ARLINGTON, Va. -- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has published a set of rules for container chassis “roadability.”
The new regulations have stemmed from concerns raised by the American Trucking Associations’ Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference. As a result, intermodal equipment providers and container haulers will have to ensure the chassis containers they transport are up to standards.
Ocean carriers, railroads, chassis pool operators and trucking companies will have to comply with the new rules in the US, which fall under Sec. 4118 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act.
Specifically, container chassis handlers will have to: establish a systematic inspection, repair and maintenance program to ensure the safe condition of container chassis; document their program; display their US DoT number on each container chassis that will be used in interstate commerce; respond to driver and motor carrier reports on container chassis defects; and ensure the chassis are road-worthy before releasing them to a carrier.
The regulations will go into effect in the US in six months, the ATA reports.