§392.7 lists the parts and accessories the driver must verify before driving — service brakes (including trailer brake connections), parking brake, steering mechanism, lighting devices and reflectors, tires, horn, windshield wipers, rear-vision mirrors, and coupling devices. If a defective component is found at roadside, §392.7 is often cited alongside the §393 defect itself.
Severity weight
Severity weight 1 in the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC. The standalone weight is low, but §392.7 is rarely the only finding — it pairs with whatever defect was discovered (§393.47 brakes, §393.75 tires, §393.9 lamps). The compounded weight is what shifts the BASIC.
How to prevent it
- Document daily pre-trip inspections on a checklist that hits every §392.7 item.
- Pair pre-trip with the post-trip DVIR under §396.11(a)(1) — the same equipment, the same items, twice in a 24-hour cycle.
- Train drivers that "I looked at it" isn't a pre-trip; the regulation requires they "satisfy themselves" each item is in working order.
- Recurring §392.7 citations against the same driver are a §391.25 annual-review issue. Document the coaching.
How Roadworthy HQ helps
A §392.7 citation is about the inspection the driver did or didn't do. Roadworthy HQ does not record individual violation codes. Log the roadside inspection on the vehicle's Inspections tab: date, state, level, driver, the number of violations, and whether it was out-of-service. For an out-of-service inspection the 15-day §396.9(d)(3) repair-certification countdown stays on that tab until you enter the certification date. The rule's 15 days cover every violation on the report, not only out-of-service ones, so for a non-OOS inspection that date is yours to track. The repair itself goes in the vehicle's maintenance log: date, type, what was done, who did it, and cost. DVIRs are logged per vehicle with the defect described in your own words, and a defect marked safety-affecting that is logged without a repair certification sends a critical alert.