Pre-Start at 05:10, Departure at 06:00
It is 05:10 on a cold, dark Monday and you are doing the pre-start on your rigid truck before a 06:00 departure. With the engine off and the air system charged to 700 kPa, the gauge falls to 560 kPa in three minutes. On the left steer tyre you find a 25 mm cut across the tread; you cannot see cord. The left reverse lamp does not work. In the tray you find two pallets of bricks left over from Friday's run, unstrapped. The depot has one mechanic who starts at 07:00, and the customer's forklift is booked for 07:30.
1. Classify each finding as drive, drive and report, or do not drive, and give your reasoning for each.
Read the worked answer
Air pressure loss (700 → 560 kPa in 3 minutes) - do not drive. A 140 kPa drop in three minutes is a substantial leak, not normal system bleed-down. This is the braking system, it is the single most safety-critical system on the vehicle, and a leak of that size will get worse as seals warm up and the compressor cycles. Treat as a major defect: the vehicle stays parked until the leak is located and repaired and the system holds pressure.
25 mm cut in the steer tyre tread - do not drive until assessed. A cut whose depth you cannot confirm, on a steer tyre, is not a judgement call to make in the dark at 05:10. A steer tyre failure at 100 km/h removes your steering. Either fit the spare or have the tyre inspected and the cut probed. Nothing about the schedule justifies guessing.
Reverse lamp inoperative - drive and report. It does not affect forward travel or braking and is not a major defect, but it must be recorded on the daily check sheet and repaired.
Two pallets of bricks, unstrapped - do not move until resolved. This is not a vehicle defect but it is a load security problem: the load either comes off or is restrained to the standard before the wheels turn.
2. The mechanic does not start until 07:00 and the forklift is booked for 07:30. What do you do, and what do you refuse to do?
Read the worked answer
What you do:
- Stop the pre-start where it is and record the findings on the daily check sheet with times, so there is a clear record that the vehicle was inspected and was defective.
- Notify your supervisor or operator immediately - not at 07:00 - and state which items are major and that the vehicle is not being moved.
- Ask what the alternatives are: another vehicle in the yard, a tyre fitter called out, or a delayed departure. That is the operator's problem to solve, not a reason for you to drive.
- Have the leftover bricks removed or properly restrained once the truck is released.
- Once repaired, re-check the air system from scratch (build-up, leak-down, low pressure warning) and inspect the replacement or repaired tyre before signing the vehicle out.
What you refuse to do:
- Drive to the mechanic, or "get it looked at on the way".
- Sign the check sheet as satisfactory to release the truck.
- Accept a verbal "it'll be right" from anyone who is not the person repairing it.
The judgement: the 07:30 forklift booking is a commercial inconvenience. Losing the brakes on a descent or a steer tyre on the highway is not. Delay the departure and document why.
3. What is the purpose of recording these findings, and who carries the responsibility if the truck leaves with the air leak unrepaired?
Read the worked answer
Purpose of the record:
- The daily check sheet and defect report are the evidence that the vehicle was inspected, what was found and when it was reported. They trigger the repair and they protect you.
- They allow the operator to track repeat defects (a recurring air leak is a maintenance issue, not bad luck) and to keep the vehicle out of service until it is fixed.
- If an incident is investigated later, a documented defect with a documented report is the difference between a maintenance failure and a driver who drove a known-defective vehicle.
Responsibility if it drives:
- The driver who knew about the leak and drove anyway carries direct responsibility - the duty not to use an unsafe vehicle is personal.
- The operator and maintenance provider carry duties too: to have a system for reporting and repairing defects and not to require or encourage a driver to use a defective vehicle.
- A supervisor who tells you to take it is not absorbing your liability; they are adding their own.
The key point: the record only protects you if it is honest and made at the time. A check sheet filled in from memory at the end of the day, after a fault has shown up, is worse than useless.