Pretrip and Post-Trip Inspection General Information

Regulations in both Canada and the United States clearly indicate that it is the driver's responsibility to perform an inspection and ensure the complete road-worthiness of a vehicle, before placing it into service for the day. Commercial vehicles may be subject to inspection by authorized inspectors, and an unsafe vehicle can be put "out of service" until the driver or owner repairs it.

Use the pretrip inspection checklist to ensure that vehicle components are in good working condition before each trip. Use the weekly and monthly post-trip inspection checklists to note any items that require attention before the next trip. A driver that is familiar with the vehicle, and drives it regularly, can perform the daily inspections, then add the weekly and monthly post-trip inspections as scheduled. If the driver does not operate the vehicle on a consistent basis, all three of the inspection procedures should be performed before the trip.

Pretrip and post-trip inspections cannot be done quickly. However, careful inspections save time by eliminating stops later to adjust items overlooked or forgotten.

Numbers in parentheses within each of the checklists reference the corresponding detailed instructions found under "Daily (D), Weekly (W), or Monthly (M) Procedures in Chapter 12 .

If any system or component does not pass this inspection, it must be corrected before operating the vehicle. Whenever equipment requires adjustment, replacement, repair, addition of lubricants, or a change of lubricants, see the Walk-In Van Chassis Maintenance Manual for procedures and specifications, or take the vehicle to an authorized Freightliner dealer.