Truck and Bus Maintenance Requirements and Their Impact on Safety

The purpose of this research effort is to improve FMCSA’s understanding of the safety impact of preventative vehicle maintenance and to - Develop an operational definition of “systematic maintenance;” - Evaluate whether current regulations are sufficient to address: (i) preventative maintenance intervals, (ii) preventative maintenance inspections with adequately trained/equipped mechanics, and (iii) motor carriers’ maintenance facilities; and - Gather information to assist in establishing minimum standards for inspection intervals, mechanic qualifications and training, and certification of maintenance facilities. Under contract to FMCSA, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT) will obtain the data required to address the study objectives. In accordance with USDOT policy on research involving human subjects, this study will be submitted to VTTI’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) for review and approval prior to beginning data collection. This information collection will be administered exclusively online, using a two-phase survey process. Links to both surveys will be emailed directly to potential respondents. Carriers asked to participate in the Carrier Maintenance Management Survey (Phase II) will receive, via email, an informed consent form (ICF). The ICF, which contains no questions and does not require a signature, will outline the study objectives and methods, any possible risks, compensation, and participant rights. The Phase I survey will ask carriers to provide name and contact information (email and phone number); name of carrier and USDOT number; current position/job title at carrier; length of time carrier has been in operation; size of carrier; types of vehicles operated (e.g., bus, truck, tractor-truck, or tractor-trailer); and involvement in the past 24 months with a Federal or State intervention due to vehicle maintenance violations. Phase II includes questions about demographics; maintenance practices, intervals, personnel, and facilities; and State and Federal inspections, etc. This one-time survey is voluntary for truck carriers and bus carriers to report information online.

The latest form for Truck and Bus Maintenance Requirements and Their Impact on Safety expires 2023-11-30 and can be found here.

Online Recruitment Survey

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Transportation - Ground Transportation

Review document collections for all forms, instructions, and supporting documents - including paper/printable forms.