diff --git a/docs/application-deployment.md b/docs/application-deployment.md
index 74a079a9868..24323f412ae 100644
--- a/docs/application-deployment.md
+++ b/docs/application-deployment.md
@@ -123,11 +123,11 @@ This is in particular useful, then you want to deploy to root domain, as
 
 # Zero downtime deploy
 
-Following a deploy Dokku's default behaviour is to switch new traffic over to the new container immediately.
+Following a deploy, dokku will now wait `DOKKU_DEFAULT_CHECKS_WAIT` seconds (default: `10`), and if the container is still running, then route traffic to the new container.
 
-This can be problematic for applications that take some time to boot up and can lead to `502 Bad Gateway` errors.
+This can be problematic for applications whose boot up time can vary and can lead to `502 Bad Gateway` errors.
 
-Dokku provides a way to run a set of checks against the new container, and only switch traffic over if all checks complete successfully.
+Dokku provides a way to run a set of more precise checks against the new container, and only switch traffic over if all checks complete successfully.
 
 To specify checks, add a `CHECKS` file to the root of your project directory. This is a text file with one line per check. Empty lines and lines starting with `#` are ignored.
 
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ A check is a relative URL and may be followed by expected content from the page,
 /about      Our Amazing Team
 ```
 
-Dokku will wait `DOKKU_CHECKS_WAIT` seconds (default: `5`) before running the checks to give server time to start. For shorter/longer wait, change the `DOKKU_CHECKS_WAIT` environment variable.  This can be overridden in the CHECKS file by setting WAIT=nn.
+Dokku will wait `DOKKU_CHECKS_WAIT` seconds (default: `5`) before running the checks to give server time to start. For shorter/longer wait, change the `DOKKU_CHECKS_WAIT` environment variable.  This can also be overridden in the CHECKS file by setting WAIT=nn.
 
 Dokku will wait `DOKKU_WAIT_TO_RETIRE` seconds (default: `60`) before stopping the old container such that no existing connections to it are dropped.
 
diff --git a/plugins/checks/check-deploy b/plugins/checks/check-deploy
index 9a12db51a5d..91b2493a1d0 100755
--- a/plugins/checks/check-deploy
+++ b/plugins/checks/check-deploy
@@ -91,9 +91,9 @@ if [[ ! -s "${TMPDIR}/CHECKS" ]] || [[ "$DOKKU_APP_CONTAINER_TYPE" != "web" ]];
 
   # simple default check to see if the container stuck around
   # for more thorough checks, create a CHECKS file
-  DOKKU_DEFAULT_WAIT=10
-  dokku_log_info1 "Waiting for $DOKKU_DEFAULT_WAIT seconds ..."
-  sleep $DOKKU_DEFAULT_WAIT
+  DOKKU_DEFAULT_CHECKS_WAIT="${DOKKU_DEFAULT_CHECKS_WAIT:-10}"
+  dokku_log_info1 "Waiting for $DOKKU_DEFAULT_CHECKS_WAIT seconds ..."
+  sleep $DOKKU_DEFAULT_CHECKS_WAIT
 
   ! (is_container_running $DOKKU_APP_CONTAINER_ID) && dokku_log_fail "App container failed to start!!"
   dokku_log_info1 "Default container check successful!" && exit 0