Emergency Equipment Inspection Checklist

Part 393.95 requires a UL-rated extinguisher of at least 5 B:C (10 B:C for hazmat placarded loads). Confirm the gauge is in the green, the pin and tamper seal are intact, the hose is uncracked, and the bracket is securely mounted in the cab. Check the annual maintenance tag — if older than 12 months, the extinguisher is out of compliance.

Pull the unit, tag it out of service, and source a replacement before this tractor leaves the yard. A failed extinguisher on a roadside inspection is an automatic out-of-service violation under CVSA criteria.

Part 393.95 requires three bidirectional reflective triangles, or six fusees, or three liquid-burning flares. Confirm the case is intact and the triangles open and stand without falling. Hazmat loads cannot use flares — triangles only.

Required under Part 393.95(d) unless the tractor is equipped only with non-replaceable circuit breakers. Confirm one spare for each fuse type used on the tractor.

Key up on the carrier's primary dispatch channel and confirm a clean signal both ways. CB channel 19 and channel 9 (emergency) should also be reachable for areas without cell coverage.

Verify the Motive, Samsara, or Geotab unit shows the correct driver, current duty status, and HOS clock without exception flags from the prior shift. An ELD that won't sync is a 14-day paper-log situation under Part 395.34.

Open the kit and check expiration on bandages, antiseptic wipes, gloves, gauze, and tape. Replace any item past expiration. Photograph the inside of the restocked kit for the inspection record.

Two mylar thermal blankets minimum; rain jacket and pants stored where the driver can reach them without exiting the cab in heavy weather. Owner-operators running northern lanes (I-80, I-90, I-94) carry a sleeping bag rated to 0°F.

One gallon of water and 24 hours of shelf-stable food per occupant. Replace any sun-damaged or freeze-thawed water bottles. Bars and pouches with expiration within 60 days get rotated out.

Drivers should be able to verify steers at 4/32" and drives at 2/32" without calling the shop. Confirm the gauge reads against a known-good reference; tire iron and four-way are clean and not cracked.

Heavy-truck cables (2-gauge or thicker) for 12V/24V systems, or a NOCO Boost HD or equivalent lithium pack with at least 75% charge. A 4-gauge passenger-car set will not crank a Class 8 tractor.

Two spare gladhand seals (red and blue), a handful of #1157 / #194 trailer bulbs, and a spare 7-pin pigtail. These are the parts that strand a driver at a shipper at 2 a.m. — keep them in the side box.

One handheld flashlight and one hands-free headlamp, each tested under load. A fresh set of batteries goes in the kit; the old set comes out — don't leave dying alkalines that may leak in summer heat.

Federal worker visibility rule (23 CFR 634) requires Class 2 vest any time the driver is on a federal-aid highway right-of-way — including walking around the truck after a breakdown. Replace any vest with faded retroreflective tape.

Rand McNally TND, Garmin dezl, or Trucker Path Pro should show the current quarter's map data. Out-of-date routing is how trucks end up under 11'8" bridges and on parkways. Update over Wi-Fi at the terminal before dispatch.

Current-year Rand McNally Motor Carriers' Road Atlas as a paper backup. The GPS will fail at the worst moment; the atlas marks designated truck routes, low-clearance bridges, weigh stations, and hazmat-restricted tunnels.

If anything inspected above failed, missed spec, or needs replacement, mark Yes and the work-order step will appear. Honest defect reporting is the legal record under Part 396.11 — "no defects" on a kit with an expired extinguisher destroys the carrier's defense in litigation.

Enter the work order in Fleetio or the carrier's shop system before the tractor moves. Tag the affected unit out of service if any defect rises to a CVSA OOS criterion (no extinguisher, no warning devices, no operative ELD).