Month: July 2018

Your Pre-and Post-Trip Inspection Checklist

Safety is the top priority in the trucking industry. When you become a professional driver, you’ll be expected to adhere to established regulations and standards, including the pre-and post-trip inspections. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has established the criteria for these inspections.

Your Pre-and Post-Trip Inspection Checklist

After you’ve been driving a big rig for a while, you’ll have your inspection checklist memorized. But when you’re new on the job, it can be helpful to print out this checklist—just to be sure you won’t forget anything. Do the following before and after every trip.

  • Vehicle overview: Give the entire truck a thorough once-over.
  • Engine: Pop the hood and check the fluid levels. Check the oil, transmission fluid, and coolant. While you’re in there, look at all of the hoses, wires, belts, electrical connections, and batteries.
  • Cab: Examine all of the controls and gauges for anything unusual.
  • Lights: Turn on your low-beams, and then get out and check them from the outside. Do the same with your high-beams and four-way flashers.
  • Signal lights: Turn on the right-hand turn signal and get out to check that it’s working. Do the same with the left-hand turn signal.
  • Brakes: Check all of your brakes, including the service brakes and parking brakes.

Once you’ve done all of those inspections, do another walk-around exterior inspection. Check everything, from front to back, and side to side. Closely examine the following:

  • Couplers
  • King pin under coupling device
  • Wheels, rims, lugs, and tires
  • Tie down bolsters
  • Rails or support frames
  • Sliders or sliding frame lock
  • Locking pins, clevises, clamps, or hooks

Your In-Transit Inspection Checklist

In addition to your pre-and post-trip inspections, you must also do less exhaustive inspections during your trip. Within the first 50 miles, you’ll need to pull into a service area to inspect the cargo and load-securing devices and make any necessary adjustments. After 50 miles, you’ll need to inspect the cargo again after you’ve driven for three hours or 150 miles, whichever comes first (or sooner, if you have a change of duty status).

 

When you enroll at Phoenix Truck Driving School at Ft. Bliss, you’ll learn everything you need to succeed in your new career. Our eight-week CDL training program includes classroom instruction and hands-on practice. Call us today at (877) 206-8344, and you could be ready to start your new career in just two months!

Truckers: How You Can Help Stop Human Trafficking

An estimated 40 million people are living in slavery around the world. Some of those victims are being bought and sold for labor. Most have been forced into sexual slavery. Human trafficking has a significant presence in all 50 states. It exists in major cities, small towns, and along the nation’s highways. Because professional truck drivers spend much of their careers on the road and around service areas, they are uniquely situated to identify and assist in the recovery of human trafficking victims. Will you help?

Take and promote training courses.

As an individual, you can join Truckers Against Trafficking (TAT)—the industry leader in certifying truck drivers to recognize and recover human trafficking victims. They offer a free online training course that will give you all the tools you need to save lives. But don’t stop there. Contact HR at your trucking company and encourage them to make TAT training mandatory for all drivers. When you talk to other professionals at service areas, discuss TAT training and encourage them to sign up for it.

Recognize the common signs of human trafficking.

Human trafficking victims can be male or female, young or older. Victims of human trafficking often display physical abnormalities, such as:

  • Malnourishment/underweight
  • Signs of physical abuse, restraint, or confinement
  • Signs of drug abuse
  • Tattoo/brand on back of the neck

They may display:

  • Loss of sense of time
  • Confusion about the location they’re in
  • Inability to provide an address
  • Claims of just passing through the area
  • Inconsistencies in story

These are just a few of the red flags. Get TAT trained to become better aware.

Report possible human trafficking victims.

Use the National Human Trafficking Hotline to report any suspicious behavior. Keep this number programmed into your phone: 1-888-373-7888. Even if you aren’t sure whether something could indicate human trafficking, it’s far better to err on the side of caution and report it right away. You could be saving someone’s life.

Phoenix Truck Driving School at Ft. Bliss prides itself on graduating fully qualified, ethically-minded truck drivers. Many of our students are veterans or military spouses. If you’re ready to transition into another career where you can make a difference in your community, you’re invited to call our truck driving school at (877) 206-8344.