Insurers propose uniform convention for overborder liability

Alan Peat
THE LATEST moves on haulier liability legislation started with another different - but almost similar - issue.
This was the grief being caused to SA insurance underwriters by the legal national barriers to apportioning liability in cases of overborder road transport.
“One way round this,” said Andrew Robinson of Deneys Reitz, “would be for all the regional governments to sign a convention like Europe’s CMR - governing the international transport of goods by road.
“We are busy looking into this matter, and already have the first draft of this convention to submit to the Department of Transport.”
But, at the same time, the association was also charged with putting together domestic legislation for the carriage of goods by road.
“What we are currently looking at is utilising existing legislation in the Netherlands,” said Robinson.
“From this, and our own local discussions, we hope to be able to devise a draft of the proposed legislation, but something which will act as a suitable compromise - placing liability on the road carrier, but limiting this to within reasonable limits to all the parties in the transaction.”
This Robinson hopes to see ready in draft form in about six months, when it will be presented to the DoT.
“At that stage,” he said, “we have to wait and see whether the department wants to handle it itself, or whether they will ask us to have it tested and signed off by all the interested parties.”
Whatever, it could mark the end of a free hand for SA road transporters.