Insurance caveat in amended road traffic regulations

Cargo carriers, consignors and consignees beware, said Andrew Pike, Durbanbased partner of attorneys, Bowman Gilfillan. “The latest amendment of the National Road Traffic Regulations has widereaching implications for road hauliers and merchants in SA,” he told FTW. “And failure to comply will likely result in loss of insurance cover.” Pike also stressed that the new requirement of chief interest to merchants was that all those who matched the description of being ‘consignors’ and ‘consignees’ in terms of the amendment were responsible for ensuring that vehicles transporting their goods were not overloaded. And you’ve got no room to hide from those allencompassing descriptions. A ‘consignee’ is simply the person who actually receives such goods after they are transported by road. Your only escape would be if you don’t fit the role of being “a person identified as the intended consignee of more than 500 tonnes of goods in a month in the goods declaration for the consignment”, Pike said. “But,” he added, “the definition of ‘consignor’ is far broader and provides no room to manoeuvre.” And the old duck-anddive excuse that someone else actually organised the transport no longer works. “Although most merchants employ brokers to arrange transport, this will be insufficient to shield consignors from responsibility,” Pike said. This, he told FTW, was because the definition included anyone who engaged an operator of a vehicle, either directly or indirectly or through an agent or other intermediary, to transport goods by road; or had possession of, or control over, the goods immediately before the goods were transported by road, or loaded a vehicle with the goods for transport by road. “And this would include warehouse and depot facilities as well as port and rail terminals,” he said. The end result is that any breach of the road traffic regulations could result in an insured losing cover. “This is especially so,” Pike said, “given that it is common for cargo insurance policies covering road transport to require compliance with the Road Traffic Act.” So, in light of these new regulations, all those involved in the road freight industry should make sure they’re squeaky clean. “Ensure that your agreements, standard terms and conditions and other documentation, such as waybills, provide you with requisite protection,” said Pike. “And take advice on the plethora of relevant industry regulations to ensure that the goods for which you are responsible will be covered by insurance.” INSERT & CAPTION Any breach of the road traffic regulations could result in an insured losing cover. – Andrew Pike