Hammer, wrench, wire cutters, cable cutters, knife with glass-breaker.Extra oil, coolant, and windshield washer fluid.Extra fuses – If your truck doesn’t use circuit breakers, you must have spare fuses.Fire extinguisher – Must be charged and secured to the truck.Orange triangles – You must have 3 triangles for when you break down.Medical card – You must keep your current medical card in your truck.Paper logbook – If your e-log stops working, you must log your hours in a paper logbook, which must be kept in your truck.They must stay in your truck within arms reach from the driver’s seat. FMCSA Safety Regulations and Hazardous Materials book – These will be given to you by your company.License plate – Make sure the license plates on the front and back of the truck match.New York HUT sticker – This is usually on the front of your truck.The most common permits are Heavy Motor Vehicle Trip Permit (Oregon) and the Weight Distance Tax Permit (New Mexico). Required permits – These are in the cab card book.Elog device – Most trucks are required to have a working elog device.IFTA stickers – These are the fuel tax compliance stickers.Find it and make sure the truck is not overdue. Inspection sticker – This is outside the truck.Make sure it is in the truck and all the paperwork is up to date. Cab card and book – This is a book containing the registration, inspection, permits, cab cards, IFTA paperwork, and any other important papers for the truck.When you are assigned a new truck (either daily or just once), there are a few additional things you need to check for on the pre-trip inspection. This is a thorough Q&A on DVIRs which you can refer to. Your trucking company’s DVIR might be more thorough. Service brakes including trailer brake connections.Minimum DOT Pre-Trip Inspection Requirements Not every trucking company (ahem) enforces this policy, so some truck drivers can go months or years without submitting a DVIR.

DVIRs – Daily Vehicle Inspection ReportĪccording to federal law ( FMCSR Section 396.11 ), every day, a driver must submit a Daily Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR) for each power unit he operates. Out on the road, a thorough pre trip shouldn’t take more than 10 to 15 minutes. You don’t have to check all 500 or so items that you had to memorize for the test every single day.

If you just came through the process of getting your CDL, you can breathe a sigh of relief.

Cdl walk around