Post Trip Inspection
Topic 25578 | Page 1
Only thing I ever log is a pre-trip. Your company policy may be different.
My company says log one "on duty" inspection per day. The national competition drivers can do a full inspection in 8 minutes, so doing anything like that is saying you are one of the best drivers in the country.
I do 15 to 20 minutes. And be advised, if you log too little.... a DOT officer has the right to say "Ok, show me how you do a full inspection including brake test in 10 minutes". Falsification of logs ticket if you cannot.
We are told 10 to 15 min at a customer, 1 min for every 10 gals of fueling, and one on duty inspection (pre, during, or post trip doesnt matter).
I dont start my 14 clock until i am leaving. i log the post trip.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Eric, a post trip? What is a post trip? (Hehe)
I only log a post trip when I drop a trailer, every time I switch trailers. Company policy: post trip when dropping, pre trip when hooking. At the end of the day I do my walk around inspection (I want to be sure nothing is on fire), thump the tires, pop the hood and then submit a DIVR, or DVIR, whatever the heck it is, and that's it. Never been called on the carpet for that, but my most thorough inspection is the PTI. When I'm doing my DVIR, I'm looking for something that needs attention right now rather than waiting 10 hours to get the repair process in motion.
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
- Underestimate body fat for older adults or other people with low muscle mass
- Overestimate body fat for people who are very muscular and physically fit
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.
Log both Pre and Post Inspections. 12 minutes each is safe.
Thanks everyone for the input! Have a great night!
Post trip. MTC:
Seems like many of you do not do this. Why?
More than once I’ve found something on my post trip walk around that would have delayed the next day start; like a blown drive seal... on the passenger side.
Five minutes is all it takes. Even if it’s not required by your company to be logged, it’s still a smart thing to-do.
I keep seeing people say that a dot officer has the right to have you show him how to do a pretrip in 5 minutes or so. I’m wondering if this as as big a misconception as the driver must fill out a dvir every day. The law is pretty clear in that it doesn’t give a specific amount of time. The only real worry would be explaining to a jury of your peers how you do it in 5 minutes when your on trial for manslaughter when you kill someone.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
My company requires a minimum of 8 minutes logged for post trip. I do just as thorough of a post trip as a pre trip. I would rather have any needed repairs made during my 10 hour break than having started my clock and have that run out while waiting on repairs to be made. I slip seat so I do what I can to not screw over the guy taking that truck the next day. I've come in a couple days to find a defect with the truck that should have been caught by the previous driver and then I'm scrambling to find a spare truck while still trying to make it out of the gate by my scheduled departure time. My company has done a great job scheduling our departure times to not conflict with the other 2 terminals or any outside vendors (beer, soda, chips etc.) Delivering to the same stores I'm going to and if I leave later than scheduled it had a domino effect and depending on the route I have that day may affect me getting back home that day.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
I keep seeing people say that a dot officer has the right to have you show him how to do a pretrip in 5 minutes or so. I’m wondering if this as as big a misconception as the driver must fill out a dvir every day. The law is pretty clear in that it doesn’t give a specific amount of time. The only real worry would be explaining to a jury of your peers how you do it in 5 minutes when your on trial for manslaughter when you kill someone.
Regs don't specify HOW LONG a pre-trip must take - just that it MUST be done, and logged.
Problem arises when a DOT agent looks at your logs and sees 5 minutes logged consistently. Odds increase that you're going to be pulled in for a Level I Inspection - with the lost time of sitting around while it happens. And if you're NOT DOING a good PTI, chances are they WILL FIND SOMETHING, maybe even something stupid that puts you OOS.
If you pop your hood, and get under to check brakes - it's gonna take at least 15 minutes to actually do a checklist.
The debate seems to be how to LOG IT - instead of WHY it's important to DO IT.
Like G says - you may see stuff that happened during the drive day, on a post trip - that will enable you to get a repair going on your 10, instead of being stuck after your break unable to drive, while waiting for a repair. Leaks, a tire that looked good when you pre-tripped, that got damaged on the drive, the mud flap that fell off, etc.
Time IS $$ - and the time you spend on an inspection (despite the 15 minutes you might "waste" on your 14), is still better than the time spent on a defect that shuts you down, or puts you OOS.
Rick
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
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This topic has the following tags:
Advice For New Truck Drivers Driver Responsibilities Electronic Logbooks Pre-trip inspection (PTI) Truck Equipment Truck Maintenance
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How long sure your post trip be in order to make dot and elogs happy? I do mine for 20 minutes but alot of people say 10 minutes is fine?
Elog:
Electronic Onboard Recorder
Electronic Logbook
A device which records the amount of time a vehicle has been driven. If the vehicle is not being driven, the operator will manually input whether or not he/she is on duty or not.
Elogs:
Electronic Onboard Recorder
Electronic Logbook
A device which records the amount of time a vehicle has been driven. If the vehicle is not being driven, the operator will manually input whether or not he/she is on duty or not.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.