Roadside Inspections: 3 Tips for Getting Back on the Road
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2016
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2
pages
English
Documents
2016
Le téléchargement nécessite un accès à la bibliothèque YouScribe Tout savoir sur nos offres
Roadside Inspections: 3 Tips for Getting Back on the Road
Roadside inspections have been in the news a lot recently. This is not without reason. Whether you are talking about
truck driver jobs in Indiana, Texas or any other part of the country, the states are being more aggressive in maintaining
compliance with all safety and d riv er s’ hours regulations.
Our policy at C.R. England is to maintain our equipment to meet or exceed all safety regulations, at all times. So when
one of our drivers is subject to a roadside inspection, we are generally not worried about the outcome. What does cause
problems is the fact that inspections can take 30 to 60 minutes, time that should be spent putting miles under the
wheels.
The reality of roadside inspections in the trucking industry is something we cannot do anything about. But we have put
together a list of three tips that will enable drivers to get through inspections quickly. These tips come from former
inspectors who know a thing or two about what it takes to get through.
Tip #1: Maintain Courteous, Professional Attitude
The truck driver who has been on the road for a while has had experience with police officers and inspectors displaying
bad attitudes. Drivers like to complain about those bad attitudes, but they often don't think about their own attitudes.
Maintaining a courteous and professional attitude during every interaction with law enforcement officials goes a long
way toward resolving issues quickly.
Drivers need to be careful about becoming defensive in the early stages of an inspection. Defensiveness only encourages
an inspector to wonder what the driver is hiding. Jokes and wisecracks should be avoided as well because inspectors may
interpret them as a sign of nervousness. Drivers should be polite, courteous, straightforward with all their answers, and
thoroughly professional. Presenting a professional attitude will likely result in the inspector acting in kind.
Tip #2: Keep the Cab Neat and Clean
It is a well-known truth in the home security industry that homes with unkempt yards are more likely to be targeted for
burglary than those that are meticulously maintained. Why? Because burglars know that homeowners who do not care
enough to mow the lawn and trim the shrubs are not inclined to have security measures in place either. The same holds
true with truck inspections.
One of the first things inspectors look at is the condition of the truck's cab. If it is messy and unkempt, there is a good
chance the driver is not as conscious about safety issues as he/she ought to be. On the other hand, a clean and neat cab
gives inspectors reason to believe that a driver takes pride in his/her equipment and pays attention to safety issues. The
lesson here: keep your truck cab neat and clean.
Tip #3: Organize Your Paperwork
Disorganization is another tipoff that tells inspectors a truck may have safety issues. Drivers can address this problem by
organizing paperwork so that it is easily found and presented during a document inspection. Three ring binders and
manila folders are good tools for this purpose. Inspectors will be impressed if you hand them a folder containing all of
your required documents. Organization is likely to get you back on the road more quickly.
Truck driver jobs in Indiana are subject to roadside inspections all the time. So are those in Texas, California, Utah, and all
across the country. If you want to minimize your downtime and get back on the road sooner, pay attention to these three
tips for roadside inspections. They may mean the difference next time you get pulled over.
