The daily walkaround check is a legal duty, not a nice-to-have. Before a commercial vehicle goes out, someone has to look it over and record that they did — and yet most Irish fleets still do this on a paper book that lives in the cab, gets rained on, and is almost impossible to produce when the RSA comes asking. Here is exactly what the RSA requires, why paper keeps letting fleets down, and why a walkaround app wins on every count that matters.
What the RSA actually requires
Under S.I. 348/2013, the operator must ensure a daily walkaround check is carried out before the vehicle is first used and no more than once in any 24-hour period. It must be done by a trained, competent person — that can be the driver or a mechanic — and it has to cover the vehicle inside and out, working through the Schedule 1 items, including the tachograph.
If a defect is found, the record of it must contain a description of the defect, the time and date it was found, and any temporary measures taken. Where a defect is dangerous, the vehicle stops — it cannot be used until it has been repaired and certified as repaired. And the records have to be kept: maintenance and defect records must be retained for at least two years under S.I. 348/2013.
None of that is optional. A walkaround that isn’t recorded, or a record you can’t retrieve, is — for compliance purposes — a walkaround that didn’t happen.
The problem with paper
Paper defect books have the same failings everywhere:
- No reliable proof of when a check was done — a date scrawled in a box proves nothing.
- No photographs, so a defect is only ever as good as one person’s handwriting.
- Defects get reported into a book the workshop never sees until it’s too late.
- Books get lost, soaked, left in the cab of a vehicle that’s now on the other side of the country.
- When you need two years of records for a specific vehicle on a specific date, you’re flicking through a drawer of duplicate pads.
The duty is being met in spirit but the evidence is thin — and at a roadside check or a follow-up, evidence is the whole game.
How an app fixes it
A walkaround app keeps the same legal check but fixes the record. Every completed check is timestamped automatically, so there’s no argument about when it happened. Drivers attach photos of any defect, so the workshop sees the actual fault, not a description of it. A reported defect routes instantly into maintenance — the person who fixes vehicles knows about the problem the moment the driver flags it, not days later. And every check, pass or fail, lands in a single audit trail you can search in seconds and retain well past the two-year minimum without a filing cabinet.
Paper vs app, side by side
| What the RSA looks for | Paper book | Walkaround app |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of when the check was done | Hand-written date, easily disputed | Automatic timestamp on every check |
| Evidence of a defect | Description only | Description plus photos |
| Getting a defect to maintenance | Manual — book seen later, if at all | Routed instantly to the workshop |
| Retrieving a record on demand | Search a drawer of pads | Search by vehicle and date in seconds |
| Two-year record retention | Hope the book survives | Stored digitally, retained automatically |
What a good walkaround check captures
- The Schedule 1 items, interior and exterior, including the tachograph
- Who carried out the check, and that they’re trained and competent
- A timestamp proving it was done before first use that day
- For any defect: a description, the time and date found, and temporary measures taken
- A clear dangerous-defect path that stops the vehicle until it’s repaired and certified
- A complete, retrievable record kept for at least two years
Who can do a walkaround check? +
A trained, competent person — which can be the driver or a mechanic. Under S.I. 348/2013 the operator must ensure the person carrying out the check is competent to do so, covering the vehicle inside and out against the Schedule 1 items, including the tachograph.
How long should a walkaround check take? +
It varies by vehicle and operator, but it must be a genuine check of the Schedule 1 items inside and out, done before the vehicle is first used and no more than once in any 24-hour period. A guided app keeps it consistent so nothing is skipped under time pressure.
How long must I keep walkaround and defect records? +
At least two years. Maintenance and defect records must be retained for a minimum of two years under S.I. 348/2013. A digital record keeps them searchable and intact for that period and beyond.
What must a defect record contain? +
A description of the defect, the time and date it was found, and any temporary measures taken. Where the defect is dangerous, the vehicle must not be used until it has been repaired and certified as repaired.
Is a walkaround app legally acceptable? +
Yes. The law sets out what the check must cover and what the record must contain — not the format it’s kept in. An app that captures the Schedule 1 items, the person who checked, a timestamp, defect details and temporary measures, and retains them for at least two years, satisfies those requirements and makes the evidence far easier to produce.
Traxsit turns the daily walkaround into an audit-ready digital record, with defects routed straight to maintenance. Explore walkaround checks, see how it fits the wider fleet compliance picture, or book a demo.