New Jersey senators approved a bill June 30 intended to improve the quality of truck chassis being shipped from ports in the state.

The bill, which previously passed the Assembly, now moves to Gov. Richard Codey for his signature. If he signs it into law, truckers will be entitled to compensation if they are forced to wait more than an hour for a chassis to be replaced or repaired.

Sponsored by Assemblyman John Wisniewski, the bill would also force owners of intermodal chassis to be responsible for the proper maintenance of the equipment. Currently, that burden is placed on truck drivers.

“Our current system for inspecting intermodal chassis is inadequate to ensure public safety and patently unfair to truckers,” Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, said in a written statement. “We all but absolve the chassis owner of any accountability for guaranteeing its roadworthiness. This unacceptable practice has allowed shipping companies to put their own profits ahead of the safety of all New Jersey motorists.”

Ports in the state that load and unload oceangoing vessels would be required to regularly check chassis – the trailers that carry freight containers – before they leave a port.

The measure – A1478 – calls for inspections every six months that would check brakes, suspension, tires and wheels, connecting devices, lights, and electrical systems.

“We should be holding the chassis providers – not truck drivers – responsible for the safety of these hauling devices,” Wisniewski said. “It defies common sense to place total responsibility for the safety of these vital systems on the shoulders of a trucker whose only association with a particular chassis is that it is connected to his truck by dock workers at a port.”

Wisniewski’s bill would require chassis providers to maintain inspection records for 90 days, and make them available on request to the New Jersey Department of Transportation or any truck driver. Maintenance and repair records would be required to be kept for two years.

To determine compliance with the inspection program, the state DOT would conduct random, on-site reviews of chassis providers. Any chassis provider found to be out of compliance could be fined up to $5,000 for each day following inspection it fails to comply.

It also would allow drivers to request that a chassis be inspected if they thought it was unsafe as well as prohibit terminals from passing the buck for repairs on to drivers.

If a driver is forced to wait longer than one hour while the chassis is repaired or replaced, the bill would require the driver be compensated for the down time. The amount of compensation would be determined by the NJDOT.

“For too long New Jersey’s truckers have been forced to deal with an unfair system that puts them and the motoring public at risk,” Wisniewski said. “This overhaul is needed not only to ensure that New Jersey’s motorists feel secure about sharing the road with big rigs, but so truckers can concentrate more on the road in front of them and worry less about the safety of the trailer behind them.”

– By Keith Goble, state legislative editor
keith_goble@landlinemag.com