During your pre-trip inspection, you discover a defect that does not affect the safe operation of the vehicle. What should you do?
- Ignore the defect.
- Ask your employer what to do.
- Have the defect repaired before you drive the vehicle.
- Report that the defect isn't safety related. ✓
Answer: D. Report that the defect isn't safety related.
Report that the defect isn't safety related: record it on the trip inspection report and note that it does not need immediate repair.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says a defect that does not affect safe operation may wait for repair, but it still has to be written on the inspection report. The report must show that the defect does not require immediate repair. That matches reporting the defect as not safety related rather than ignoring it or treating it as a repair-before-driving item. The passages do not say to ask the employer first.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. Ignore the defect. — Ignoring the defect is wrong because the handbook says even a defect that does not affect safe operation must still be recorded.
- B. Ask your employer what to do. — Asking your employer what to do is not the step described; the handbook requires the defect to be recorded and noted as not needing immediate repair.
- C. Have the defect repaired before you drive the vehicle. — Having it repaired before you drive is wrong for a defect that does not affect safe operation, since the handbook says repairs may wait in that case.
Remember it
If it doesn't make the vehicle unsafe, write it down and say it can wait.