4 ways to automate vehicle pre-use checks

#1 - The basic walkaround

Who it's for: Self-employed couriers, sole-trader contractors, single-vehicle home-care providers, and owner-driver cabbies. The driver has one vehicle and does their own walkaround. No supervisor, no depot, no audit trail beyond "I checked it."

Available on: Basic.

What it is: A vehicle pre-use check is the daily walkaround a driver does on their vehicle before the shift starts, covering the visual condition, the two numeric readings every regulator looks for (tyre pressure and starting mileage), and a sign-off. The basic version runs in about 90 seconds on the driver's phone. Ten visual checks, two numbers, a typed sign-off. That is the whole canvas. There is no paper logbook to lose and no end-of-week catch-up.

In practice: A self-employed parcel courier with one van walks round the vehicle in the depot car park before starting the round. They tick each check as they reach it. They use a tyre pressure gauge on a representative wheel and type the number. They read the odometer, type the number, and sign off. By the time they pull out of the car park, the record exists, timestamped, and one tap away from being shown to an insurer or a roadside inspector.

Why it works: The list is the same every day, so nothing gets skipped because the driver was running late. The two numeric readings are the things that prove the walkaround actually happened, because they could not have been guessed at speed without breaking out the gauge.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (10 visual checks)
• 1 number reading (tyre pressure)
• 1 number reading (start-of-shift mileage)
• 1 sign-off (initials and time)

When to upgrade:

1. Another driver starts using the same vehicle (their walkaround needs to look like yours)
2. You want new starters to know what each check is for, not just tick it
3. A regulator or insurer wants photo proof of the gauge reading, not just a typed number
4. You want a finger-drawn signature, not typed initials, on the daily sign-off

#2 - With written guidance

Who it's for: Small fleets where multiple drivers share or rotate vehicles, or where new starters are in their first week. Care providers with three to ten home-visit cars, parcel sub-depots with seasonal drivers, small contractor fleets, municipal teams (refuse, parks, social services).

Available on: Standard.

What it is: The same checks as the basic walkaround with two guidance panels added. One at the top explains why the walkaround matters: insurance, prosecution risk, road safety. One before sign-off explains what to do if a check failed: do not sign off, message the depot first. The guidance lives on the screen, so a new starter runs the walkaround right without anyone standing over them.

In practice: A care provider with a fleet of eight home-visit cars rotates which carer uses which car day-to-day. The carer doing the morning shift might not have been in this particular car for a fortnight. They open the canvas, read the panel that explains why the walkaround matters, and then walk the vehicle. When they finish, they read the panel about what to do if anything failed before they sign off. The canvas carries the manager's standard onto the screen, even when the manager is somewhere else entirely.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. A new starter can do the walkaround alone after one shadowed shift
2. The reason behind each check lives on the canvas, not in a training manual nobody opens
3. The "do not sign off if something failed" rule is on screen at the moment it matters
4. The manager answers fewer "what do I do if..." questions

Why it works: The guidance sits right next to the work, so it is read at the moment it is needed, not in a training session that has been forgotten. It turns the manager's standard into something the screen carries.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (10 visual checks)
• 1 number reading (tyre pressure)
• 1 number reading (start-of-shift mileage)
• 1 sign-off (initials and time)
• 2 guidance panels (why the walkaround matters; what to do if a check failed)

When to upgrade: When the gauge reading and the mileage need photo proof (#3), or when the sign-off needs to be a finger-drawn signature rather than typed initials (#4).

#3 - With photo evidence

Who it's for: Regulated fleets where the gauge reading actually has to be honest. HGV and CDL operators, bus and coach depots, large parcel fleets, audited care fleets. Operators covered by a DVSA-style walkaround obligation (DVSA in the UK, US DOT 49 CFR 396.13 pre-trip in the US and Canada, NHVR Daily Walkaround in Australia, equivalents across the EU).

Available on: Standard.

What it is: The guided walkaround plus two photos. One of the tyre pressure gauge with the reading visible. One of the odometer showing the mileage. The numeric reading is a claim; the photo binds it to a real-world capture. A number on its own can be guessed. A number with a photo of the gauge that produced it cannot.

In practice: A regional parcel operator running 60 vans switched to this version after a fortnight of identical 32 PSI readings on one driver's daily log. A real tyre does not hold a perfect 32 PSI across a fortnight. The depot manager realised the driver had been writing down what looked plausible without breaking out the gauge. The fix was the version on this screen: the gauge has to be photographed alongside the reading, so the number cannot exist without proof that the gauge was actually used.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. A photo of the tyre pressure gauge with the reading visible
2. A photo of the odometer with the mileage visible
3. The two numeric readings can no longer be made up from memory
4. A depot manager can confirm the walkaround actually happened from anywhere in the country

Why it works: A photo taken at the moment of the reading is far harder to fake than a number typed into a form. The number alone is a claim; the photo is the evidence. Once the team know the photo is required, the temptation to estimate disappears because the canvas will not let them.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (10 visual checks)
• 1 number reading (tyre pressure)
• 1 photo (the pressure gauge showing the reading)
• 1 number reading (start-of-shift mileage)
• 1 photo (the odometer showing the mileage)
• 1 sign-off (initials and time)
• 2 guidance panels (why the walkaround matters; what to do if a check failed)

When to upgrade: When the sign-off needs to be a finger-drawn signature rather than typed initials, for a stronger audit trail (#4).

#4 - With photo and signature

Who it's for: Highly regulated fleets where the daily sign-off carries real weight. National courier chains, audited municipal teams, healthcare patient transport, large care provider groups, insurance-driven fleet management programmes, plant and equipment hire firms.

Available on: Standard.

What it is: The photo walkaround with a finger-drawn signature replacing the typed initials at the end. The driver signs the canvas themselves on the same screen they used to capture the photos. The signature plus the timestamped photos make the daily record audit-grade rather than internal.

In practice: A 200-vehicle healthcare patient transport operator runs this version. After an audit found that handwritten initials on a paper book were not enough to prove the walkaround happened on the day claimed, the operator moved every driver onto a canvas where the photos and the signature are captured together. A regional manager auditing a depot can now confirm that the driver was on shift, the gauge was photographed, and the driver signed for the result, without driving to the depot.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. A finger-drawn signature in place of typed initials
2. A stronger attestation that the named driver did the walkaround themselves
3. A record that holds up to an insurer or a regulator without further explanation

Why it works: A signature captured in the moment, on the same device as the photos and the readings, ties the whole walkaround to one named person more strongly than a line of typed initials. The signature also nudges the driver to take the sign-off as a real decision, not a habit.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (10 visual checks)
• 1 number reading (tyre pressure)
• 1 photo (the pressure gauge showing the reading)
• 1 number reading (start-of-shift mileage)
• 1 photo (the odometer showing the mileage)
• 1 signature (driver sign-off)
• 2 guidance panels (why the walkaround matters; what to do if a check failed)

When to upgrade: When the walkaround needs AI on top. Poppi reading yesterday's defect notes, deciding whether the vehicle even needs to roll today, posting the daily sign-off to a fleet channel, or escalating a failed check to the supervisor. Those versions are coming in the next update.

How to pick the right version

You don't need to know our product to choose. Just answer three questions about how your walkaround actually runs. Each one moves you up a rung.

Is it just you driving the vehicle, or do other people drive it too?

If you drive the same vehicle yourself every day, the standard lives in your head, and that works. The moment someone else uses the vehicle (a different driver, a new starter, a relief carer), that standard has to live on the screen instead, or every walkaround is done a bit differently. If only you drive it, #1 is enough. If anyone else does, start at #2, where the guidance panels carry the standard for you.

Do you need photo proof of the gauge reading, or is a number alone enough?

A number says what the gauge showed. A photo shows it. If a number alone is enough for your records, stop at #2. If a regulator, an insurer, or a depot manager might want to see the gauge that produced the number, #3 adds the photo.

Do you need a signature, or are typed initials enough?

Typed initials are a record. A signature is an attestation. If your records are internal and the team is small, stop at #3. If the record might go in front of an auditor or an insurer, #4 adds the finger-drawn signature that holds up to scrutiny.

Related workflows

• Equipment pre-use check - the same pattern applied to non-vehicle work equipment
• End-of-shift report - the closing record that pairs with the morning walkaround
• Shift handover - passing a vehicle from one driver to the next
• Contractor sign-in - the pattern for capturing arrivals safely

Conclusion

A vehicle pre-use check is the daily walkaround a driver does on their vehicle before driving it. The version you run depends on whether it is just you or several drivers using the same vehicle, whether you need photo proof of the gauge readings, and whether the sign-off needs a signature rather than typed initials. Most single-vehicle operators are well served by #1 or #2. Regulated and audited fleets move up to #3 and #4.

Five more versions are coming in the next update that bring AI into the walkaround: Poppi reading yesterday's defect notes, deciding whether the vehicle even needs to roll today, posting the daily sign-off to a fleet channel, escalating a failed check to the supervisor, and routing the morning based on what the photos show. Those need more review time and will land separately.

→ Try this in the playground.