General Knowledge: Vehicle Inspections

56 questions in the bank cover this topic. Everything below is drawn from the sources those questions cite.

Sources: 49 CFR 392.7, 49 CFR 392.8, 49 CFR 393.11, 49 CFR 393.24, 49 CFR 393.25, 49 CFR 393.26, 49 CFR 393.60, 49 CFR 393.62, 49 CFR 393.65, 49 CFR 393.75, 49 CFR 393.78, 49 CFR 393.9, 49 CFR 396 Appendix A, 49 CFR 396.11, 49 CFR 396.13, 49 CFR 396.3, 49 CFR 396.7, 49 CFR 397.17, 49 CFR 399.207

What you need to know

396.13 sets three duties before driving: be satisfied the vehicle is in safe operating condition, review the last DVIR where one is required, and sign to acknowledge the review and the repair certification.

The written report required by 396.11 comes at the end of the day's work, not before departure. The review is required where 396.11(a)(2)(i) applies, and the signature acknowledges that repairs were certified.

Before driving a motor vehicle, the driver shall: (a) Be satisfied that the motor vehicle is in safe operating condition; (b) Review the last driver vehicle inspection report if required by § 396.11(a)(2)(i); and (c) Sign the report to acknowledge that the driver has reviewed it and that there is a certification that the required repairs have been performed.

49 CFR 396.13

396.11(a)(1) requires a written report at the completion of each day's work on each vehicle operated.

If a driver operates more than one vehicle in a day, a report is required for each.

Every motor carrier shall require its drivers to report, and every driver shall prepare a report in writing at the completion of each day's work on each vehicle operated.

49 CFR 396.11

396.11(a)(2)(i) states that drivers are not required to prepare a report if no defect or deficiency is discovered by or reported to the driver.

Note this does not remove the 396.13 duty to review the last report where one exists.

Drivers are not required to prepare a report if no defect or deficiency is discovered by or reported to the driver.

49 CFR 396.11

396.11(a)(1) lists eleven items, including coupling devices, rear vision mirrors and wheels and rims.

Engine oil level is not among them, though 396.3 separately requires all parts and accessories to be in safe operating condition.

The report shall cover at least the following parts and accessories: (i) Service brakes including trailer brake connections; (ii) Parking brake; (iii) Steering mechanism; (iv) Lighting devices and reflectors; (v) Tires; (vi) Horn; (vii) Windshield wipers; (viii) Rear vision mirrors; (ix) Coupling devices; (x) Wheels and rims; (xi) Emergency equipment.

49 CFR 396.11

396.11(a)(4) sets three months from the date the written report was prepared.

The one-year figure in 396.3(c) applies to the separate inspection, repair and maintenance records.

Every motor carrier shall maintain the driver vehicle inspection report, the certification of repairs, and the certification of the driver's review for three months from the date the written report was prepared.

49 CFR 396.11

396.7(b) permits continued operation only to the nearest place where repairs can safely be effected, and only where that is less hazardous to the public than leaving the vehicle on the highway.

Distance limits and hazard flashers do not create an exception. And only where that is less hazardous than leaving the vehicle where it is.

Any motor vehicle discovered to be in an unsafe condition while being operated on the highway may be continued in operation only to the nearest place where repairs can safely be effected. Such operation shall be conducted only if it is less hazardous to the public than to permit the vehicle to remain on the highway.

49 CFR 396.7

396.3(a)(1) requires parts and accessories to be in safe and proper operating condition at all times, not merely at inspection points or trip start.

Parts and accessories shall be in safe and proper operating condition at all times.

49 CFR 396.3

396.3(a)(2) requires inspection at least every 90 days for these bus components.

Pushout windows, emergency doors, and emergency door marking lights in buses shall be inspected at least every 90 days.

49 CFR 396.3

392.7(a) places the duty on the driver: the vehicle shall not be driven unless the driver is satisfied the listed parts and accessories are in good working order, and the driver must also use them when needed.

No commercial motor vehicle shall be driven unless the driver is satisfied that the following parts and accessories are in good working order, nor shall any driver fail to use or make use of such parts and accessories when and as needed.

49 CFR 392.7

392.8 requires the driver to be satisfied that the emergency equipment required by 393.95 is in place and ready for use, and to use it when needed.

No commercial motor vehicle shall be driven unless the driver thereof is satisfied that the emergency equipment required by § 393.95 of this subchapter is in place and ready for use; nor shall any driver fail to use or make use of such equipment when and as needed.

49 CFR 392.8

393.75(b) requires at least 4/32 of an inch on front wheels of a bus, truck or truck tractor.

393.75(c) sets 2/32 of an inch for other tires. Measurements must not be taken where tie bars, humps or fillets are located.

Any tire on the front wheels of a bus, truck, or truck tractor shall have a tread groove pattern depth of at least 4/32 of an inch when measured at any point on a major tread groove.

49 CFR 393.75

393.75(c) sets 2/32 of an inch for tires other than the front wheels covered by 393.75(b), which require 4/32.

Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, tires shall have a tread groove pattern depth of at least 2/32 of an inch when measured in a major tread groove.

49 CFR 393.75

393.75(a) prohibits operation on a tire with exposed ply or belt material, any tread or sidewall separation, a flat or audible leak, or a cut exposing ply or belt.

A cut that does not reach the ply or belt is not listed as a prohibited condition, though 396.3 still requires safe condition. Exposure of the ply or belt is what makes it out of service.

No motor vehicle shall be operated on any tire that— (1) Has body ply or belt material exposed through the tread or sidewall, (2) Has any tread or sidewall separation, (3) Is flat or has an audible leak, or (4) Has a cut to the extent that the ply or belt material is exposed.

49 CFR 393.75

393.75(d) prohibits regrooved, recapped or retreaded tires on bus front wheels.

A separate rule in 393.75(e) restricts certain regrooved tires on the front wheels of trucks and truck tractors.

No bus shall be operated with regrooved, recapped or retreaded tires on the front wheels.

49 CFR 393.75

397.17(a) requires examination at the beginning of each trip and each time the vehicle is parked.

This is stricter than the general inspection duties in Part 396. Both occasions, not just the pre-trip.

A driver must examine each tire on a motor vehicle at the beginning of each trip and each time the vehicle is parked

49 CFR 397.17

397.17(c) requires the overheated tire to be removed immediately and placed at a safe distance from the vehicle, and prohibits operating the vehicle until the cause of the overheating is corrected.

Merely letting it cool is not compliance. You may not operate the vehicle until the cause of the overheating has been corrected.

If, as the result of an examination pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, or otherwise, a tire is found to be overheated, the driver shall immediately cause the overheated tire to be removed and placed at a safe distance from the vehicle. The driver shall not operate the vehicle until the cause of the overheating is corrected

49 CFR 397.17

393.9(a) requires required lamps to be operable at all times.

The qualification is only that auxiliary or additional lamps, which the rules do not require, need not meet this.

All lamps required by this subpart shall be capable of being operated at all times.

49 CFR 393.9

393.9(b) names the tailboard, the load, its covering, dirt, added equipment, and then 'or otherwise'.

Dirt is listed explicitly, which is why wiping the lamps is part of a proper walk-around.

Lamps and reflective devices/material required by this subpart must not be obscured by the tailboard, or by any part of the load, or its covering by dirt, or other added vehicle or work equipment, or otherwise.

49 CFR 393.9

393.9(b) carves out only the conspicuity treatment on front end protection devices, a headache rack.

Everything else must stay visible. Part of the load may cover it.

Exception: The conspicuity treatments on the front end protection devices may be obscured by part of the load being transported.

49 CFR 393.9

393.25(a) requires secure mounting on a rigid part.

Temporary lamps used for a projecting load are the exception and attach to the load itself. Temporary lamps are secured to the load instead.

All lamps shall be securely mounted on a rigid part of the vehicle. Temporary lamps must be securely mounted to the load and are not required to be mounted to a permanent part of the vehicle.

49 CFR 393.25

393.24(a) requires both beams, driver-selectable, and steady-burning.

Steady-burning matters: a flashing white light forward would read as an emergency vehicle.

The headlamps shall provide an upper and lower beam distribution of light, selectable at the driver's will and be steady-burning.

49 CFR 393.24

393.24(a) rules them out explicitly.

Fog and driving lamps have different beam patterns and are additions, not replacements.

Auxiliary driving lamps and/or front fog lamps may not be used to satisfy the requirements of this paragraph.

49 CFR 393.24

393.26(a) refers to a 381 mm, or 15 inch, minimum height, with a practicability allowance where the vehicle's construction makes it impossible.

None of the figures offered is the one the rule gives.

In the case of motor vehicles so constructed that requirement for a 381 mm (15-inch) minimum height above the road surface is not practical, the reflectors shall be mounted as close as practicable to the required mounting height range.

49 CFR 393.26

393.11(a)(1) applies FMVSS No.

108 as in effect at manufacture. FMVSS 121 is air brakes, 111 is mirrors and 217 is bus emergency exits.

All commercial motor vehicles manufactured on or after December 25, 1968, must, at a minimum, meet the applicable requirements of 49 CFR 571.108 (FMVSS No. 108) in effect at the time of manufacture of the vehicle.

49 CFR 393.11

399.207(a) requires three points of contact at any time, including during transitions between positions.

This is the origin of the three-points-of-contact rule every driver is taught. Three points of contact is the rule.

Any person entering or exiting the cab or accessing the rear portion of a high profile COE truck or truck-tractor shall be afforded sufficient steps and handholds, and/or deck plates to allow the user to have at least 3 limbs in contact with the truck or truck-tractor at any time.

49 CFR 399.207

399.207(b)(2)(ii) caps the first step at 609 mm, or 24 inches.

Above that, a person cannot reach it from the ground in a controlled way, which is how falls from cabs happen.

The vertical height of the first step shall be no more than 609 millimeters (24 inches) from ground level.

49 CFR 399.207

399.207(a) requires one intermediate step sized for two feet, so the climber can change their climbing sequence without losing contact.

It is there specifically to let you reposition safely.

the step design shall include, as a minimum, one intermediate step of sufficient size to accommodate two feet

49 CFR 399.207

399.207(a) drops the requirement if you never need to climb up, because the coupling connections are reachable from the ground.

The equipment exists to make a necessary climb safe, not for its own sake. Air and electrical connections both.

If air and electrical connections necessary to couple or uncouple a truck-tractor from a trailer are accessible from the ground, no step, handholds or deck plates are required to permit access to the rear of the cab.

49 CFR 399.207

393.60(d) sets 70 percent for the windshield and the windows immediately right and left of the driver.

The restriction does not apply to the other windows on the vehicle. None of the figures offered is the one the rule gives.

Coloring or tinting of windshields and the windows to the immediate right and left of the driver is allowed, provided the parallel luminous transmittance through the colored or tinted glazing is not less than 70 percent

49 CFR 393.60

393.60(e)(1)(i) sets 152 mm, which is 6 inches, from the top, and requires it to be clear of both the wiper sweep and the driver's sight lines to the road and to signs and signals.

It must also sit outside the wiper sweep and outside your sight lines.

Antennas, and similar devices must not be mounted more than 152 mm (6 inches) below the upper edge of the windshield. These devices must be located outside the area swept by the windshield wipers, and outside the driver's sight lines to the road and highway signs and signals.

49 CFR 393.60

393.60(e)(2) allows the bottom or sides, extending no more than 115 mm, about 4.5 inches, from the bottom, and outside both the wiper sweep and the driver's sight lines.

It must also stay within the stated limits for size and position.

Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) inspection decals, and stickers and/or decals required under Federal or State laws may be placed at the bottom or sides of the windshield

49 CFR 393.60

393.60(b) requires full-periphery mounting.

A windshield held only at points can be pushed out in a crash, and it contributes to cab structural strength. This applies to each panel separately on a multi-piece windshield.

Each bus, truck and truck-tractor shall be equipped with a windshield. Each windshield or portion of a multi-piece windshield shall be mounted using the full periphery of the glazing material.

49 CFR 393.60

393.78(b) requires power-driven wipers with at least two blades.

Vehicles built on or after 25 December 1968 must instead meet FMVSS No. 104 for both wiping and washing. One blade each side of the windshield centreline.

Each truck, truck-tractor, and bus manufactured between June 30, 1953, and December 24, 1968, shall be equipped with a power-driven windshield wiping system with at least two wiper blades, one on each side of the centerline of the windshield.

49 CFR 393.78

393.78(b) targets a specific failure: on a vacuum system, accelerating drops manifold vacuum and the wipers slow or stop, exactly when you may need them most.

Their performance must hold regardless.

Motor vehicles which depend upon vacuum to operate the windshield wipers, shall have the wiper system constructed and maintained such that the performance of the wipers will not be adversely affected by a change in the intake manifold pressure.

49 CFR 393.78

393.60(c) defines the critical area by reference to the steering wheel top, with small borders excluded.

It is the area you actually look through at road level. A 1 inch border at each side is excluded as well.

each windshield shall be free of discoloration or damage in the area extending upward from the height of the top of the steering wheel (excluding a 51 mm (2 inch) border at the top of the windshield) and extending from a 25 mm (1 inch) border at each side

49 CFR 393.60

393.65(b)(3) designs out the ignition path: fuel running down the side of the vehicle must not reach the hot exhaust or anything electrical.

The fuel level indicator assembly is the one permitted exception.

Fuel spilled vertically from a fuel tank while it is being filled will not contact any part of the exhaust or electrical systems of the vehicle, except the fuel level indicator assembly

49 CFR 393.65

393.62(a) applies FMVSS No.

217 for emergency exits. FMVSS 205 covers glazing, 104 covers wipers and washers, and 121 covers air brakes.

Each bus with a GVWR of more than 4,536 kg (10,000 pounds) must have emergency exits which meet the applicable emergency exit requirements of FMVSS No. 217

49 CFR 393.62

396 Appendix A item 3.a targets leaks that can put exhaust into the cab.

Carbon monoxide is odourless, so the driver may not notice until impaired, which is why the location matters more than the size. That is where the fumes reach you.

Any exhaust system determined to be leaking at a point forward of or directly below the driver/sleeper compartment.

49 CFR 396 Appendix A

396 Appendix A item 3.c is about fire.

An exhaust routed near wiring or fuel lines is an ignition source running at several hundred degrees. Charring counts as damage for this purpose.

No part of the exhaust system of any motor vehicle shall be so located as would be likely to result in burning, charring, or damaging the electrical wiring, the fuel supply, or any combustible part of the motor vehicle.

49 CFR 396 Appendix A

396 Appendix A item 4.b lists it directly.

An open filler is a spill and vapour path, and the list also covers any visible leak and a tank not securely attached.

A fuel tank filler cap missing.

49 CFR 396 Appendix A

396 Appendix A item 4.c notes the designed-in movement explicitly.

The defect is failed mounting hardware, not movement itself, which is a distinction a careless inspection gets wrong. Springs and rubber bushings are fitted to permit it. The defect is loose, broken or missing bolts or brackets.

A fuel tank not securely attached to the motor vehicle by reason of loose, broken or missing mounting bolts or brackets (some fuel tanks use springs or rubber bushings to permit movement).

49 CFR 396 Appendix A

396 Appendix A item 9.a(1) lists all four.

Sagging is included because a frame that has deformed without cracking has already lost strength.

Any cracked, broken, loose, or sagging frame member.

49 CFR 396 Appendix A

396 Appendix A item 9.b includes contact caused by loading, so a vehicle that passes empty can fail loaded.

Frame contact with a rotating tire destroys the tire quickly. Including where the loading itself is what causes the contact.

Any condition, including loading, that causes the body or frame to be in contact with a tire or any part of the wheel assemblies.

49 CFR 396 Appendix A

396 Appendix A item 9.c(1) fails pins that are missing OR not engaged.

Pins that look present but have not dropped into their holes let the axle slide under braking, which changes weight distribution without warning.

Adjustable axle assembly with locking pins missing or not engaged.

49 CFR 396 Appendix A

396 Appendix A item 11.a lists six conditions, including mismatched.

A ring that does not belong to that rim can release explosively when the tire is inflated.

Lock or Side Ring. Bent, broken, cracked, improperly seated, sprung or mismatched ring(s).

49 CFR 396 Appendix A

396 Appendix A item 11.c covers six conditions and ends with 'otherwise ineffective', so a fastener that is present and intact but not doing its job still fails.

Or otherwise ineffective.

Any loose, missing, broken, cracked, stripped or otherwise ineffective fasteners.

49 CFR 396 Appendix A

396 Appendix A item 11.d(3) bars any welded repair on an aluminum steering axle wheel.

Welding alters aluminum's heat treatment and the steering axle is where a wheel failure is least survivable. Welded repairs are not accepted there at all.

Any welded repair on aluminum wheel(s) on a steering axle.

49 CFR 396 Appendix A

396 Appendix A item 12 allows narrow limits: a crack under a quarter inch wide that no other crack intersects, and a damaged area under three quarters of an inch kept three inches from any other.

Intersecting cracks are excluded because they propagate. The full rule adds conditions: the crack must not be intersected by another, and the damage must be at least 3 inches from any other damage.

any crack not over

49 CFR 396 Appendix A

396 Appendix A item 13 covers both not working and working ineffectively.

A wiper that sweeps but does not clear the glass has not done its job.

Any power unit that has an inoperative wiper, or missing or damaged parts that render it ineffective.

49 CFR 396 Appendix A

396 Appendix A item 5 states it in one line: everything Part 393 requires must work.

There is no allowance for a proportion being out. No proportion, and no daylight exception.

All lighting devices and reflectors required by part 393 shall be operable.

49 CFR 396 Appendix A

392.7(a) lists twelve items and these are the first three.

The duty is yours and the words are 'is satisfied', so it is not discharged by somebody else's signature.

Service brakes, including trailer brake connections. Parking (hand) brake. Steering mechanism.

49 CFR 392.7

All three, and they share a theme: each is how you either see a hazard or warn somebody about it.

Losing any one makes you less able to avoid a collision, not merely less comfortable.

Tires. Horn. Windshield wiper or wipers. Rear-vision mirror or mirrors.

49 CFR 392.7

All three.

Emergency equipment sits on the same list as the coupling because a breakdown is exactly when you need it, and a coupling failure is one of the ways you get one.

Coupling devices. Wheels and rims. Emergency equipment.

49 CFR 392.7

392.7(b) adds an intermodal list on top of the ordinary one, and it is heavy on connection points because those are what fail on equipment you did not load and have never seen before.

Air line connections, hoses, and couplers —King pin upper coupling device —Rails or support frames —Tie down bolsters —Locking pins, clevises, clamps, or hooks

49 CFR 392.7

392.7(b) is a deeming provision.

Driving away IS the confirmation, so an inspection you did not actually perform still counts as one you certified. That is why the walk-around matters more on a strange chassis than on your own tractor. Driving away IS the confirmation, whether or not you looked.

Drivers who operate the equipment over the road shall be deemed to have confirmed the following components were in good working order when the driver accepted the equipment

49 CFR 392.7

396.11(a)(1) lists eleven parts and all three are on it.

You only have to prepare the report if you found a defect, but the inspection behind it is not optional.

Service brakes including trailer brake connections; (ii) Parking brake; (iii) Steering mechanism;

49 CFR 396.11

Check yourself

• What must you do before driving?

• When does the rule require your vehicle inspection report to be prepared?

• What is the consequence if you find no defects at the end of the day?

• What is NOT among the items the rule requires your vehicle inspection report to cover?

• What is the retention period for your vehicle inspection report?

• What may you do when you discover an unsafe condition on the highway?

• When must the parts and accessories on your vehicle be in safe and proper operating condition?

• What is the inspection interval for pushout windows, emergency doors and emergency door marking lights on your bus?

• Who is responsible for being satisfied that required parts and accessories are in order?

• What must you confirm about emergency equipment before driving?

• The minimum tread groove depth on your truck tractor's front wheels is ______.

• The minimum tread groove depth on tires other than the front wheels is ______.

• Which tire condition may you operate on?

• What tire restriction applies to the front wheels of your bus?

• How often must you examine the tires on a hazardous materials vehicle?

• What three things are required when you find an overheated tire?

• What is required of the lamps the regulations call for?

• What is counted as obscuring a required lamp?

• What is the single exception to the rule against obscuring required lamps and reflective material?

• How must lamps be mounted?

• What is required of headlamps?

• May auxiliary driving lamps or fog lamps substitute for required headlamps?

• Reflex reflectors must be mounted at least ______ above the road surface.

• What standard sets your lamp requirements for CMVs built on or after 25 December 1968?

• What contact standard do the step and handhold requirements in the rule set?

• The first step from ground level may be no higher than ______.

• What is required of at least one intermediate step?

• When is no rear-of-cab access equipment required?

• What minimum light transmittance must a tinted windshield or front side window allow?

• Where may an antenna or similar device be mounted on the inside of the windshield?

• Where may a CVSA inspection decal or a legally required sticker be placed?

• What must you check about windshield mounting?

• What is the windshield wiping system your vehicle must have?

• What problem does the rule address for vacuum-operated wipers?

• What part of the windshield must be free of discoloration or damage?

• What is required of fuel spilled while filling?

• What is the standard that governs emergency exits on your bus over 4,536 kg GVWR?

• Where is an exhaust leak automatically a defect?

• What two things does your exhaust system standard protect against?

• Is a missing fuel filler cap a defect?

• Is slight movement of a fuel tank on its mounts automatically a defect?

• Which frame conditions are defects?

• What clearance defect does your frame standard cover?

• What two defects apply to a sliding subframe or adjustable axle?

• Which lock or side ring conditions are defects?

• What five wheel fastener conditions are defects?

• What welded repair is a defect regardless of quality?

• What windshield damage is allowed in the critical area?

• What fails your windshield wiper at periodic inspection?

• At periodic inspection, the lighting standard is ______.

• What must you be satisfied are in good working order before you drive?

• What are the items on the 392.7 pre-trip list you must satisfy yourself about?

• Besides brakes and steering, which of these must you check before driving?

• What four intermodal components must you inspect?

• What should you treat as confirmed when you drive intermodal equipment away?

• Your driver vehicle inspection report must cover which of these?

Answers are in the practice test for this topic.