Do Florida Work Trucks Have to Keep Maintenance Records?

Start with the two questions

Most owners only know the 10,000-pound number. Florida's traffic code calls a vehicle used in commerce with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more a commercial motor vehicle, and the federal definition starts at 10,001. That number tells you the truck is commercial. It does not tell you which maintenance paperwork applies, and that is where people go wrong in both directions.

The exemption is in Section 316.302(2)(f). It covers a person operating a commercial motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight, gross vehicle weight rating and gross combined weight rating all under 26,001 pounds, solely in intrastate commerce, and not hauling hazardous materials in amounts that require placarding. All of those have to be true at once.

So a Palatka plumber's one-ton running to Crescent City and Welaka all week is likely on the exempt side. The same truck taking a job across the Georgia line is not, at least for that work. A heavy-duty pickup hooked to an equipment trailer can land on the wrong side of the combined rating, even though the door jamb number alone looks fine.

The word intrastate is narrower than it sounds. The federal definition of interstate commerce reaches a trip between two places in one state when it is part of trade or transportation that starts or ends outside the state. If you haul materials that come in from out of state and are not sure which side you are on, ask before you rely on the exemption.

What the exempt truck still owes

Exempt is not the same as unregulated. The same subsection says these operators must still comply with 49 CFR parts 382, 392 and 393, along with Sections 396.3(a)(1) and 396.9. Part 393 covers parts and accessories such as brakes, lights and tires, and Section 396.3(a)(1) requires parts and accessories to be in safe and proper operating condition at all times.

Section 396.9 is the one to remember, because it does come with paper. If an inspector stops the truck and hands the driver a report, it goes to the company. The company certifies the violations were corrected, within 15 days of the inspection, and keeps a copy for 12 months. If the truck is placed out of service, nobody drives it until the repairs are done.

An inspector can also put a truck out of service whatever its paperwork looks like. The exemption takes away a filing cabinet, not the brake check.

What the full rules require, and for how long

Over the line, or across it, four kinds of records apply.

• Vehicle file, Section 396.3: Vehicle identification, a schedule showing the type and due date of upcoming work, and a record of inspections, repairs and maintenance with dates. Keep it 1 year, and for 6 months after the truck leaves your control.
• Driver vehicle inspection report, Section 396.11: Written when each day's work on the vehicle is finished, if the driver finds or is told about a defect. Keep it, with the repair certification, for 3 months. A carrier running only one commercial vehicle is excluded.
• Annual inspection report, Section 396.21: Lists the inspector, the vehicle, the date, the components and the results. Keep it 14 months. Proof of the inspection, either the report or a decal, has to be on the vehicle.
• Roadside inspection report, Section 396.9: Certify the repairs within 15 days and keep a copy for 12 months.

The driver has a part in this

The driver has a job in this as well. Under Section 396.13, before driving, the driver has to be satisfied the truck is in safe operating condition, review the last report if one was required and sign it. Any defect affecting safety has to be repaired before the truck goes back out, and the carrier has to certify that it was fixed or that repair was unnecessary. A report that says the brakes pull, followed by nothing, is worse than no report at all.

Keep records even if you do not have to

This part is our opinion, not the statute. If a truck is exempt, the law does not require the 396.3 file, but we would still keep a simple version. A truck with a written history is easier to diagnose, and it is easier to show what you did about the brakes if anyone ever asks.

It does not have to be fancy. One folder or spreadsheet per truck: the VIN, the door jamb ratings, what is due and when, and every invoice. Set a date to go through them. Florida heat and short job-site trips are hard on fluids and brakes, and a schedule built around how the truck really runs is the subject of our work truck maintenance guide.

The exemption can also end without anyone deciding to end it. A new trailer, a heavier truck or one job in Georgia can change your answer, so check the ratings when the fleet changes and not only when somebody asks.

Who decides if you are not sure

We are a repair shop, not your lawyer, and we are not the enforcement agency. The statute is the place to start, and the Florida Highway Patrol's commercial vehicle enforcement or the FMCSA's Florida division can answer a question about your operation. Ask before an inspection, and keep the answer in writing if you can get it.

What we can do is look at the trucks. Our fleet service page covers how we work with contractor and trade fleets in Putnam County. Repairs here also carry the 36-month/36,000-mile nationwide warranty, and ours is the only fleet warranty in Palatka.