§393.71 supplements §393.70 with the requirements specific to driveaway-towaway operations and to longer combinations (doubles and triples): tow-bar dimensions and mounting, saddle-mount requirements, safety devices on each tow-bar and saddle-mount connection, and the precise geometry of the inter-trailer connections in a multi-trailer combination.
Severity weight
Severity weight 5 in the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC. The findings rarely appear in single-trailer fleets; they cluster in driveaway operators and in the small subset of carriers running doubles/triples on permitted lanes.
How it gets cited
For driveaway-towaway: tow-bar fastenings that have loosened in transit, saddle-mount upper structures that show fatigue cracking, missing safety chains across the connection. For doubles/triples: converter-dolly hitches that do not match the trailer kingpin dimensions or are mis-pinned, missing or unsecured pintle hooks at the lead trailer's rear.
How to prevent it
- Driveaway connection inspection at every stop — tow-bar fasteners, saddle-mount cup, safety devices. The vibration profile of towed vehicles is harsher than purpose-built combinations.
- For doubles/triples: standardize converter-dolly kingpin dimensions across the fleet to avoid mismatched coupling in mixed-trailer operations.
- Drivers running their first double/triple need formal §380.503 training, not on-the-job instruction.
How Roadworthy HQ helps
A §393.71 coupling citation is recorded with the inspection it came from. 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.