Vehicle Inspection, Maintenance and Defect Awareness
A professional driver inspects the vehicle before each journey and reports defects. Know the daily walk-around checks: tyres (tread depth, pressure, cuts, bulges, correct matching on an axle), wheels and nuts, brakes (including air pressure build-up and low-pressure warning), lights and reflectors, mirrors, wipers, horn, steering play, suspension, fluid levels, and load restraints. For air-braked vehicles, know that pressure must build to the operating range before moving and that a low-pressure warning means stop.
Defect awareness means recognising symptoms: pulling to one side under braking (uneven brakes), a spongy pedal (air or fluid leak), vibration (wheel balance or bearing), excessive steering free play, overheating (coolant or brakes), and unusual tyre wear patterns that indicate misalignment or overload. Defects must be recorded and reported; you must not drive a vehicle you know to be dangerous.
Traps: questions that treat a warning light as something to ignore until the next service; assuming a visual check is enough when a functional test is needed (e.g., testing lights, horn, brakes); and confusing legal minimum tread with recommended tread.
Rule of thumb: if a defect affects steering, brakes, tyres or lights, the vehicle is off the road until it is fixed.