Acting Gov. Richard Codey has signed a bill into law intended to improve the quality of chassis that trucks haul out of ports in New Jersey .

The new law forces the owner of intermodal chassis to be responsible for the proper maintenance of the equipment. Until now, that burden has been placed on truck drivers pulling the chassis.

Assemblyman John Wisniewski, the bill’s sponsor, said the change was needed because the existing system for inspecting intermodal chassis was inadequate to ensure public safety and patently unfair to truckers.

“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,” Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, said in a written statement.

The new law also requires that truckers be compensated for downtime if they are forced to wait longer than one hour while a chassis is repaired or replaced. The NJDOT would determine the amount of compensation.

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

The new law, previously A1478, calls for inspections every six months that 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.”

The new law requires 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 are required to be kept for two years.

To determine compliance with the inspection program, the state DOT can 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 allows drivers to request that chassis be inspected if they thought they were unsafe. In addition, it prohibits terminals from passing the buck for repairs on to drivers.

“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.”

New Jersey isn’t alone in its enactment of rules this year on intermodal equipment providers.

California lawmakers approved rule changes this summer that prohibit owners of some intermodal equipment at ports in the state from charging truckers late fees. The new law specifically prohibits equipment providers or marine terminal operators from imposing per diem, detention or demurrage charges on intermodal motor carriers.

Ports or terminals cannot charge truckers if the terminal gate is closed; if the terminal chooses to divert the truck to a new destination without “proper notification,” which is defined in the law as 48 hours; if the intermodal equipment is not in compliance; and in a number of other circumstances.

The new California law takes effect Jan. 1, 2006. The New Jersey rule change takes effect next fall.