After the tow: what your fleet office should collect while it is still fresh

Why the file gets built this week, not next month

A breakdown ends for the driver when the truck moves again. For the office it is just starting. Someone will eventually ask what failed, what it cost, whether it was covered, and whether it could have been prevented, and the answers are only as good as the records gathered in the first few days. Fault codes get cleared, photos get lost in a phone, and a driver's clear memory of what the dash said turns vague within a week.

What follows is a practical checklist, not legal or compliance advice. The federal rules mentioned here apply to motor carriers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Intrastate carriers operate under their state's adopted rules, which can differ between Missouri and Kansas, and your safety department or compliance advisor is the authority for your operation.

From the tow or repair invoice

The invoice is the anchor for everything else, because it ties the event to a unit, a place and a time. On a fleet towing account with us, the invoice carries the unit, the driver, the location, the time, the destination and the nature of the work. Check that each invoice you receive, from any provider, includes the following.

• Unit number, VIN or plate, so it matches the right vehicle in your maintenance system.
• Driver name, matching your dispatch records for that run.
• Location and time, including when the call was made, when work started and when the unit was delivered.
• Destination. The shop, yard or dealer the unit went to, and who received it.
• Itemized work. Tow, recovery, roadside repair labor, parts and any storage shown separately, so each can be coded or claimed on its own.
• Your references. PO number, claim number or cost center, if your office uses them.

The driver's own account

Ask the driver to write down what happened as soon as they are safe and off duty, in their own words. It does not need to be polished. It needs to be specific, and it is far more reliable written the same day than reconstructed in a phone call a week later.

• What they noticed first. A warning light, a noise, a smell, smoke, a vibration or a loss of power, and roughly when it started.
• What the dash said. Warning lamps and any message text, word for word if they wrote it down or photographed it.
• What they did. Where they stopped, whether they set out warning devices, and whether they tried anything such as restarting.
• Who they spoke to. Dispatch, the towing or repair company, law enforcement or an inspector, with names if they have them.
• The load. Whether the unit was loaded, seal numbers, and anything about the freight's condition.

Photos, fault codes, times and places

• Photos. The dash with its warning lights, the failed part or leak if it was visible from a safe position, all sides of the vehicle, and the location. Save them with the date and unit number rather than leaving them in one driver's camera roll.
• Fault codes. Active and inactive codes read by the technician or pulled from telematics, with the date and engine hours or mileage. Record them before anyone clears them.
• Telematics and GPS data. Where the truck stopped, when, and what the engine data showed in the minutes before, if your system captures it. Export it before it ages out of the system.
• Times. When the fault began, when the truck stopped, when help was called, when it arrived and when the unit moved again. These are what you need to measure downtime.
• Location. Highway, direction and mile marker, or the street address, matching what is on the invoice.

Work performed, parts used and maintenance records

Whether the truck was fixed on the shoulder or in a shop, get a written record of exactly what was done. Federal rule 49 CFR 396.3 requires motor carriers to keep a record of inspection, repairs and maintenance for each vehicle they control for 30 consecutive days or more, showing the date and nature of the work. Those records are retained where the vehicle is housed or maintained for one year, and for six months after the vehicle leaves the carrier's control. A breakdown repair belongs in that file like any other, and its record should capture the following.

• The diagnosis. What the technician found, not just what was replaced.
• Parts used, with part numbers and whether they were new, remanufactured or used.
• Labor performed, in enough detail that the next technician knows what has already been done.
• Anything deferred. Faults noted but not repaired, and the recommendation given.
• Failed parts. Whether they were kept, returned or discarded, which can matter for a warranty claim.

Inspection reports and out-of-service orders

Under 49 CFR 396.11, drivers must prepare a written driver vehicle inspection report at the completion of each day's work on each vehicle operated, covering items including the service brakes, parking brake, steering, lighting, tires, horn, wipers, mirrors, coupling devices, wheels and rims, and emergency equipment. For property-carrying vehicles, no report is required if no defect was found or reported. When a defect is reported, the carrier must repair any defect likely to affect safe operation, and certify on the report that it was repaired or that repair was unnecessary, before the vehicle is operated again. The report, the certification of repairs and the driver's review certification are kept for three months from the date the report was prepared.

A breakdown often produces exactly that kind of reported defect, so make sure the report and the repair certification are completed and filed. If the truck was placed out of service at a roadside inspection, keep the inspection report and a record of the repair that cleared the violation. Under 49 CFR 396.9, the vehicle may not be operated until the repairs the out-of-service notice requires are completed, and within 15 days of the inspection the carrier must certify that the violations have been corrected, handle the form as the issuing agency directs, and keep a copy for 12 months. What those orders mean on the day is covered in our post on DOT out-of-service faults.

When a breakdown also counts as an accident

Most breakdowns are not accidents, but some become one, and the paperwork changes when they do. In 49 CFR 390.5, an accident is an occurrence involving a commercial motor vehicle on a highway that results in a fatality, bodily injury to a person who immediately receives medical treatment away from the scene, or disabling damage that requires a vehicle to be towed away. Occurrences involving only boarding or leaving a stationary vehicle, or only loading or unloading cargo, are excluded. A truck that simply fails mechanically and is towed has not usually had an accident; a breakdown that leads to a collision may be one.

When an event meets that definition, 49 CFR 390.15 requires the carrier to record it in an accident register kept for three years after the date of the accident. The register includes the date, the city or town and state, the driver's name, the number of injuries and fatalities, and whether hazardous materials, other than fuel spilled from the vehicles' fuel tanks, were released. Copies of any accident reports required by states, other government entities or insurers are kept with it. Your safety department decides whether a particular event qualifies.

Insurance and warranty claim documents

Claims are where a thin file costs real money. Whether towing is covered at all is a separate question, answered in does commercial truck insurance cover towing. The records below support a claim either way. This is not insurance or legal advice; your agent, insurer and warranty provider set what they need.

• Claim number and adjuster contact, opened as early as the policy requires.
• Police report or case number and the responding agency, for anything involving a crash.
• Itemized invoices for the tow, recovery, repair and storage, matched to the claim number.
• Warranty details. The unit's in-service date, mileage or engine hours, fault codes and repair order. Many warranties also expect proof of routine maintenance, and some require prior authorization or the failed part to be kept.
• Correspondence. Emails and notes of calls with the insurer, warranty administrator, rental or leasing company, kept with the file.
• A single folder per event, filed under the unit number and date, so anyone in the office can find it. Setting up billing references in advance, as described in setting up a fleet towing account, makes this much easier.

Sources

• 49 CFR 396.3, Inspection, repair, and maintenance
• 49 CFR 396.11, Driver vehicle inspection report(s)
• 49 CFR 396.9, Inspection of motor vehicles and intermodal equipment in operation
• 49 CFR 390.5, Definitions
• 49 CFR 390.15, Assistance in investigations and special studies

Related reading

Box Truck Towing: Which Tow Truck It Needs and Why — A broken-down box truck or straight truck is towed by whichever truck is rated for its loaded weight and length.

How to Set Up a Fleet Towing Account: What to Settle First — Set up a fleet towing account before a truck goes down.

Who Pays When a Semi Breaks Down: Driver, Carrier, Insurer? — Who pays for a truck breakdown depends on the arrangement, not the breakdown.