Pre And Post Trip Inspections

I heard that truck drivers rarely perform the pre and post trip inspections, Is this true? I know a guy who picked up a trailer from a shipper and it had a flat tire. He insisted that instead of replacing the tire which the place said they would do for free, that rather than wasting 4 hours to change it, he would just add air and then continuing on the road to the drop destination. Once he dropped the trailer off on his post trip inspection in which he did not perform he marked the box saying the trailer was in good condition with no defects. I pointed out that the next person that got this trailer would not know about the flat tire and asked if he thought it was a good idea to just leave it for another driver to find out the hard way. He then got upset with me and and made me walk around the truck with the tire lumper and proceed to hit the tires. Am I wrong in thinking that just because he filled it with air it is still not right to leave it for the next person to find out the hard way? Do most truckers perform their inspections daily or is this just me being naive? Just curious. Happy new years by the way.

Everyone is suppose to do a pretty and post trip inspection but you do get some that dont ... If that was your trainer let it be and once you go solo make sure you do it the right way... I mean how would you feel if you was that next guy to get that trailer and you have a blow out on the interstate.... Its always a good idea to be as safe as you can even for the next person

I heard that truck drivers rarely perform the pre and post trip inspections, Is this true? I know a guy who picked up a trailer from a shipper and it had a flat tire. He insisted that instead of replacing the tire which the place said they would do for free, that rather than wasting 4 hours to change it, he would just add air and then continuing on the road to the drop destination. Once he dropped the trailer off on his post trip inspection in which he did not perform he marked the box saying the trailer was in good condition with no defects. I pointed out that the next person that got this trailer would not know about the flat tire and asked if he thought it was a good idea to just leave it for another driver to find out the hard way. He then got upset with me and and made me walk around the truck with the tire lumper and proceed to hit the tires. Am I wrong in thinking that just because he filled it with air it is still not right to leave it for the next person to find out the hard way? Do most truckers perform their inspections daily or is this just me being naive? Just curious. Happy new years by the way.

By not performing a per trip and post trip inspection it can affect your safety as well as others. If you find an issue report to your company. Don't follow the example of that driver. His job title must be ID 10 T.

Thats pretty much what i tried to tell him, i guess some people only think of themselves :(

Some trainers have no business being a trainer and are just in it for the money. Endure this training, but don't pick up this guys bad habits. You'll be solo soon and then you'll call the shots.

Some trainers have no business being a trainer and are just in it for the money. Endure this training, but don't pick up this guys bad habits. You'll be solo soon and then you'll call the shots.

Thanks this is exactly what I am trying to do, by the way he recently was in a accident. :(

Pre and post should be done daily, however there are drivers that don't. I've never post tripped a trailer except when dropping it, and it's a quick walk around to make sure tires and lights are good, if anything looks bad I notify our repair crew and DM.

I got to wait at a shipper in Newark for three hours last week due to a flat (bad valve) on a trailer I was picking up. That could have been taken care of before I got there if the last driver did a post trip. Instead, I delivered half a day later than I wanted to. Screw those who say it's the next *******'s problem. It takes a whole two minutes to check, and one more to call your road crew.

I bet that guy would have a change of attitude if he were to get 4 trailers back to back that had bad tires. Happened to Tony a couple weeks ago in Charlotte, SC, FL, and GA. He was totally hosed. They verified that the trailers had just been dropped and had not been sitting for more than 24 hrs. Company sent a safety message to all drivers reminding them of inspections and reporting.

Neither of my trainers did pre or post trips, usually because of time. They were both lease operators and felt that taking time to do a proper inspection takes money from their pocket, which I suppose it does.

It only takes a few minuets to check things out, tractor and trailer. Whats the old adage "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"