• During an audit, drivers’ vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs) and maintenance records will be examined to determine vehicle violations were corrected.
• If a repair is not recorded on a DVIR, some documentation must exist to show that it was addressed by the driver before the end of the day.
• Motor carriers should conduct internal audits regularly, comparing their drivers’ DVIRs to any roadside inspection reports showing maintenance defects.

During an audit, DVIRs and maintenance records from the day of a roadside inspection that uncovered a vehicle violation will be subjected to special investigation. The investigator will try to determine if the violation was taken care of correctly.

If the driver took care of the repair before the end of the day, then the defect does not need to be reported on a DVIR. However, it is critical that some type of documentation be generated to show that the driver took care of the defect before the end of the day.

Vehicle defect fixed before end of day

Here’s an example scenario with a description of what needs to happen if a driver fixes a safety defect before the end of the day:

• A driver undergoes a roadside inspection at 10:00 AM and has a violation written up for a broken marker light.
• At noon, the driver purchases a light and replaces the light that was out, eliminating the defect.
• The driver turns in documentation (such as a receipt, a note stating the repair was made, a payroll request to be paid for the repair time, etc.) showing that the light was repaired.
• When the driver prepares a DVIR at the end of the day (if needed), the previously-inoperative light is not recorded on the DVIR since it is no longer defective at the end of the workday.

Vehicle defect not fixed by end of day

In the scenario above, if the driver did not repair the defect during the day then the defect must be added to the DVIR prepared at the end of the day. The carrier would then have to address the defect by either repairing it or, as the case may be, determining that the defect need not be repaired because it does not affect the safe operation of the vehicle. Either way, the DVIR would have to be completed, signed by the carrier official, and signed by the next driver to pretrip the vehicle.

Defect documentation is key

If a motor carrier has no documentation showing that a defect was repaired, the repair never happened as far as an investigator is concerned. If there are no documents showing that a driver repaired a defect reported on a roadside inspection form, then the investigator will expect to see the defect listed on a DVIR for the day. If it’s not listed on the DVIR or if the driver did not submit a DVIR that day, the investigator will write a violation. The violation will be for either:

• not having a record of a repair, if the driver fixed it but there is no record of the repair; (396.3) or
• not including a known defect on a DVIR, if the driver did not fix it. (396.11).

Recommended verification process

It is recommended that a motor carrier:

• Perform regular audits that compare drivers’ DVIRs with any roadside inspection reports showing maintenance defects;
• Document, train, and reinforce to drivers the process for communicating repairs to the shop and/or the road service support team; and
• Have a means to cross-reference repairs with the drivers’ DVIRs.

When the shop finds a defect that the driver should have reported but did not, the shop should report the violation to operations and then perform the needed repairs. Operations should appropriately coach the driver.