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THETRUCKER.COM EQUIPMENT & TECH
OCTOBER 2023 • 21
FLEET FOCUS
Keeping equipment in tip-top shape
is key to passing DOT inspection
CLIFF ABBOTT | SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Getting selected for a DOT (Department
of Transportation) inspection is a lot like going
to the dentist. Nobody looks forward to
the occurrence. The best you can hope for is
that nothing bad (or expensive) is discovered.
There’s another similarity to that dentist
visit, too. All too often, the painful results
could have been prevented by the owner, if
sensible precautions had been taken.
The reality of a DOT inspection is that
nothing is inspected that shouldn’t be regularly
inspected by the driver.
All too often, however, drivers receive
citations for simple violations like air leaks,
chafed hoses or inadequate tire tread. These
items are easy to find and fix but often go unnoticed
until pointed out by an inspector.
Thanks to the PSP (Pre-Employment
Screening Program) administered by the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA), violations noted during an inspection
can be recorded on the driver’s PSP report.
This report is ordered by prospective
employers when considering a driver’s application.
Each carrier uses the data in different
ways, but if there’s a pattern that shows the
driver doesn’t routinely inspect equipment, it
could impact the company’s decision to hire
the driver.
Then, there’s the CSA (Compliance, Safety,
Accountability) program. If you own your
own trucking business, your CSA score can
impact your ability to lease with other carriers
or do business with customers or brokers.
Still, the biggest impact of a DOT inspection
may be the time lost to the inspection
itself and making repairs, especially if those
repairs are to correct an out-of-service (OOS)
violation.
Waiting for a service truck to arrive and
replace a tire, for example, means absorbing
the cost of the service call AND the potential
revenue lost if your load can’t be delivered
on time. Losing a day to wait for another appointment
can cost more than the service
call.
The DOT lists eight levels of inspection,
but most drivers need only be concerned
with the first three.
A Level III inspection, the most common
type, examines a driver’s credentials. It seems
obvious that a driver should have a valid CDL
for the vehicle driven, along with medical
certification card when required, but drivers
are often cited for missing these. Level III
inspections usually include a review of the
record of duty status and verify that the carrier
is properly identified. Inspectors often
observe seatbelt use as well.
A Level II inspection includes those items
in Level III plus a walk-around check of the
equipment for obvious violations. Inspectors
may look at lights, listen for air leaks and
check for poor cargo securement, missing lug
nuts and other items that are easy to identify.
Level I is a full-blown inspection, where
brakes, steering and other components are
checked for wear and damage — along with
everything included in Levels II and III.
The first step in passing a DOT inspection
is to not get inspected.
While inspectors sometimes choose
trucks to inspect at random, they often
choose based on their observation of trucks
in the area. Trucks with obvious issues, such
as a burned-out headlight, are prime targets.
Trucks that have papers and trash all over
the dash and visible through the windshield
are practically volunteering for inspection.
Sometimes, inspections are the aftermath of
a traffic violation for which the driver may or
may not receive a citation.
The best defense against a bad DOT inspection,
however, is to regularly inspect
both tractor and trailer and make repairs as
necessary.
Much of this can be accomplished during
a daily pre-trip inspection. Tire tread
wear doesn’t happen overnight, but tread or
sidewall damage could easily have occurred
since the last inspection. Lights go out, wire
connections corrode, air line connections
weather and leak, hose retainers slip or break
— any number of items can change between
inspections.
Air leaks can be especially troublesome
and difficult to catch if they aren’t loud
enough to hear.
Service line leaks at the rear of the trailer,
for example, won’t show up during a walkaround
inspection, because the service
brakes aren’t being used. Unless the leak is
loud enough to hear from the cab, it can remain
undetected.
iStock Photo
Like a visit to the dentist, taking care of the daily maintenance can mean all the difference between going your way
with a good report or spending your time and money fixing the problems.
However, in cab brake-checks can help
you detect a problem. Holding down the
brake pedal while watching the gauge for
any pressure loss can tell you if the system is
leaking. It’s one of the checks a DOT inspector
will perform, so you’ll come out ahead if
you do it first.
Another in-cab air check involves pumping
the brakes to release air pressure and
then watching to see when the warning light/
buzzer activates and at what pressure the
tractor protection valve engages (pops out).
If those things aren’t happening, there’s an issue
that should be fixed as soon as possible.
It’s not uncommon for brake violations to
be discovered during a DOT inspection.
Pushrod travel is measured, and if two or
more are found to be out of adjustment, the
vehicle is placed OOS.
Brake drums and rotors are inspected
for damage, and pads and shoes checked for
wear, damage or contamination. For drivers
who never get under the truck, these checks
can be a problem.
Most modern commercial vehicles are
equipped with automatic slack adjusters, but
these can still get out of adjustment. When
they do, manufacturers recommend they be
replaced rather than manually adjusted. The
important thing is to have them inspected
regularly so problems can be identified before
a violation is discovered in a DOT inspection.
Any machinery that undergoes the stressful
conditions faced by commercial motor
vehicles should be expected to require periodic
maintenance.
Today’s trucks are built to run for many
thousands of miles before parts wear out and
need replacement, but things can and do go
wrong. Regularly inspecting your vehicle and
repairing or replacing problem parts is the
best way to minimize the likelihood of getting
shut down during a DOT inspection. 8
SALES cont. from Page 19
new trucks they have ordered. Unfortunately,
credit costs are higher and lenders, some still
reeling from the number of loan defaults, have
generally been tightening loan requirements.
Buyers may need larger down payments to secure
financing, if they qualify at all.
On the horizon is a pre-buy of 2025 and
2026 model trucks in an effort by carriers to
avoid the additional cost and unknown reliability
of 2027 models. That pre-buy could
free up more used equipment, driving average
prices downward, but how many trucks will
be sold is an unknown. In 2006, sales records
were broken as carriers stocked up to avoid
the higher fuel and maintenance costs predicted
for 2007 models. Some experts think
the 2026 pre-buy could break current records.
A Sept. 12 release from ACT Research was
entitled “Half of all commercial vehicles will
be zero emissions by 2040.” That number includes
all classes of commercial vehicles, not
just Class 8. For perspective, in August, 23,026
vehicles in Classes 4-7 were reported sold by
manufacturers. That’s roughly equivalent to
the 23,342 Class 8 trucks sold.
“We forecast a relatively low adoption
rate from 2024 through 2026, reflecting the
fact that BEV (battery-electric vehicle) sales
of commercial vehicles are still in their early
years,” said Ann Rundle, vice president of electrification
and autonomy at ACT. Rundle noted
that increasing prices for diesel trucks will
push more buyers to BEVs, along with evertightening
government regulations.
Smaller trucks running local routes and
returning to the same location daily will be
quicker to adapt BEVs with operations using
larger trucks coming on board as battery capacity
improves and charging infrastructure
is added.
As with most products, government mandates
may hurry the adoption process, but the
biggest growth will occur when businesses
project the new technology to be more cost effective
than the old. 8