Vehicle Inspections for Route Trucks

It has been estimated that the vending industry has 100,000 route delivery vehicles and drives over 120 million miles a year. So even though your main work is servicing food and beverage Antares vending machines, you are also a truck driver subject to specific state and federal regulations.

In order to ensure trucking regulations are the same state to state, the Federal Motor Carrier Act is used by every state to regulate trucks and drivers.

First of all, you will need to establish a driver qualification file for each driver you employ. The file should contain a job description; application for employment; a copy of the driver’s license; a copy of the current motor vehicle report on the driver’s driving and a copy of the medical examiner’s certificate for a physical qualifying the driver to drive a commercial motor vehicle.

Safety reporting procedures

For your Antares operations, it will be the responsibility of the driver to prepare a safety report in writing at the completion of each say’s work. This report must identify the vehicle and list any defect or deficiency discovered that can lead to the trucks mechanical break down. If no defect is discovered, the report must also indicate this. Upon completion of the report, the driver must sign the report and turn it in.

Deficiencies must be repaired

If there is any deficiency listed on the report that can affect the safe operation of the vehicle, it will; need to be repaired before the vehicle is taken out the next day. The smooth operation of the truck is vital for the running of the Antares vending business. These vehicle inspection reports have to be maintained for three months from the date the report was written.

Maintaining records regarding your vehicle inspections is very important, because if you fail to do so you can end up being fined and your trucks can also be taken off the street.

Prevention is the best medicine

The best advice is for the driver to practice defensive driving and he should also fill out the daily safety reports. On top off all, this keep in mind that an ounce of prevention is certainly better than the long arm of your state.