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The following items are not intended to serve as a comprehensive listing of all regulations and requirements as mandated by federal guidelines.


For an unabridged itemization, please visit the DOT site.
         
Part 396 of the motor carrier safety regulations
         
Requires motor carriers to inspect, repair, and maintain all motor vehicles under their control. Even if there were no federal regulations in place, it makes business sense to have an organized maintenance program in operation .Why? DOT roadside checks often find vehicles with mechanical deficiencies serious enough to result in their being declared out-of-service. Also, mechanical deficiencies are often found to be a contributing factor in accidents.
   
RESPONSIBILITY
396.1
   
Every motor carrier, its officers, drivers, agents, representatives, and employees directly concerned with the inspection or maintenance of motor vehicles shall comply and be conversant with the rules of this part.
   
REQUIRED RECORDS.
   
For vehicles controlled for 30 consecutive days or more, the motor carriers shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, the following record for each vehicle:


An identification of the vehicle including company number, if so marked, make, serial number, year, and tire size. In addition, if the motor vehicle is not owned by the motor carrier, the record shall identify the name of the person furnishing the vehicle.


A means to indicate the nature and due date of the various inspection and maintenance operations to be performed

.
A record of inspections, repairs, and maintenance indicating their date and nature.


A record of tests conducted on pushout windows, emergency doors, and emergency door marking lights on buses.
   
RECORD RETENTION
   
The records required by this section shall be retained where the vehicle is either housed or maintained for a period of a year and for 6 months after the motor vehicle leaves the motor carrier's control.



396.5 lubrication
Every motor carrier shall ensure that each motor vehicle subject to its control is:

Properly lubricated.

Free of oil and grease leaks.




396.11 Driver vehicle inspection reports
Reports required:


Every motor carrier shall require its drivers to report. Every driver shall prepare a report in writing at the completion of each day's work on each vehicle operated. The report shall cover at least the following parts and accessories:

Service brakes including trailer brake connections

Parking (hand) brake

Steering mechanism

Lighting devices and reflectors

Tires

Horn

Windshield wipers

Rear vision mirrors

Coupling devices

Wheels and rims

Emergency equipment




396.17 periodic inspection


Every commercial motor vehicle shall be inspected as required by this section. The inspection shall include, at a minimum, the parts and accessories set forth in appendix G of this subchapter.

Except as provided in 396.23, a motor carrier shall inspect or cause to be inspected all motor vehicles subject to its control.

A motor carrier shall not use a commercial motor vehicle unless each component identified in appendix G has passed an inspection in accordance with the terms of this section at least once during the preceding 12 months and possesses documentation of such inspection on the vehicle.

In lieu of the self-inspection provided for in paragraph (d) of this section, a motor carrier may choose to have a commercial garage, fleet leasing company, truck stop, or other similar commercial business perform the inspection as its agent. This may be done provided that the business in question operates and maintains facilities appropriate for commercial vehicle inspections and it employs qualified inspectors, as required by 396.19.

Failure to properly perform the annual inspection set forth in this section shall cause the motor carrier to be subject to the penalty provision provided by 49 U.S.C.521.




396.21 periodic inspection record keeping requirements.


The qualified inspector performing the inspection shall prepare a report which:

Identifies the individual performing the inspection.

Identifies the motor carrier operating the vehicle.

Identifies the date of the inspection.

Identifies the vehicle inspected.

Identifies the vehicle components inspected and describes the results of the inspection, including the identification of those components not meeting the minimum standards set forth in appendix G to this subchapter.

Certifies the accuracy and completeness of the inspection as complying with all the requirements of this section.




396.23 qualification of brake inspectors.


The motor carrier shall ensure that all inspections, maintenance, repair, or service to the brakes of its commercial motor vehicles are performed in compliance with the requirements of this section.

For the purposes of this section, ”brake inspector” designates any employee of a motor carrier who is responsible for ensuring all brake inspections, maintenance, service, or repair to any commercial motor vehicle subject to the motor carrier's control. These activities must meet the applicable federal standards.

No motor carrier shall require or permit any employee who does not meet the minimum brake inspector qualifications of 396.25(d) to be responsible for the inspection, maintenance, service, or repairs of any brakes on its commercial motor vehicles.

The motor carrier shall ensure that each brake inspector is qualified.

No motor carrier shall employ any person as a brake inspector unless the evidence of the inspector’s qualifications, required under this section, is maintained by the motor carrier at its principal place of business or at the location at which the brake inspector is employed. The evidence must be maintained for the period during which the brake inspector is employed in that capacity and for one year thereafter. However, motor carriers do not have to maintain evidence of qualifications to inspect air brake systems for those inspections performed by persons who have passed the air brake knowledge and skills test for a commercial drivers license.