Inspection Report Paperwork Rule Repealed by Feds

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has rescinded a requirement that property-carrying commercial motor vehicle drivers submit, and motor carriers retain, driver vehicle inspection reports when the driver has neither found nor been made aware of any vehicle defects or deficiencies.

The final rule, effective Dec. 18, will eliminate a burdensome daily paperwork requirement and save the trucking industry an estimated $1.7 billion annually without compromising safety, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said on Dec. 9.

“We delivered big on President Obama’s call to cut red tape and waste,” Foxx said in a statement. “America’s truckers should be able to focus more on getting their goods safely to store shelves, construction sites or wherever they need to be instead of spending countless hours on unnecessary paperwork that costs the industry nearly $2 billion each year. This is a far better way to do business.”

The no-defect DVIR rule will eliminate paperwork for roughly 95% of the driver pre- and post-trip inspections of their vehicles, DOT said.

FMCSA estimates that professional truck drivers spend about 46.7 million hours each year completing driver vehicle inspection reports.

Eliminating DVIRs when no safety defects or mechanical deficiencies are identified will result in time savings valued at $1.7 billion annually, Foxx said.

FMCSA Acting Administrator Scott Darling said that until now, truck driver vehicle inspection reports were the 19th highest paperwork burden across all federal agencies.

“By scrapping the no-defect inspection reports, the burden is reduced to 79th, marking the most significant paperwork reduction achievement thus far in the Obama administration,” Darling said.

In June 2012, FMCSA eliminated a comparable requirement for truck drivers operating intermodal equipment trailers used for transporting containerized cargo shipments. The cost savings to the intermodal industry was estimated to be $54 million annually, DOT said.