Why prestarts matter
A prestart does two jobs. It catches the bald tyre or the dead brake light before the vehicle leaves the yard, and it creates a record that says a competent person checked this vehicle on this day. The first job keeps people safe. The second one is what you need when an insurer, a regulator or a principal contractor asks.
Most fleets already do the first job informally. It is the second one, the record, that paper struggles with.
The checklist
Use this as a starting template and cut it to your vehicles. Trucks and plant need the items marked with an asterisk; most utes do not.
| Area | Items |
|---|---|
| Walk-around | Body damage, leaks under the vehicle, loose load or gear, number plates present |
| Tyres and wheels | Tread, visible damage, pressure, wheel nuts* |
| Lights and signals | Headlights, tail lights, brake lights, indicators, reversing lights, beacon* |
| Cab | Seatbelts, mirrors, horn, wipers and washers, windscreen cracks |
| Under the bonnet | Oil, coolant, brake fluid, washer fluid, belts* |
| Brakes and steering | Park brake holds, pedal feel, steering play, air pressure builds* |
| Safety gear | First aid kit, fire extinguisher in date, wheel chocks*, reflective triangles* |
| Paperwork | Registration current, service due date, any outstanding faults from yesterday |
Critical versus non-critical items
Every item should be one of two kinds, and the driver should know which before they start:
- Critical. Brakes, steering, tyres, seatbelts, lights needed for the conditions. A fail means the vehicle does not move until it is fixed or an admin signs off.
- Non-critical. A cracked mirror, a low washer bottle, a blown reversing light in daylight. A fail is logged as a fault, assigned, and the vehicle can go.
The distinction matters because a checklist where everything is critical gets ignored, and one where nothing is critical does not protect anyone. Ten critical items is plenty.
Where paper falls down
- Nobody reads it. A faulty item on page three of a clipboard is not a notification.
- It is not timestamped. A date written by hand proves very little in an incident investigation.
- It does not follow the vehicle. The fault history for a truck is spread across six months of carbon copies in a filing cabinet, if they were kept.
- Audits take days. Finding every prestart for a vehicle over a quarter is an afternoon, and there are always gaps.
Going digital in a week
- Day one: build the template. Start from the table above, cut what does not apply, mark the critical items.
- Day two: add the vehicles. Rego, insurance and service dates once, with renewal reminders set.
- Day three: drivers download the app. One prestart each with you watching. It should take about two minutes.
- Rest of the week: run it alongside paper. Compare at the end. Then put the clipboards in the skip.
In FleetPro every prestart is stored with the time, date and driver, a critical fail stops the vehicle, and any fault becomes a tracked repair with the photo attached. On the Advanced plan the full history exports in seconds, which is the moment this whole exercise is for.
Questions people ask
Are vehicle prestart checks legally required in Australia?
Work health and safety law requires employers to make sure plant and vehicles are safe to use, and heavy vehicle operators have specific obligations under the Heavy Vehicle National Law in participating states. A documented daily check is the standard way to show you are meeting that duty. Check the rules for your state and vehicle class, and ask your insurer what they expect.
How long should a prestart take?
About two minutes for a ute, five for a truck or plant. If it takes longer, the checklist has too many items, or the driver is not sure what counts as a fail.
Can I use my own checklist in FleetPro?
Yes. Build a template per vehicle type or piece of equipment, mark which items are critical, and assign it to drivers. Critical items cannot be skipped.
What happens when a driver marks something faulty?
In FleetPro the fault is created on the vehicle with the driver's photo and note, the admin is notified, and the repair is tracked to done. The fault history stays on the vehicle record.
Is FleetPro free?
Basic is free for one vehicle with no credit card. Advanced is A$10 a month including GST, plus A$4 a month for each additional vehicle and each additional user, and adds the compliance exports and audit history.
Try FleetPro
Digital prestarts, fault reporting with photos, fuel and costs, all on the driver's phone. Free for one vehicle, and about two minutes a day per driver.