off the road and stop you from driving. Pre-trip inspections can catch small issues before they become larger problems and cause disasters like accidents, the need for roadside repairs or citations arising from safety violations, all of which could halt your ability to do your job.

It’s cost-effective

You can typically perform a pre-trip inspection while you’re on duty but not driving. This preventative maintenance step can prevent major problems by catching them when they’re small and allowing them to be remedied. This keeps you on the road and prevents you from being issued citations, both of which are beneficial to your bottom line. It also rules out the necessity of roadside repairs, which can cost as much as five times more than preventative repairs performed in the shop.

It limits liability

If you were ever to get in an accident while driving your semi-truck, it’s imperative that you have legitimate documentation proving you adequately performed a pre-trip inspection. If any repairs were needed, you should have those documented accurately as well. Having the pre-trip inspection and any necessary repairs in writing will help reduce any potential liability on your end should you ever get in an accident. Failing to perform a pre-trip inspection could mean you’d be liable if anything terrible were to happen.

Call for semi-truck service today

Now that you know how crucial it is to properly perform a pre-trip semi-truck inspection, if you have any additional issues with your vehicle, give us a call at Complete Truck Service, Inc. We’re the industry experts when it comes to semi-truck service, and we’re available for roadside service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to ensure you can get where you’re going efficiently and safely.

Categorised in: Fleet Maintenance

This post was written by Writer