BIT Inspection

Time for a BIT Inspection? Questions call today 707-553-8160

Terminal inspections have been conducted by the CHP since 1965 as a tool to determine motor carriers are complying with Motor Carrier Safety regulations on an on-going basis, particularly with regard to the legal requirement to maintain commercial motor vehicles according to a scheduled maintenance (preventive maintenance) program. Each motor carrier is permitted to establish his or her own maintenance program.

The CHP’s role is to determine whether carriers’ selected maintenance schedules are adequate to prevent collisions or mechanical breakdowns involving the vehicles, and all required maintenance and driver records are prepared and retained as required by law. These same basic requirements are applied to all carriers, large and small. Section 34501.12 of the California Vehicle Code (VC) requires any person or organization directing the operation of certain trucks and/or trailers to participate in the BIT Program. The law requires the CHP to inspect California truck terminals every 25 months.

A motor carrier subject to the BIT Program is the registered owner (with some exceptions) of any of the following vehicles, whether or not for hire:

  • Any motor truck with three or more axles having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds.
  • Truck tractors.
  • Trailers or semitrailers used in combination with the vehicles listed above.
  • Any truck, or combination of a truck and any other vehicle, transporting hazardous materials that require placards, a hazardous materials transportation license, or hazardous waste transporter registration, including pickups used for this purpose.
  • Any motor truck with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds (excluding a pickup truck as defined in Section 471 VC), while towing any trailer or semitrailer that results in a combination length over 40 feet (excluding trailer coaches, camp trailers, and utility trailers, as those terms are defined in the Vehicle Code).

OSHA Safety Training Powered Industrial Truck Operator Training

The powered industrial truck operator training requirements apply to all industries where trucks are being used, except agricultural operations.

1. What is the definition of a powered industrial truck?

Any mobile power-propelled truck used to carry, push, pull, lift, stack or tier materials. Powered industrial trucks can be ridden or controlled by a walking operator. Earthmoving and over the road haulage trucks are not included in the definition. Equipment that was designed to move earth but has been modified to accept forks are also not included.

2. What does the standard require?

The standard requires employers to develop and implement a training program based on the general principles of safe truck operation, the types of vehicle(s) being used in the workplace, the hazards of the workplace created by the use of the vehicle(s), and the general safety requirements of the OSHA standard. Trained operators must know how to do the job properly and do it safely as demonstrated by workplace evaluation.

Formal (lecture, video, etc.) and practical (demonstration and practical exercises) training must be provided. Employers must also certify that each operator has received the training and evaluate each operator at least once every three years. Prior to operating the truck in the workplace, the employer must evaluate the operator’s performance and determine the operator to be competent to operate a powered industrial truck safely. Refresher training is needed whenever an operator demonstrates a deficiency in the safe operation of the truck.