A heavy load

Operators and drivers who disregard safety or correct procedure when it comes to securing loads do so at their peril, warns PETER LAMB.

I recently attended a very good presentation on best practices for the lashing of various cargoes. One of the comments from the audience to the presenter was that truck drivers just don’t think that they are responsible for the lashing of the cargo. This is simply incorrect.

In terms of the National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 (NRTA), an operator must conduct his or her operations with due care to the safety of the public, as per section 49 (e), and take all reasonable measures to ensure that such vehicle is operated in compliance with the provisions for the loading and transportation of goods as prescribed by section 49 (g).

Regulation 246 expands on these obligations and prescribes that no person will operate a vehicle carrying goods on a public road when those goods are not safely contained within the body of the vehicle – regulation 246 (c) (i) – or securely fastened to the vehicle according to regulation 246 (c) (ii), and which are not properly protected from being dislodged or spilled from the vehicle concerned. If the goods are transported in a container which has provision for fastening by means of “twist locks”, the container must be securely fastened by these “twist locks”, as per regulation 246 (d).

Regulation 330A prohibits a consignor or consignee from offering or accepting goods if the vehicle in which those goods are transported is not loaded in terms of NRTA regulation 330A (1). The operator of the vehicle will need to provide the consignor with a written submission as to the payload of the vehicle and the distribution of the load on the vehicle concerned, in accordance with regulation 330A (2).

Furthermore, regulation 330A (4) dictates that neither the consignor nor consignee may conclude a contract with the operator if the vehicle is overloaded. The operator is also required to have detailed information concerning the load; the nature and quantity of the goods being transported must be stated in a declaration, which must be carried in the vehicle under regulation 330C (b). The declaration must also contain the schedule of insurance prescribed by regulation 330D, which requires the consignor or consignee of the goods to only be transported if the “transportation is fully insured for damages that can occur as a result of an incident”.

While the enforceability of the provisions of regulation 330A through D is questionable, these provisions are indicative of the degree of knowledge and responsibility that the operator of a vehicle has in relation to the safe transportation of goods on road vehicles.

The statutory obligations of an operator under the NRTA should not be their only concern. Under a Goods-in-Transit policy, which in most instances incorporates the Institute of Cargo Clauses A (ICC A), failure to comply with the statutory obligations under the NRTA may amount to wilful misconduct of the insured (the operator) thus voiding coverage under the policy. Failure to ensure that the goods are properly secured and transported may also result in the underwriter relying on the safe packaging exception in the ICC A to avoid payment under the policy.

You will appreciate that I have not discussed the provisions of the NRTA (in particular, Chapter VIII of the National Road Traffic Regulations) which deal with “dangerous goods”. Those provisions are even more arduous for the operator. This article has simply discussed the obligations of an operator when it comes to transporting any goods in a vehicle on a public road.