Truckers operating intermodal equipment no longer are required to submit inspection reports if they have not found nor been made aware of defects in the IME.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s final rule eliminates the requirement that drivers submit no-defect Driver-Vehicle Inspection Reports after their inspection indicated no issues with the equipment nor were any problems brought to their attention. Agency officials estimated the final rule, effective June 12, will represent an annual costs savings of 1.6 million hours and $54 million dollars.
The new rule lifts only the mandate that drivers file no-defect DVIRs when the chassis is not owned or leased by the motor carrier, such as if the IME is the property of a port facility operator. It also does not change a driver’s obligation to assess the condition of IME for deficiencies.
The FMCSA published the final rule in response to a joint petition for rulemaking from the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association and the Institute of International Container Lessors.
Agency representatives estimated the DVIRs take drivers a little more than 2.5 minutes to complete and about 95 percent of DVIRs indicate no defects found.
View the Final Rule, “Inspection, Repair, and Maintenance; Driver-Vehicle Inspection Report for Intermodal Equipment.”
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/rulemakings/final/No-Defect-DVIR.aspx
