Walkaround Check Best Practice Guide

Walkaround Check Best Practice Guide

The daily walkaround check is one of the most fundamental — and most overlooked — elements of UK transport compliance. Done properly, it prevents roadworthiness failures, keeps your vehicles legal, and protects your Operator Licence.

Done poorly (or not at all), it can lead to PG9 prohibitions, DVSA enforcement, and even serious road safety incidents.

In this guide, we break down everything you need to know to ensure your drivers are conducting thorough, consistent and compliant daily walkaround checks — and that your business has the right systems in place to support and audit them.

1. What Is a Walkaround Check?

A walkaround check is a daily inspection of a commercial vehicle carried out before its first journey of the day. It's a quick but thorough visual and functional check to confirm the vehicle is safe to drive.

Key features:

- Done by the driver

- Completed before the vehicle leaves the operating centre

- Recorded using a defect report sheet or app

- Legally required under UK road transport law

If the vehicle is used by different drivers during the day, each new driver should complete a check before taking over.

2. The Legal Requirements Under UK Law

Under the DVSA Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness, drivers must check the vehicle before its first use each day, and any defects must be reported and rectified before the vehicle is used.

The core legal obligations:

- Checks must be done every working day

- Defects must be recorded and reported immediately

- Vehicles with safety-critical defects must not be used until repaired

- Records of checks must be retained for at least 15 months

- Records must be available to DVSA or the Traffic Commissioner on request

This applies even if you're the only driver, you only do short local journeys, the vehicle passed its MOT recently, or you "know the vehicle inside out". A safe vehicle yesterday might not be safe today.

3. Operator Responsibilities vs Driver Responsibilities

The driver is responsible for completing the check and reporting defects. The operator is responsible for ensuring the system exists, is enforced, and that reported defects are acted on.

If you're an owner-driver on a Restricted Licence, that means both roles are yours — but you must still record the check as if you were both driver and operator, because you are.

Restricted Licence holders are not required to employ a Transport Manager, but the walkaround duty is unchanged. This is one area where a simple, well-documented routine does the job a TM would otherwise oversee.

4. What to Check: The Full Walkaround Checklist

The walkaround should cover the entire vehicle, including the trailer if one is used. The following meets DVSA guidance:

Cab area:

- Mirrors and glass — secure, clean, undamaged

- Windscreen wipers and washers — working and topped up

- Horn — operational

- Seatbelts — secure and working

- Dashboard warning lights — no fault indicators

- Steering — no excessive play or unusual noises

- Controls and switches — accessible and working

- View of the road not obstructed

Lights and indicators:

- Headlights (main and dipped beam)

- Brake lights

- Indicators including hazard lights

- Marker lights and number plate lights

Brakes:

- Service brake operation

- Parking brake

- Air brake warning systems (for air-braked vehicles)

- Air pressure build-up

Tyres and wheels:

- Tread depth (the minimum legal tread for large vehicles is 1mm; smaller vehicles have a higher minimum)

- Inflation and sidewall condition

- No bulges, cuts or exposed cords

- Wheel nuts secure, no signs of tampering

Fuel, oil and exhaust:

- Fuel cap present and secure

- No visible fuel or oil leaks

- Oil and coolant levels within range

- Exhaust secure, not excessively noisy or smoky

Body, load and security:

- No sharp edges or insecure panels

- Doors open and close securely

- Load correctly positioned and secured

- Curtains or covers intact

- Lashings, sheeting, bulkheads and tail lifts

- No loose items in the cab or load area

Reflectors and registration plates:

- Clean, legible, correct and secure

Trailer (if applicable):

- Electrical connections

- Air lines and brake coupling

- Landing legs

- Security of the load

- Trailer number plate

5. Recording the Check: What's Required

A check is not complete unless it's recorded. The record must include:

- Vehicle registration

- Date and time of the check

- Name of the person who did the check

- The items checked

- Defects found — or "nil defects"

- Signature (paper or digital)

You can use a printed walkaround check sheet, a mobile app, or a carbon-copy defect book. Keep the record for at least 15 months — even when no faults are found.

6. What to Do If a Defect Is Found

If the vehicle is not roadworthy, do not drive it. The sequence:

1. Record the defect on the check sheet

2. Notify whoever is responsible for repairs — even if that's you

3. Arrange repair before the vehicle is used where safety could be affected

4. Log the rectification — date, action taken, signature

5. File the report and repair invoice together

Minor defects that don't affect safety (an empty washer bottle, for example) can be rectified before departure — but they must still be recorded.

Never drive a vehicle with an unresolved safety-critical defect: a bald tyre, faulty brakes or broken lights.

7. Setting Up Your Walkaround Process Without a TM

As a Restricted Licence holder you manage the process yourself. A practical setup:

1. Create or adopt a checklist — use the DVSA version or customise one for your fleet

2. Keep check sheets in each vehicle — a pad in the cab, or a digital app

3. Train yourself or your drivers — 30 minutes walking through the official checklist, knowing what to look for and where

4. Log defects and repairs — a simple filing system per vehicle, defect reports and repair invoices together

5. Audit your records monthly — missed check sheets, unresolved defects, repeat issues (tyres, lights and brakes recur most)

8. Digital or Paper Records

Both are acceptable. Paper is easy to start with no tech needed; digital is searchable, backed up and shareable, and apps prompt drivers step-by-step, capture photos and notify maintenance teams in real time.

If you use paper, consider scanning records monthly into a cloud folder as a backup. Whichever you choose, consistency is what matters.

9. What DVSA Looks for at the Roadside

At a roadside stop, DVSA typically asks:

- Have you done a walkaround check today?

- Can you show the check sheet?

- Were any faults reported recently?

- Were they fixed?

Failure to evidence a check can result in a prohibition, a fixed penalty, an inspection referral, and an increase in your OCRS score. "I didn't know I needed to" is not a defence.

10. Common Mistakes to Avoid

- Skipping checks "just for short trips" — all journeys count

- Rushing the check in two minutes — thorough checks take around 10–15 minutes

- Not recording checks — no evidence means no check in DVSA's eyes

- Ignoring minor faults — small issues become major ones quickly

- Not checking trailers — trailer defects are just as critical

- Ignoring warning lights — they're part of the legal check

- Relying only on PMIs — daily checks and PMIs are separate duties, both required

11. Making Checks Part of Your Culture

Effective checks are about culture as much as checklists:

- Train drivers on how to perform checks properly

- Supervise and audit checks to make sure they're done

- Follow up on missed or poorly completed checks

- Use mock DVSA inspections to raise standards

- Provide a torch and gloves for early-morning or late checks

A typical daily routine: check before loading, complete the sheet, hand it in or scan it, top up anything minor before leaving, and file everything at the end of the week. (Illustrative example — adapt the timings to your operation.)

12. How JS Transport Solutions Helps

We help operators build walkaround and maintenance systems that work in practice — check sheets, defect-reporting routines, records systems and training. Compliance support for Restricted Licence holders is available through Compliance Shield and Compliance Lite.

If you'd like your current walkaround process reviewed, book a free compliance health check (https://www.jstransport.uk/book-free-compliance-health-check) or read our related guides on maintenance systems (https://www.jstransport.uk/post/how-to-set-up-a-maintenance-system-for-your-fleet) and maintenance records (https://www.jstransport.uk/post/vehicle-maintenance-record-template-what-to-include-how-to-stay-compliant).

Final Thoughts

When it comes to daily checks, "if it's not recorded, it didn't happen."

Walkaround checks are your first and best defence against roadside enforcement, prohibitions, compliance audits and licence risk. Set up a process that fits your business, keep it simple, consistent and documented — and review it as your fleet changes.