{"id":11036,"date":"2021-05-07T13:48:36","date_gmt":"2021-05-07T11:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=11036"},"modified":"2021-05-07T13:48:36","modified_gmt":"2021-05-07T11:48:36","slug":"vehicle-inspection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2021\/05\/07\/vehicle-inspection\/","title":{"rendered":"Commonly overlooked areas of vehicle inspection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Various areas of the truck to add to PM checklists.<\/span><\/p>\n

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While tires, brakes, and lighting continue to cause the most safety inspection headaches for fleets, there are some other areas to not lose sight of.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chuck Pagesy, director of safety for Penske Transportation Solutions, reviews all of the CSA violations that come through Penske\u2019s operations. One that is somewhat frequent, but completely preventable, is no proof of annual inspection<\/b>. Perhaps the sticker had fallen off or was defaced. Sometimes a trailer simply didn\u2019t get its annual inspection.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A similar example is a missing, discharged, or improperly secured fire extinguisher<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, this is something very easy to catch during the pre-trip inspection,\u201d Pagesy points out. \u201cAnother one is missing or damaged reflective triangles<\/b>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cargo securement<\/b> actually ranks high on the list of inspection failures. The U.S. and Canada Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) International Roadcheck, conducted June 4-6 of 2019, resulted in more than 9,500 vehicles being placed out of service. Roughly 12 percent were tied to cargo securement violations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most common mistakes is not having enough tiedowns to prevent movement in all directions,\u201d says Ralph Abato, president and managing director of Doleco USA, a provider of lifting and securement solutions. \u201cAnother major mistake is that tiedowns are not tightened enough because operators have not periodically re-tensioned them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To avoid these and other cargo-related issues, Abato says fleets should fully familiarize themselves with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Regulations, Parts 392 and 393. Additionally, the following items should be part of a thorough pre- or post-trip inspection checklist:<\/span><\/p>\n