Opinion: ‘Roadability’ Is an Economic Issue

By Rod D. Moseley Jr.

I write these comments in an attempt to put some reason back into the issue of safety as it relates to intermodal equipment roadability.

You cannot correct an economic issue by simply writing new rules and claiming to assign responsibility, and thus liability.

As a motor carrier, Bulldog Hiway Express assumes the responsibility of operating safely because we are willing to be accountable to the motoring public on our highways for operation of any vehicle in our control. The operator of a unit always has the responsibility for the condition of that unit, and he also assumes the liability by having control of this unit. To try to mandate liability back to a previous operator (or an owner in this case) is a waste of time and effort.

No railroad or steamship line will pay attention to any of this kind of legislation. To think that they will bear any liability is ridiculous. Based on existing interchange agreements, all liability goes to the operator, and the equipment owner is “held harmless” by all accounts. The railroads and steamship lines are also included as “additional insured parties on the motor carrier’s coverage, which then makes any claims revert to the motor carrier’s policy. There is no way to legislate these commercial issues any more than you can legislate a solution to the waiting time abuse that over-the-road truckers must endure while loading or unloading.

It would be nice if every chassis was pre-tripped and ready to roll with quality tires, adjusted brakes and proper lighting, but it isn’t going to happen just because the Federal Highway Administration writes up a regulation making everything right.

The railroad and steamship lines will defer any expense to maintenance until economics prevail, and no statute — state or federal — is going to change this economic reality. They will continue to use the trucker as the yard jockey to the repair shop until he refuses to do it or demands compensation for his time.

It isn’t easy to say that you won’t go through the repair line without compensation because you fear that someone else will get your work, but until the economic leverage is used, the steamship lines and the railroads won’t change their habits. This is where I have difficulty understanding the clamor for someone else, particularly the government, to handle a matter that should be handled by ourselves.