DVIR clarification please

Company policy can be stricter than the regulations, so if they want DVIRs, they can require it and fire you for not following company policy. Although filling them out for equipment not used is a bit silly.

The yard truck not having a plate is an issue though. It doesn't need one as long as it remains on the property. But since you say it crosses a street it should have a plate and needs to follow all the requirements needed for driving a vehicle on the road. There will be issues if an accident happens.

 

Any vehicle on city streets must be plated. I'm not sure on private property. Supposedly houses can be harassed if a car is sitting in the driveway with expired plates if they face the street that someone driving by can see the tags. My uncle occasionally has a car in his driveway. Backed in though. Might be a city thing.

Interstate means across state lines.
Intrastate is within the state.

Highway means nothing. I drive the highways all day long. I don't leave the state anymore so I could mark intrastate. But I keep interstate just in case.

I don't know how drivers can fill out dvir for trucks they don't drive. It's only for the truck you drive. If the truck is parked for the day. Seems silly to fill one out.

I don't know about everyone else but every company I've worked for. Always has trucks parked. Driver could be off that day. Truck don't have a driver. Or truck is in the shop.

As mentioned above. Company has the say. Even though it's silly..

Now. Someone will come along and say I'm wrong about something in this post. But that's been my experience.

 

Something doesn't sound right here.

Who is doing a pre trip on the truck not being used?
If it was to be used does it get a second pre trip by a different driver?
If I was instructed to do a pre trip on a truck that wasn't going to be moved I would do it providing your paid by the hour but would note on the inspection that your not operating the truck and the time and milage including the 10ths you finished with it.
Even if the truck is only operated on site your inspection is not valid by any standard for an other operator to drive it.

 

By the way my understanding is unless there is a special provision/permit/exception in your state for crossing a state or local road that yard truck must be registered, insured, fuel taxes paid, have a dot number and a properly licensed driver to cross public roads.

 

Others have answered your other points, but I want to address this one.
It doesn't matter if the driver leaves the state, it matters if the load does. For example if you are going to a rail yard and picking up containers then you would be interstate as the containers (load) crossed state lines. Now if said containers are unloaded at your warehouse, and they are delivered to local places after reloading in another trailer then it is intrastate as the load will not be crossing state lines at that point. Unless, of course, you do cross state lines in that 20 mi radius.

 

The FMCSA does NOT require a daily vehicle inspection report. The driver is required to inspect any commercial vehicle before drving it on public roads, but you are only required to note the violations. If the vehicle meets all FMCSA equipment requirements, the FMCSA doesn't care if you fill-out and keep the DVIR or not.

If your yard truck crosses a public road the driver and the truck and trailer need to be roadworthy and legal. Crossing a road is the same to FMCSA as driving through town. One company trying to hire cheap drivers and avoid maintenance got slapped for using non-CDL drivers and vehicles with shocking violations just across a street into the major mfg plant I used to bring parts to. If the vehicle by weight and use on public roads requires a CMV/CDL it doesn't matter if it's n the public road for half an inch or 50 miles.

 

have every driver ask for the keys to every truck so you can check lights and air pressure tanks, ect.

might make them think twice?