By Joe Schirck III

When was the last time you stood in the doorway of your business and watched your driver doing a pre-trip inspection of his/her motorcoach?

Did you hear the engine shut off, remain silent for 60 seconds (while the service brake was held to check for leaks), and then the swish, swish, swish as the air pressure was bleed down to test the air-brake alarm, and the parking brake pop-up check?

If you didnt, then your driver probably did not conduct a proper pre-trip inspection.

In Florida, when performing the vehicle inspection portion of the CDL test, if you fail to do every step of this brake check, in the proper order, its an automatic failure no matter how well you did on the rest of the vehicle inspection.

In pre-CDL days, there was no national standard for a commercial vehicle inspection by the driver. Detailed inspections for compliance with Part 393 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations were considered more of a maintenance responsibility.

The "conscientious" motorcoach driver, in those days, would likely walk around and check lights, fluids, fuel, belts, kick the tires, look at the tread, make sure the bus was clean and the toilet had water, then start the engine, tap the brakes as he or she left the yard to make sure they worked, and feel like they were doing a good job.

Some detail-minded drivers or owner-operators may have gone into more depth, of course.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations Part 396.13 does not go into detail regarding a proper vehicle inspection. It merely states the driver must "be satisfied that the motor vehicle is in safe operating condition."

With no detailed federal regulation concerning a pre-trip inspection, the CDL vehicle inspection, as currently tested, could possibly be regarded as an industry best practice prior to operating a commercial motor vehicle.

Section 396.11 is really about post-trip inspections and lists only 11 items that are to be checked. This is hardly sufficient to determine if a coach is roadworthy.

With the advent of "standardized" CDL testing in the 1990s, most drivers who were not grandfathered in have some idea of what constitutes a "proper" pre-trip vehicle inspection.

I qualify "standardized" because not all states or testers follow American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators criteria as delineated. Professional and conscientious drivers always take it upon themselves to complete a proper pre-trip.

Consider adopting a pre-trip checklist for your drivers.

The company pre-trip checklist I have generated for our drivers contains about 90 separate items for them to check. This does not count the items you cant check on a motorcoach short of putting it on a lift or pulling over a pit, such as pulling your slack adjusters, checking your drive shaft and u-joints, and so on.

Hopefully, your maintenance program will catch such things before they become a problem.

My list includes passenger and driver amenities, such as the restroom supplies/operation, interior lights, fuel keys, DVDs, monitors, toll pass, and the like. All of our drivers are given a one-page laminated copy of this checklist, which I require them to keep with them and use. I also give them a four-page detailed explanation list.

Last and definitely not least, I recommend incorporating pre-trip requirements into your training regimen. During my 40-hour initial driver training, orientation and evaluation, I spend a few hours of classroom time on executing a proper pre-trip.

This is reinforced every day during training when the students conduct a pre-trip (verbally telling me what they are looking for) before their daily driving evaluations.

I have drivers do the 11 steps for performing a brake check as follows:

1. Check engine (fluids, belts, etc.).

2. Turn on master switch (if applicable).

3. Safe start (check for neutral, parking brake on, start engine).

4. Build air pressure until gauges show full (usually 120 pounds) or relief valve kicks off.

5. Shut engine off (turning the key back on).

6. Release parking brake.

7. Leak check (hold foot on service brake for 60 seconds making sure the air does not leak more than 3 psi).

8. Alarm check. Fan brakes to drop air pressure somewhere between 40-to-60 psi (for most coaches; check manufacturer manuals). Visual and audible alarms should activate.

9. Spring brake (pop-up check). Continue to fan air pressure down somewhere between 20-to-40 psi (again check manufacturer manuals). The parking brake should engage.

10. Restart engine (again, using safe start).

11. Rebuild air pressure.

Take the time with your drivers to make sure they can do it in the correct sequence. If its an automatic failure for CDL testing, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators must believe its important.

I urge you to properly train your drivers on pre-trip inspections and encourage them to pay attention to detail. Most of the pre-trip is merely a matter of observing details and can be done in about 20 minutes. Allow enough lead time for your driver to come to the garage and do a proper pre-trip.

By taking 20 minutes to do a pre-trip, your driver can save your company a $1,000 tow bill, loss of repeat business, and/or the ire of unhappy customers who will invariably expect compensation for time lost or a refund. It could also save you points on your CSA score should your driver be selected for a roadside inspection.

A good resource for vehicle inspection information is your state CDL drivers manual. Some are available online.

Here is a website that lists where you can find the manual for your state: http://www.testquestionsandanswers.com/cdl/ or email me at joe3@annettbuslines.com and I will be happy to send you a copy of my pre-trip checklist.

Joe Schirck III is a retired Naval Reserve hospital corpsman, and is a 22-year Kansas firefighter veteran. He has 11 years in the transportation industry, six as a school bus/motorcoach driver, five as safety director for Annett Bus Lines. He also is a certified third-party CDL tester for the state of Florida.