New documentation regulations could place hauliers at risk

New regulations that call for documentation containing full details of transport contracts – identifying fleet and transport owners – could place fleet owners and operators at risk, in the view of Road Freight Association (RFA) technical and operations manager, Gavin Kelly. “This sensitive documentation should not be public knowledge,” Kelly told delegates at a Logistics Business Breakfast held jointly by the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and the Southern Africa Shippers Transport and Logistics Council (Sastalc) last week. The road transport industry fully supports the need for road regulations but there are some issues around the regulations that have not been thought through properly and are a “nightmare” to implement, he said. “The RFA wants to make the legislation workable and practical and we want to find a way to deal with non-compliance issues as and when they arise, but there are some key aspects of the legislation that are simply dangerous,” said Kelly. “The road transport industry is going into wage negotiations in about a month’s time. And we have learnt from Marikana and subsequent events that strikes are no longer purely about wage increases. They’re about control against the employers,” he commented. Furthermore, the transport contract would also include rates. “Competitors would go to great lengths to get their hands on those kinds of details and it would create further undercutting of rates.” Kelly added that rate undercutting had forced some fleet owners to cut corners. “And cornercutting on vehicle maintenance or driver training for example leads to the very road accidents DoT is trying to avoid,” he said. Kelly also referred to what he termed the “consignee/ consignor conundrum” in relation to overweight regulations. “This legislation is not new and the principles are sound as it was designed mainly to protect the consignor from being forced to overload and save costs. Furthermore, there is the safety issue with regard to overloading as it prevents a vehicle from being able to brake properly in an emergency situation.” However, Kelly noted, there was still a major lack of clarity on the consignor/consignee designation – and the way the legislation is written means the designation switches all the time. Ngwako Thoka, deputy director of legislation at the DoT, said that the regulation clearly defined the consignee versus consignor differences. He called for industry to provide practical suggestions on how to rewrite the sections of legislation that could cause confusion. “We always call for comments on draft regulations but mostly the comments simply express unhappiness but do not provide guidance on how to rephrase the legislation.” A delegate told FTW on the side lines of the conference that he disagreed with Thoka’s assertion. “I will show you the three-page comment I submitted on some of these issues, outlining exactly where the problems are in the phrasing. In my opinion, they simply don’t read the comments.” The breakfast , which included high-level representation by two department of transport (DoT) officials, is part of ongoing efforts by Sastalc and JCCI to provide a platform for dialogue between industry and government, according to CEO of Sastalc, Brenda Horne Ferreira. INSERT & CAPTION There are some key aspects of the legislation that are simply dangerous. – Gavin Kelly