Daily Walk-around Checks for Light Commercial Vehicles

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Driver Walk-Around Checks. What do I need to know?

As the operator of a commercial vehicle you are required to have in place a system for regular inspection in order to keep the vehicle road worthy and to identify defects. A Daily Walk-around check must be undertaken.

What do daily walk-around checks entail?

Daily Walk-around checks prior to driving the vehicle are a simple and effective way to spot potentially dangerous issues before vehicles are used. These walk-around checks may be carried out by any person trained to conduct such checks (including: drivers). Potential road worthiness issues can also be identified during driving, therefore you should seek driver feedback as a source of information on vehicle condition. You must ensure that a walk around inspection of the vehicle is carried out before the vehicle is used on a public road.


Obligation in relation to recording of defects

For the daily walk-around check to be effective, you must have a system in place for reporting and recording vehicle defects.

Record keeping requirements

You are required to keep detailed records in relation to the inspection, maintenance and repair of vehicles. If you have a maintenance or fleet management contract with us, we will have these records available to you via our fleet portal and is fully reportable.

What records are operators obliged to keep and for how long?

Detailed records in relation to the inspection, maintenance and repair of vehicles must be kept. These records must be retained for at least two (2) years after their creation.

These records should include the following:
  • vehicle registration number, model, year of manufacture
  • when the vehicle had its last annual road worthiness test
  • details of when and what maintenance was carried out and by whom
  • details of all defects reported/discovered
  • details of when defects were rectified, including date and by whom
  • parts and service invoices

Please note Mahony Fleet APP provides you with full access to the maintenance and repair information of your Fleet Solutions leased vehicles if you have a maintenance or fleet management contract.

Authorised Officers from the RSA’s appointed Technical Service Providers, may undertake inspections at vehicle operators premises to check compliance with the recording of defects and also that the operator has an effective maintenance system in place for vehicles. Operators will need to show the Authorised Officer that there is scheduled maintenance, inspections and vehicle repairs to prevent road worthiness issues occurring.

The good news is, if you are a customer of Mahony Fleet with a fleet management or maintenance contract, our Driver Portal is available to you and this assists you in carrying out your legal responsibility to conduct a daily-walk around check to your commercial vehicles. It provides the reporting requirements, record keeping and defect management system that the law states you must have.

Contact us today if you wish to have a demo or avail of the Mahony Fleet Driver Portal.

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