Serious or fatal accidents involving tractor trailers or other
commercial vehicles often arise or result in part from some
maintenance defect in the vehicle. When this occurs and the matter
goes into litigation, counsel for the plaintiff will shine a very
bright spotlight on the pre-trip inspection that was or should have
been performed by the driver. How much time was spent and what the
driver actually did − and especially what the driver actually
knew how to do − will factor into how much liability exposure
the operator and owner of that vehicle may face.
The U.S. federal regulations governing this issue provide that
"Every motor carrier, its officers, drivers, agents,
representatives and employees directly concerned with the
inspection or maintenance of commercial motor vehicles must be
knowledgeable of and comply with the rules of this part."
Those rules, particularly CFR 396.11, provide that "every
motor carrier shall require its drivers to report, and every
