PSV walkaround checks. Done properly, every day.

The daily walkaround check is the cheapest bit of maintenance an operator has, and the bit examiners pick apart first. It is also where a lot of S marked prohibitions start. If a defect is one the driver should have spotted on the morning check, DVSA treats it as a sign that your system is not working, and both the operator and the driver can end up answering for it.

The rule

The Guide to maintaining roadworthiness sets out the position. A driver, or a responsible person the operator nominates, must carry out a walkaround check before the vehicle is used on the road. At least one check must be done in every 24-hour period the vehicle is in service, preferably straight before it is used. The driver is always legally responsible for the condition of the vehicle while it is being driven. If someone else does the check, the driver needs to see evidence that it was done and the vehicle is free of safety defects.

The check covers the whole vehicle, inside and out: everything that can be assessed safely without a workshop. The people doing it must be trained and competent to spot faults that would make the vehicle unroadworthy. Drivers’ responsibilities should be set out in writing, and the guide says the driver should sign to confirm they have received and understood them, with a copy kept on file.

Driver changes during the day

Bus work brings its own problem. When drivers change over at a stop, a full walkaround is often not safe or practical. DVSA accepts that where the first check of the day is done by a responsible person and there is a working defect reporting system recording that initial check and any defects, or nil defects, reported by each driver who takes the vehicle during the day. Each driver still has to monitor the vehicle while driving it.

What to check

DVSA’s page Carry out bus or coach daily walkaround checks lists 29 items, split into three groups. Here they are in short, with the points that most often get skipped.

From the driver’s seat

• Front view: mirrors or camera systems present, secure, not damaged or covered. Windscreen not cracked, scratched or discoloured, and nothing in the wiper sweep beyond permitted items such as the operator licence disc.
• Wipers and washers working and not worn.
• Warning lamps, instruments and gauges, including ABS, main beam and parking brake.
• Steering: no excessive play, no jamming, power steering working, no lift or movement in the column.
• Horn working and within reach.
• Brakes and air build-up: air builds up correctly, warning system works, no leaks, service and parking brakes work, footwell clear, pedal rubber present and secure.
• Height marker in the cab showing the right height.
• Electronic ticket machine working.
• Driver’s seat belt undamaged, latches and retracts properly.

Inside the vehicle

• Doors and emergency exits open fully, close securely, exit markings visible and lights working.
• Accessibility equipment, where the vehicle is covered by the PSV accessibility regulations: wheelchair space and its safety features, boarding device, priority seats, handrails and contrasting features. The driver must also know how they work.
• Seats and seat belts secure and undamaged, retractable seats retracting.
• Communication with the driver: bell pushes, bus stopping signs and route and destination displays.
• Heating and ventilation, including demisters.
• Emergency exit hammer present where glass exits need one.
• Fire extinguisher of the right type, in good condition, easy to reach and not discharged.
• First aid kit where one is required, present and accessible.
• Body interior: nothing that passengers walk on loose or defective, exits clear, interior lights working, rails and stanchions secure, toilets and cooking facilities safe.

Outside the vehicle

• Tyres and wheel fixings: at least 1mm of tread, correctly inflated, no deep sidewall cuts, no cord showing, nothing trapped between twins, all wheel nuts present and tight, and wheel nut indicators not moved.
• Lights, indicators and reflectors working, clean, right colour, and stop lamps coming on and going off with the brake.
• Number plate correct, clean and not obscured.
• Body exterior: panels and luggage and access doors secure with no sharp edges.
• Fuel, oil and waste leaks, with the filler cap fitted.
• Excessive exhaust smoke.
• AdBlue level.
• Battery, where easy to get at: secure, sound, not leaking.
• Ancillary equipment secure and working.
• High voltage emergency cut-off switch on electric and hybrid vehicles: the driver knows where it is, it works, and high voltage parts are secure.
• Alternative fuel systems: the driver knows where the isolation switch is, no leaks, visible parts in good condition.

Five of these, the ticket machine, battery, ancillary equipment, high voltage cut-off and alternative fuel systems, were added to DVSA’s list in April 2023. If your check sheet or app has not changed since before then, it is probably out of date.

Recording and reporting defects

Any defect found on the walkaround, while the vehicle is in use or when it comes back to base has to go into a written report. The guide lists what the report should hold:

• vehicle registration or identification mark
• date
• details of the defect or symptoms
• the reporter’s name
• who it was reported to
• an assessment of the defect
• the rectification work
• the date the rectification was completed

Every report has to go to a responsible person with enough authority to act on it, which can mean taking the vehicle out of service there and then. A report listing defects is part of the vehicle’s maintenance record and must be kept for at least 15 months, along with the assessment, the repair and who did it. Electronic records are fine, but they too have to be available for 15 months with the repair record. If a defect is not going to be fixed straight away, the maintenance investigation questions say the operator should record why, with the defect report.

Drivers on a tachograph record the walkaround and any repairs they do as other work.

Nil defect reports

A nil defect report is the driver confirming the check was done and nothing was found. DVSA describes it as good practice and as a positive report that the vehicle is free from defects. On a day when nothing was wrong, it is the record that shows an examiner a check actually happened. The guide recommends keeping nil reports for at least three months, and a Traffic Commissioner can require an operator to run a nil defect system.

Nil reports matter at the roadside too. Under DVSA’s categorisation of defects, an examiner can downgrade a delayed prohibition to an inspection notice where the defect arose during that day’s running and the vehicle was clear at the start, backed by a nil driver defect report, with an in-service defect report and a recorded assessment saying it was safe to finish the day. No nil report, no concession.

How long should a walkaround take?

DVSA does not set a number of minutes. It says enough time has to be allowed for the check to be done thoroughly, and it points out that operators can use tachograph analysis to see how long drivers actually spend on it. That is the honest test. A check that covers 29 items, inside and out, including walking the length of a coach, opening the luggage lockers and looking at every wheel, cannot be done in the time it takes to walk from the cab door to the depot gate. If your tachograph data shows walkarounds of a minute or two, an examiner will draw the same conclusion you would.

Set a minimum in your own procedure that fits your vehicles, tell drivers what it is, and check it. PSVault times each check on the server from the moment it starts and flags any that finish too quickly. More on that on the walkaround checks page.

What an examiner looks for

In a maintenance investigation, driver defect reporting is section 5 of the examiner’s report. It asks three things: are effective walkaround checks being carried out, is there a suitable system for reporting defects, and are defects assessed and repaired. The marking is telling. A mostly satisfactory result allows the odd safety inspection that finds something a driver should have reported, with no matching driver report. An unsatisfactory result follows when that happens regularly, when the fleet check finds defects drivers should have reported, or when there have been driver responsible prohibitions. Falsified records, or clear evidence that checks are not being done, go straight to the Traffic Commissioner.

Examiners compare driver defect reports with what the safety inspections find on the same vehicles. If the inspection sheet shows a worn wiper blade, a missing reflector and a tyre with cord showing, and the driver reports for that fortnight are all nil, the examiner will ask why.

If you use an electronic system

DVSA accepts walkarounds done on phones or tablets. The maintenance investigation questions list what such a system should have: a suitable digital signature, secure data input and storage, confirmation the vehicle is roadworthy at the start of the day, a paper backup that can be scanned in if the system fails, easy access to photos by date and vehicle, the ability to produce at least the current day’s record at the roadside, and reliable date and time stamps, including on nil reports.

Common ways operators get caught out

• Tick-box checks. Every item OK, every day, and the inspection a week later finds five things.
• No nil reports. Without them there is no way to show a check happened on a clean day.
• Checks that are too quick to be real, shown up by tachograph data.
• Defects reported but not acted on, or acted on with no record of who assessed them and what was done.
• Vehicles going out with a reported safety defect. That one goes to the Traffic Commissioner.
• Out of date check lists that miss the newer items, especially on electric and alternative fuel buses.
• No written instructions to drivers, or none they have signed for.
• No monitoring. DVSA suggests checking driver quality by having someone re-examine vehicles leaving or coming back to the yard, or by having inspectors note which defects the driver should have found, then following up. See gate checks and driver quality.

A Traffic Commissioner can also act against the driver. The guide notes that failing to do an adequate walkaround can lead to a driver conduct hearing and the loss of a vocational licence.

Walkaround checklist for the transport manager

1. Check your walkaround list matches DVSA’s current 29 items, adjusted for what each vehicle type actually has fitted.
2. Give every driver their responsibilities in writing and keep the signed copy.
3. Train drivers on what a defect looks like, not only where to look.
4. Make sure every check is recorded, including nil reports, with the date and time.
5. Route every defect to a named person with authority to stop the vehicle.
6. Record the assessment and the repair against every defect, and keep it for 15 months.
7. Keep nil reports for at least three months.
8. Use tachograph data or check timing to spot rushed checks.
9. Compare inspection findings with driver reports every month and talk to the drivers concerned.
10. Run occasional gate checks and write down what you found.

For how walkarounds fit into the rest of the record, see maintenance records: what to keep.