Truck Safety Checklist for Drivers and Fleets: Daily Checks, Inspections and Records

For most Australian fleets, truck safety rests on three layers: the driver’s daily check, regular weekly checks, and scheduled inspections and servicing. Each catches different faults, and together they give you a record you can stand behind if a vehicle is inspected at the roadside or a question comes up after an incident. This guide covers what to check at each layer, what to do when you find a defect, and the records worth keeping.

Why truck safety checks matter

Under the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), heavy vehicles must meet the heavy vehicle standards when they are used on the road, and every party in the Chain of Responsibility has a primary duty to keep their transport activities safe, so far as is reasonably practicable. Work health and safety laws add a duty to manage the risks of vehicles used for work.

The HVNL doesn’t prescribe one daily check form, but the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) publishes guidance on creating heavy vehicle daily checks. A consistent checklist, with defects recorded and fixed, is one of the most practical ways to show that reasonable steps are being taken. See our guide to Chain of Responsibility compliance.

Daily check: the 10 NHVR areas

The NHVR’s guide to creating heavy vehicle daily checks describes a quick visual inspection before operating, done before leaving the yard, depot or rest area. It groups the check into these areas:

1. Brakes: warning indicators and gauges working, air pressure builds normally, drain valves checked
2. Couplings: fifth wheel, kingpin, towbar and connections secure and undamaged
3. Wheels, tyres and hubs: inflation, tread depth, damage, and wheel nuts secure
4. Structure and body: no loose or damaged panels, horn working
5. Lights and reflectors: all present, clean and working
6. Mirrors: present, secure and adjusted
7. Windscreen and windows: no damage in the driver’s vision area, wipers and washers working
8. Engine, driveline and exhaust: no fluid leaks, nothing loose or damaged
9. High voltage systems: on electric and hybrid trucks, wiring, labels and battery components undamaged
10. Gas systems: on gas-fuelled trucks, containers, restraints and labels in good condition

Add the items your fleet needs on top of these, such as load restraint equipment, safety gear and anything the manufacturer specifies. For a driver-focused version, see our truck pre-start checklist. You can also download our free daily heavy vehicle pre-start checklist (PDF).

How to run the daily check

1. Walk around the outside. Start at the driver’s door and walk the same route every time, checking tyres, wheels, lights, mirrors, body and couplings.
2. Check under the bonnet and underneath. With the engine cold, check fluid levels and look for leaks, damaged hoses and loose components.
3. Check in the cab. Start the engine, check the gauges and warning lights, let air pressure build and test the brakes, horn, wipers and controls.
4. Check the trailer and load. Confirm the coupling is locked, the lines are connected and the load is restrained.
5. Record and report. Complete the checklist, photograph any defect and report it before you leave. A safety-critical fault means the truck stays put.

For a detailed walk-around, see our truck pre-operational checklist guide.

Weekly checks

A daily check is quick and visual. A weekly check, done by the driver or a workshop, gives time to look more closely. Typical weekly items include:

• Tyre pressures measured with a gauge, not just a visual check
• Tread depth measured across all tyres, including inner duals
• Fluid levels topped up and any slow leaks followed up
• Battery terminals, mounts and cables
• Load restraint equipment such as straps, chains, ratchets and gates
• Fire extinguisher, first aid kit, warning triangles and other safety equipment
• Cab cleanliness, seat and seatbelt condition

Periodic inspections and servicing

Some faults only show up when a trained person looks properly, often with the vehicle on a hoist. Build these into a schedule based on the manufacturer’s recommendations and how hard the vehicle works:

• Scheduled servicing at the intervals the manufacturer specifies
• Brake inspections, including linings, drums, discs, adjusters and air system components
• Steering and suspension, including play, bushes, springs and airbags
• Couplings, including fifth wheel and kingpin wear
• Roadworthiness inspections, using the National Heavy Vehicle Inspection Manual as a reference for what inspectors look for

A maintenance schedule only works if someone tracks it, so record due dates and completed work against each vehicle.

Truck driver safety checklist

Vehicle checks are only half the picture. A truck driver safety checklist covers the driver and the trip as well, so problems like fatigue, an unsecured load or a missing work diary are caught before the truck leaves the yard.

Fatigue is one of the biggest risks for heavy vehicle drivers. See our guide to fatigue management for the work and rest rules, and our guide to chain of responsibility evidence for what operators should keep on record.

What to do when you find a defect

A checklist is only as good as what happens after a box is marked as failed. A simple defect process looks like this:

• Report it straight away, with a photo and a clear description of where the fault is.
• Assess it. Is it safety-critical? Brake faults, tyres below the legal minimum, missing wheel nuts, faulty brake lights, windscreen damage in the driver’s view or an unlocked coupling mean the truck shouldn’t move.
• Tag it out if needed, so no one else takes the vehicle.
• Repair it and record what was done and by whom.
• Sign it off before the truck goes back into service.

Records worth keeping

If a vehicle is inspected, or questions come up after an incident, good records show what was checked and what was done about it. Keep:

• Completed daily and weekly checks, with the driver, vehicle, date and time
• Defect reports, with photos
• Repairs and sign-offs, linked to the defect they fixed
• Service and inspection history for each vehicle
• Any defect notices and how they were cleared

Records are most useful when they can be found quickly by vehicle, date or defect, which is where paper books tend to fall down. Our guide on why reporting isn’t the same as resolving explains the gap between a completed form and a verified fix.

Who is responsible?

The driver does the daily check, but under the Chain of Responsibility, safety duties extend to every party who can influence transport safety. For vehicle safety that typically includes:

• Drivers, who check the vehicle and report defects
• Operators and employers, who provide a checking system, act on defects and maintain the fleet
• Schedulers, who shouldn’t pressure drivers to skip checks or leave with known faults
• Maintenance providers, who repair and service vehicles properly
• Managers and executives, who make sure the business has the resources and systems to do all of this

Rolling out a checking program

A checklist only works if drivers use it properly every day and defects are acted on. When you set up or reset a program across a fleet:

• Match checklists to vehicles: build separate checks for rigids, prime movers, trailers and light vehicles, based on the NHVR daily check areas and the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Agree the no-go list: decide which faults stop a vehicle leaving, and make that clear on the checklist.
• Train drivers: show them how to do the check, what a fail looks like and how to report it, and supervise their first few checks.
• Make reporting easy: agree who receives defects, how quickly they are assessed and how the driver hears back.
• Review regularly: spot-check completed checks, look for “tick and flick” patterns and recurring defects, and feed what you find into the maintenance schedule.
• Keep it current: update checklists when vehicles, equipment or requirements change.

Taking truck safety checks digital

With the DIGI CLIP truck pre-start checklist app, drivers complete daily and weekly checks on a phone, add photos to failed items and submit from the yard. Checks can be completed without coverage and submitted with a tap once the device is back online. Failed items flow into the Action Log, where they are assigned to the workshop, tracked and closed out with evidence, building a history for each vehicle.

Illustrative scenario: a slow air leak

During a weekly check, a driver notices the air pressure takes longer than usual to build and hears a faint leak near the rear axle. He fails the item in DIGI CLIP with a short video and a note. The fleet manager sees the action, books the truck into the workshop that afternoon and swaps the run to another vehicle. The workshop replaces a leaking fitting and closes out the action with a photo, so the truck’s record shows the defect, the repair and the sign-off.

This scenario is illustrative. It shows how a fleet could use DIGI CLIP and is not an account of a specific customer.

Ready to build your own? Start with our truck pre-start checklist template.