Okay, guys, in this particular module, we are going to take a look at what's called a DOT inspection. This is actually a level one DOT inspection that a driver is having performed on his truck and trailer. So I want you to pay particular attention to the details of this DOT inspection. It will let you know what a driver is responsible for, and what he has to go through whenever he enters the weigh station and he gets pulled in to have a DOT inspection. And if you have any questions, we'll reserve all our questions for the end, okay? All right, guys, let's start the video. Check our brake linings, make sure more than a quarter of an inch per CVSA. Some brake manufacturers, when they manufacture the lining, This area right here, it's right at a quarter of an inch. So whenever your lining gets to here, obviously they do need replacing. Drums are in good shape. Don't see any cracks. This right here is what we call a chamber mate. I'm getting the outside diameter of the chamber. These pins just line up against it and this is a type twenty-four. There's a couple different ways to tell the type. On the left side it says type twenty-four. On the right side it's showing it's a three inch stroke. When we get the type, then we'll go back and we'll mark the push rod where it exits the chamber. Then once everything is marked, I'll get the driver to press and hold the brakes and then we'll go back and collect the measurements. A type thirty regular is allowed two inches, no more than two inches. For a long stroke, type thirty, it's two and a half inches. So if you get beyond that two or two and a half, then you get into a violation of that brake being out of adjustment. You have clevis pins, cotter pins, which attaches the brake chamber, got your pushrod, here's your slack adjuster. So if this is missing the clevis pin, I mean, if this drops, if the pushrod drops down, it's probably gonna bypass the slack adjuster, so then you would not have a working brake. springs good airbag is inflated I don't hear any leaks brake linings look good matter of fact they are looks like they've just been replaced as you can see this is going to be a fairly new brake you can see the the thickness of the material versus this one over here. And then just remember this part right here is going to be basically your quarter. Right at a quarter of an inch. These are just heat marks. Those are normal. It's not really a crack. It's just from the heat. Biggest thing that we look for on airlines, or that we see, is going to be chafing. Occasionally these looms, over years and the elements of the weather, they will break, get brittle and break. Then you'll end up with an airline that's touching. When you start seeing below this rubber, there's going to be a nylon thread cord sprayed through. When you get into that, it can lead up to an out-of-service condition. This right here is the actual S cam, where the tip of the pin is. On the end of the brake lining, it's got rollers. So whenever that cam turns, it spreads the shoes apart, which in return gives you the friction, which stops you. So we'll get them to press and hold and we'll see what happens. Hey driver, press and hold. Yes, brakes. And now that his brakes are applied, we want to listen for any air leaks. And then we'll get our measurements. One and three quarters. Okay, release. Steering, suspension, brakes, everything looks good. Everything has got long strokes, so all brakes are within adjustments. Yeah, we're going to take your glad hands off both sides. Just watch your eyes on that red one. You just lay them down. We're going to remove the emergency side. They said the brakes were released just like he's going down the road. So this supplies air to your trailer brakes, which releases your parking brake. So whenever he released this, now he lost all the air. So the parking brakes come on. So you initially heard that loud. That was your parking brakes engaging. Now you heard all the air come out. If you look at his air gauge, he's probably going to be to sixty pounds of air on it. And then the next pop was tractor protection valve. That closes that circuit off so you don't lose any more air out of this side. Now, driver, I need you to just reach in there by hand and just push your brake pedal. Now we're gonna listen for the service side. Wanna make sure we don't have no air coming out of the service side. Okay, that's good. And so there's no error. That tells me that the tractor protection valve is working like it's supposed to. We disconnected the pigtail. This trailer's got an ABS light, so we'll check the ABS light. All right, you can go ahead and reconnect. Okay, go ahead. Comes on. It went off. It went through its bulb check. So ABS did its little scan, so it's working properly. We're hitting pumpkin brakes a couple more times. Okay. That's good. Now our low air light has now come on. The low air buzzer is now activated. And also the gauges were moving when he was pumping the brakes, so air brake system is working like it should. When we do the inspection, we need the air pressure right under PSI, but that gives you the optimal braking performance. Got it. Collar pins, clevis pins are all in place. Brake chambers secured. Airline's in good shape. This wire right here is your ABS wire that goes down to your cone wheel. And that's how the computer determines how fast this wheel's going versus that wheel. But everything looks good over here. This particular truck has backing plates on the backside. So it's kind of hard to see what's inside there. You do have inspection holes. Matter of fact, there's one right here where my finger's at. And you can look through there and look at the lining thickness. So here's your inspection hole and you can actually see the lining. So we got a small air leak on this line. Hit your brakes! Alright, you hear that air leak? So this chamber here would have a busted diaphragm on the inside of it. A truck like this, is this pretty typical where most of the things are in spec, everything's looking good? Most of the time, they are. I mean, if you've got a good company that keeps up on maintenance, yes. Occasionally, you will find them a break that is out of adjustment. That gives you some idea how a level one DOT inspection goes. They're very thorough. This particular DOT officer was more thorough than a lot that I've seen in my driving career, but it's all with safety in mind. Now, can anyone tell me what does CSA stand for? Jeebus. The CSA stands for compliance, safety, and accountability. Okay. So, Ricky, can you tell me about the CSA score just a little? I think Ricky's doing something else. Zyra, you take over. And let's talk about the CSA score. Yes, for the CSA score, actually, it has to be at a hundred percent. You don't want to have anything negative on there because that reflects everything that's on your background as far as your ranking on FMCSA. If you're actually certified and good to drive and your truck and trailer is all good to go to as well. Okay. Zyra, is that information accurate? Ricky said that it needs to be at a hundred percent. Is he right or is he wrong? It's supposed to be zero percent because in CSA score, the lower score, the better. Right. If you're at a hundred percent, you're out of business. So you don't want to be at a hundred percent. You want to be zero. So you have, when you're talking about a CSA score, you have to think the opposite when you're talking about metrics and grading things. In the real world, mathematics, a hundred percent is excellent. In the trucking world, a hundred percent is awful. And so you want to keep it as close to zero as you possibly can. And anytime there is a violation, it potentially drives your CSA score up. And once it gets to a a certain marking, then an automatic audit is triggered of your company. And that is what you do not want to happen. So how this affects us as dispatchers is We have booked the load for a driver who fails a DOT inspection and gets put out of service for a bad air chamber. Okay, he has to get it replaced before he can move or proceed any further with the load. So that potentially makes the load what, Ives? Hello. Yes. I said a DOT officer has put a truck out of service for having a bad air chamber, a leaking air chamber. So that potentially, how does that impact us as the dispatcher? okay so as a dispatcher since we are the one who facilitates the load deliveries so we are greatly affected um for that and also as well as the drivers as well as the destination of the load okay so what you did was actually repeat what I just said so tell me how we are affected How does that potentially affect us as dispatchers? Zyra? Oh, I think it's because it's as dispatcher, it's our responsibility to initiate to the driver to make sure or have a pre-trip inspections first before going into the road or before hitting the road. So we have to let them know, hey, can you come check if everything's fine before going into the road? You just want to prevent or avoid any potential mechanical issues. And we also want to avoid you having a score on the CSA and it might affect your driving history. So it's our responsibility to let them know beforehand So it greatly affects us as dispatcher agents if we neglect those type of responsibilities. Okay. So let's narrow this down as to how it affects us as dispatchers. Because it's ultimately the driver's responsibility to know any issues with this truck. That really does not involve us. But unfortunately, it does involve us. It doesn't, but it does. It shouldn't. because that's the driver's responsibility. He is supposed to check his truck. Any instances or anything going on with his truck, he should be aware of that. And all the time he can't, even if you do a pre-trip inspection or post-trip inspection. An air chamber can go bad while you're driving and en route. And then you would not know automatically Unless your truck is losing air pressure, then you should notice that your governor is kicking on and off more than it normally would. But the way it directly affects us, and I don't want you guys to overthink this for the answer. The answer is really simple. The way it affects us is that the load can be late. That's the way it affects us. The load can be late because that pushes his schedule behind. And if the load is late, the broker is seeing us. He's not seeing the driver. So we have to... Whatever the name of our dispatching services, that's what the broker is going to remember. Oh, I can't use them. Their drivers are not on time. And it goes from your driver to their drivers. It becomes a bigger situation. So and first impressions are the most important impression sometime. So when you're looking at this stuff, guys, don't overcomplicate it. It's real. The answers are almost right in front of you. It affects us because the load can be late. Anything in the facilitating of the load that changes the original destination or the appointment times is a direct feedback to us. So that's why we're concerned about the driver and what they have to go through. And it's best that we know what they have to go through. If he said, I just had a level one inspection. Yves, what did he just tell you? If a driver picks up the phone and call you, hey, man, I just had a level one inspection. What did he just tell you, Yves? There is an inspection for the truck as well as the driver, the safety and the conditioning of the truck and the trailer. And everything is inspected for safety and the compliance. Okay. So what just happened? What did the DOT officer or the law enforcement officer, what parts of the truck did he check? And what did he check in connection with the driver if he did a level one? So the DOT officer checks the brake lines, check the pipes or those under the truck or the trailer. And for example, there is air leaks when the driver press and hold the brakes. So it needs to be fixed immediately or repaired immediately. OK, when a level one inspection, remember this, guys, when a level one inspection is done, they're checking everything they possibly can. Everything that's connected with safety that they possibly can check within that time frame, they're going to check it from measuring your brakes to checking your airlines to looking to see if your boats are tight and well fastened on the vehicle from under the vehicle on the frame to your lug nuts. They're checking your electrical wires, your pigtail, your airlines, all your couplings. They're making sure every possible safety issue that they can check at that time is in order. So it's not just a level one inspection is a time consuming inspection because it is a broad check of a truck. And if you have a trailer attached is a check on the trailer as well. Not only that, it is a check on the driver. They're checking your license. They're checking your permit book, which contains your registration, your insurance certificate, your lease agreement, your IFTA, all kind of things, any other permits that you might be obligated to have for entering into that state. They're checking all of that. So there's a number of things that they're doing on a level one inspection. what about a level two inspection ricky do they what what what is involved in a level two inspection are you there ricky if you are we can't hear you I'm sorry Yes, as far as for level two paperwork, usually it's paperwork, licensing, and documentation for level two inspections to see if everything complies as far as paperwork, documentation, if they have the permits, and all those that are needed to cross state or be safe as far as everything complies to what they're hauling as well as far as their load. Okay. Anything else on a level two? Think in the order that I'm going. A level one is the most intense. It's the deepest inspection. Level two is the next one under that. And then level three is the lightest inspection. So what all is checked on a level two? Do you know, Zyra? This is just a soft walk around, not as detailed as level one. They check credentials and soft observation or observance of your truck. Not as detailed as the first one. Correct. That is a level two. A level two is a check on the driver, your license, insurance, your permit book, your cab registration, your IFTA stickers, any particular permitting that you have to have in connection with your that state you're crossing through or doing business in. If you have a lease agreement on your truck, it is generally in there. If you have a lease agreement on your trailer, it is in there. They're looking at your trailer registration and they're looking for the most recent DOT annual inspection. Those are the things they're looking for when they check the driver and your bills of lading. Make sure they're consistent with your e-logs and make sure you are... aware of what you're transporting and where you picked it up from and where you're taking it to. And then a level two also entails, like Zyra said, a soft walk around the truck where anything visible to the eye, they're taking a look at. They may check your tires for tread depth, for air pressure, just to see if they're, you know, they may kick them, hit them with their hand or with a stick to get a feel and see if they're inflated properly. They may look at your lights that you have on. They'll check your windshield maybe by walking around the truck to see if your windshield is cracked. And if it is cracked, Is it in eyesight? Is it in your line of sight? They may look and see if your cargo is properly secured, if you have a lock on the back, if you have anything like that. That's what they're looking for, visible observations. If you have... Like in your bumper, if part of your bumper is missing, then because the truck is required to have a bumper that protects things from going under the truck in the front and to the rear where the trailer is. So they're checking for reflectors. Trucks have to have certain reflectors on the truck. If you're carrying a hazmat load, they're looking to see if you have the proper placards in the proper places. So there's a lot they're checking for. In a level two, they may want to know if you got your fire extinguishers on there. And if so, are the fire extinguishers rated properly and are they at the proper levels and things like that? So that's the kind of things they may do on a level two. Now, what about a level three? What do they do on a level three, Zyra? I think it's just checking in for the driver and just the driver himself. Just making sure he's physically fit, mentally stable to drive around the town or across state. Just checking in. Right. They're doing a check on the driver. So they're checking your license, your insurance, your cab registration. your trailer registration, your DOT inspection, your bills of lading, your lease agreement. If you're leasing, the trailer needs to be intact. If you're the VIN number on your truck, they may check that. The VIN number on your trailer, they may check that to make sure everything's consistent. making sure your truck and trailer are properly plated uh different things like that that's my maybe the some of the things they check on a level three inspection they may ask you certain information about your load where are you headed to where are you coming from how do you feel things like that so those are the different type of inspections that we have level one is the most intense and the most thorough level two is a soft check of the truck and trailer and a check of the driver's credentials and his permit book and maybe his hours of service and things like that. Level three inspection is just a check of the driver, his credentials, his e-logs, bills of lading, things like that. It's not a focus on the equipment itself. Okay. Are there any questions? None so far. Okay. One more time. We're going to do this one more time. Ricky, what is a level one inspection? Level one inspection is where they inspect everything on the truck as far as everything for safety, as far as air brakes, motor, lights, if you have any other lights on there. Yeah, everything, making sure everything mechanical is functioning properly. So for the safety. Everything like what? Give me an idea. Like what? What do you mean everything? everything like um if there's like safety lights uh that the safety lights are proper working properly if the air uh air brakes for the actual truck and uh the actual trailer work properly you know for safety uh for safety precautions and um yeah and motor as well check and see if everything's functioning properly on the motor as well make sure they don't have no breakdown especially if they're on the highway like that um now on the motor they're not checking for too much on the motor because that's not really too many times a safety issue, things on the motor. Now, what they are checking for are things that create unsafe conditions like brakes, air leaks, The proper adjustment of brakes, your steering arm. Let's see, what else are they checking? They're checking to make sure all your boats on your frame and on your lugs and on your tires are secure and on their tights. They're checking to make sure your lights are functioning properly, your air horn, your windshield wipers, your windshield wiper fluid to make sure you have that. Not only your air horn, but your city horn. So you have two horns on a semi truck. Both must be operable. Those are the kind of things they're looking for. Now, the motor, that's your job as a truck driver. But what they're checking for is anything safety related that can be a hazard on the road to others. So that's what they're looking for up under the frame of the truck and the trailer. That's what the emphasis is on. Wear and tear of tires is very important. Tread depth is very, very important. That's a big issue. Air in a tire, that's a big issue. The tires must be properly inflated or they will put you out of service until you do get them properly inflated. If you have a flat tire, they will put you out of service until you repair that flat tire. You cannot go anywhere. So that's how seriously they take things like that on an inspection. Wire chafing on air hoses and electrical lines, that's where there could be just a little fray, a little fray. in a airline or an electrical line, not exposing any wire or anything like that or any hole. It could just be a little scratch, a little fray. We call them a fray. And they will make you repair that. Now, they might not put you out of service with just a little fray. but that's a violation. They will cite it, put it on your inspection and then tell you, you must get this repaired. You must go to the nearest truck stop or nearest mechanic shop and get this repaired. So they will allow you to leave. Now, if you have an airline, that has a hole in it or it is exposed in any type of way, you cannot leave. You must get that repaired before you move that truck or trailer any further. Now, your trailer could have the defect. That doesn't mean your truck can't move. So when they put you out of service, they may put that trailer out of service. So until it gets repaired, that doesn't necessarily affect the truck and vice versa. If there's an issue with the truck, maybe the truck has to get repaired, but another truck can come pick the trailer up because it had no issues. So those are things you need to understand about the difference between the level inspections. There's one, there's a level two, level three. Okay. Any questions about the DOT inspections? Now, let me ask you a question. And let me give you a scenario rather. You had a DOT inspection in Florida. OK, let's say you're in Miami, Florida. You had a DOT inspection. You cross over into the next state, which is Georgia. That does not prevent you from having another DOT inspection. It does not. You actually can have a DOT inspection in almost every state you go through. if the luck of the draw is like that for you. So just because you had one in Florida does not exempt you from suffering the same actions or the effects in another state. So that's why it's urgent for drivers to get these things fixed immediately. If you have a issue in Miami, Florida, Miami, Florida is far from the Georgia line, from the Georgia, Florida line. It's far. So in the eyes of the DOT, you had ample opportunity to get that defective equipment fixed and you chose not to and you're coming here in our state, well, we're going to hit you with the same thing. We're going to say you have the same issue over here in our state because you could have addressed it before you got to our state lines. And that's literally how a lot of DOT officers think. And I can't blame them on that because you will have traveled. Eleven hours, you have traveled eleven hours with that problem like that. before you decided to get it fit to get it fixed well maybe not eleven you might have traveled eight seven or eight if you're down at the bottom of miami yeah before you decided to get that issue fixed so that's that's a big deal it's nothing it's nothing small by any means uh So that's why we only want to dispatch for drivers that care about what they're doing. And that's why we check driver's records because it potentially impacts us. We want the revenue, we want the money, but safety is always the first concern in this industry, because it's a life or death industry. It's not like driving a car, a truck, you, your odds of survival, if something happened are very, very low. very very low okay any questions guys okay I'll take that as a note so that will end our training for um module thirty which talks about the uh dot inspections okay thanks guys