Being a truck accident attorney, I have seen way too many truck accidents that could have been prevented if the trucks were properly maintained in time. Hence, periodic maintenance and inspection of trucks should never be ignored in any way whatsoever.
Trucking companies have a duty to check whether their commercial vehicles are safe for driving or not. In case any issue is observed, proper steps must be taken to fix the problem as early as possible.
Anyway, here are a few things you can ask yourself, or consider doing, that might be helpful in inspecting your big trucks and maintaining a safe fleet.
- Do you maintain some sort of a record somewhere for your truck maintenance?
According to Safety Regulations, you, being a representative of the trucking company, must have a record system in place that’s dedicated particularly to vehicle maintenance, in particular. Failure in keeping these records might land you in huge trouble with the FMCSA.
- Do your trucks require extensive repairs?
If it does, it might signify the fact that your inspection or maintenance procedures are not up to the mark in any way whatsoever. Always remember that it is mighty important to have regular preventive procedures in place to keep accidents at bay in the best possible manner.
- Do your maintenance procedures carefully look into the following critical components?
The following critical components must be inspected periodically to ensure complete driving safety:
➤ Brakes
➤ Steering
➤ Tires and wheels
➤ Couplers
➤ Suspension
- And last but not the least; are you even aware of the safety regulations that mandate a dangerous truck to be placed out of service?
Certain safety conditions may dictate you to place your truck out of service. Make sure you are aware of these. The penalties can be severe if you do not pay much heed to these matters.
So that takes care of the questions for now. Now let’s go through a few DIY maintenance tips that you can do yourself to ensure proper driving safety.
DIY Truck maintenance tips
- DO NOT ever miss a change in oil
This one’s quite easy and is perhaps the most important thing that you should do ensure a safer drive. It also ensures a longer life of your truck which also counts to be a positive thing on the whole.
It’s recommended that you change your oil every 6 months or 7,500 miles (or whichever comes first) for maximum safety. And don’t forget to pick up the best oil in the market. Remember, a little compromise on the quality of oil can hurt you a lot in the long run.
- Rotate your tires
Tire rotation’s very important. It can not only extend the life of the tires, but it can also help for a smoother ride.
Periodical rotation of tires can also help in reducing the burden on your truck’s suspension that usually comes as a result of unevenly worn tires.
- Ensure that the tires of your truck are properly ALIGNED to one another
Driving over rough terrains can greatly increase the chances of misalignment. If the wheels of your truck are not aligned in the right way, you will get worse gas mileage in the long run. The entire drive can also inflict more wear and tear on your tires for bad.
You also run the risk of driving at a higher center of gravity; something that’s directly linked to catastrophic truck accidents as result of instability. So why even take the chance? Better be safe than be sorry.
A few more mentions…
- Keep a special tab on fuel leak.
- Avoid fuel spillage.
- Look out for things like:
➤ Under-inflated tires.
➤ Poor pickup.
➤ Tappet noise.
➤ Self-starting issues.
➤ Binding brakes and others.
So that’s it for the time being then. Hope you really had a good and useful read.
Contributed by: http://www.texas-truckaccidentlawyer.com/
