General Knowledge · Vehicle Inspection
Before operating a commercial motor vehicle, what must a driver do first?
Explanation
A driver must be satisfied that the commercial motor vehicle is in safe operating condition and, if a report was required, review the last driver vehicle inspection report before getting underway, under 49 CFR 396.13. This pre-trip check exists to catch a defect while it is still cheap to fix, before it turns into a breakdown or a crash on the road. Waiting for a roadside inspector fails because that is a separate government check that happens after the vehicle is already on the road, not a substitute for the driver's own inspection. Reviewing a week of log entries or checking the vehicle's registration status both fail for the same reason: neither one tells a driver anything about whether the vehicle is mechanically safe to drive today.
Source: 49 CFR 396.13
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