General Knowledge · Vehicle Inspection
An authorized inspector finds that a commercial motor vehicle's mechanical condition would likely cause an accident or a breakdown. What can that inspector do?
1.Suspend the driver's commercial driver's license on the spot, pending a separate state hearing
2.Issue the driver a moving violation citation and require traffic school before the next trip
3.Declare the vehicle out of service until it is repaired and the repair is certifiedCorrect answer
4.Permanently impound the vehicle itself and auction it to cover the cost of repairs
Explanation
An authorized inspector may declare the vehicle out of service, and no motor carrier may permit it to be operated again until the required repairs are made and certified, under 49 CFR 396.9. This targets the vehicle's mechanical condition directly, since that is what actually caused the safety concern, rather than punishing the driver for something outside their inspection at that moment. Suspending the driver's CDL or issuing a moving violation both misplace the consequence on the driver's license or record instead of the vehicle itself. Permanent impoundment overstates the outcome: an out-of-service order is a repair-and-certify hold, not a seizure of the vehicle.
Source: 49 CFR 396.9
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