Two different logs do two different jobs. A driver’s Hours-of-Service (HOS) record tells you when that driver worked and drove. A vehicle service record tells you what was inspected, repaired, and maintained on that vehicle. Calling both “service logs” makes it easy to file the right information in the wrong place.
Driver time belongs in the HOS record
For drivers subject to federal HOS rules, the carrier needs the applicable duty-status or short-haul time records. A repair invoice will not show whether a driver stayed within a driving limit. FMCSA’s HOS summary separates passenger and property rules and explains the short-haul exception. Use the record type that fits the driver and the actual workday.
Vehicle work belongs in the maintenance record
A vehicle service history is about the equipment, not the driver’s duty clock. FMCSA’s Part 396 passenger-carrier guidance describes records for covered vehicles: vehicle identification, the nature and due date of planned maintenance, and the date and type of inspections, repairs, and maintenance. A driver’s HOS log cannot replace that vehicle history.
When a driver reports a defect, record what was found, who assessed it, the repair or disposition, and when the vehicle was cleared. Not every non-safety item puts a vehicle out of service. Safety-affecting defects still need an appropriate assessment and response; FMCSA says a commercial motor vehicle must not operate in a condition likely to cause an accident or breakdown. Keep the service trail connected to the correct vehicle so the next driver and maintenance team can see what happened.
Make the handoff easy
- Identify the driver, workday, and applicable HOS record separately from the vehicle file.
- Identify the vehicle on every inspection, repair order, and service entry.
- Keep the reported issue, assessment, repair, and return-to-service decision together; do not assume a checkbox alone proves a repair was completed.
- Review missing records while the people involved still remember the job, rather than waiting for an audit or roadside question.
If the gap is driver-file or audit-preparation administration, see LBC Fleet’s compliance and driver-support services. If the gap is coordinating vehicle repairs and vendors, see our outsourced fleet-management service. Those are different workflows, just like the records themselves.
