How to Streamline Vehicle Safety Inspections

Vehicle safety inspections are a critical preventive measure to ensure that vehicles on the road are operating in peak condition. Beyond avoiding hefty fines and citations, adhering to inspection requirements can significantly reduce the risk of incidents on the road for both personal vehicles and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. In this guide, we break down what you need to know about vehicle safety inspections, and how a digital forms solution can help fleet managers improve efficiency and reduce downtime.

Key components of safety inspections for personal vehicles and commercial vehicles

From personal vehicles to heavy-duty commercial vehicles, it’s crucial to stay compliant with vehicle inspection regulations to ensure the safety and efficiency of your operations. Vehicle safety inspections can be conducted at certified inspection stations or at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). You must have your driver’s license and vehicle registration with you during the inspection. While personal vehicles may be inspected at the DMV, commercial vehicles must be inspected every 12 months by a qualified inspector, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

One key part of preventative maintenance and safety checks is ensuring that your vehicle is operating in functional working order. The inspection process will check to see that vehicles meet inspection requirements, including any out of state specifications. Inspections for personal motor vehicles may occur at a DMV-licensed service center, where they will be tested for common problems such as malfunctioning seat belts, ineffective windshield wipers, faulty parking brakes, and issues with the vehicle’s lighting system, such as turn signals and taillights. 

For commercial vehicles, the FMCSA mandates that fleet operators must conduct driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIR) every day a vehicle is in use. These inspections, which include pre-trip and post-trip assessments, will test for components such as the brake system, fuel system, steering system, safe loading devices, suspension system, and more.

Emissions inspections are also an important part of the inspection process. Emissions inspection programs are vital for reducing fuel costs, minimizing the carbon footprint, and achieving organization-wide sustainability goals. During emissions testing at authorized inspection facilities, make sure you are compliant with smog check regulations according to requirements of your state inspections. In addition, defective exhaust systems may also impact your vehicle’s fuel efficiency and increase emissions.

Upon completion of the safety inspection, vehicles will be presented with a valid inspection sticker indicating compliance, which must be placed on a visible area on your license plate. The inspection sticker will include an expiration date, signifying the time of your next vehicle inspection.

How can a digital forms solution help streamline commercial vehicle safety inspections?

While all vehicles are mandated by state vehicle law to conduct periodic safety inspections, heavy-duty commercial vehicles must go through their own inspection process before operating on the road. As defined by the FMCSA, a commercial vehicle is specified as “any self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property when the vehicle.” 

The Department of Transportation (DOT) requires drivers with a class A commercial driver’s license (CDL) to complete a pre-trip inspection on their non-passenger commercial vehicles. Drivers must inspect their vehicles at the start of a new day, every 24 hours, and whenever they change vehicles, so pre-trip inspections may become an arduous and time-consuming process.

To ensure compliance, here are some of the components that must be checked before a commercial vehicle may operate on the road:

• Brake systems such as service brakes, parking brakes, brake hose, brake tubing, tractor protection valve, air compressor, antilock brakes, and hydraulic brakes.

• Coupling devices such as pintle hooks, fifth wheels, drawbar, and safety mounts.

• Exhaust systems such as leaks, discharge, burns, electrical wiring, and fuel supply.

• Fuel systems such as visible leaks, fuel tanks, and fuel caps.

• Safe loading systems such as spare tires, protection against shifting cargo, and container securement devices.

• Steering mechanisms such as steering wheel, front axle beam, nuts, steering gear box, pitman arm, and ball and socket joints.

• Suspension systems such as spring hangers, u-bolts, axle positioning parts, torque components, radius components, and tracking components. 

• Wheels and rims such as tires, sing ring, fasteners, and welds.

Take your vehicle inspection program to the next level with Samsara Connected Forms

A comprehensive approach to vehicle maintenance will often involve forms and checklists during the inspection process. Especially for heavy-duty vehicles, extensive inspection is required before they may operate on the road. Manual assessments, such as commercial vehicle pre-trip inspections, can become extremely time-consuming, causing downtime and inefficiency for both drivers and administrators in the back-office.

Today, advancements in technology have enabled organizations to leverage digital forms solutions to streamline the way they collect, manage, and analyze operational data. Innovative organizations can now leverage solutions such as Samsara Connected Forms to quickly and easily create digital forms and templates for mission-critical processes—improving efficiency and maximizing uptime. 

Some benefits of a digital forms solution include:

• Digitizing paperwork: Easily digitize paper-based forms for any site operation, enabling workers to complete them accurately and on the go. 

• Resolving issues faster: Reduce manual work with pre-populated data from your assets, proactive alerting, and collaborative issue resolution. 

• Consolidating data: Consolidate operations data in one unified platform and unlock insights to proactively prevent accidents. 

Interested in learning how Samsara helps to digitize paperwork, accelerate issue resolution, and unify complex data? Reach out for a free demo or trial today.