Year after year, one of the top violations for commercial motor vehicles is having inoperable lighting. An inoperable vehicle lamp gives the appearance that a vehicle is not being optimally maintained. Lamp failures are easy to spot, even from afar, and while a vehicle is stopped for the lighting infraction, a more thorough Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) roadside inspection is likely to happen.
Hours may go by as your driver waits to get back on the road, even longer if a service call is required. A lamp that costs dollars can quickly end up costing hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in service fees, lost vehicle and driver productivity, fines for violations and points against the driver’s and fleet’s CSA scores.
Remember, based on U.S. DOT weighted guidelines, infractions dealing with defective or inoperable lighting ranks higher than brakes and carry higher CSA point penalties in relationship to other infractions. This means that taking the time to perform a thorough pre-trip inspection is critical to keeping you and other drivers safe, while avoiding penalties within your CSA score.
Originally Posted on Idealease Safety Bulletin