Oppose Efforts to Shield Shippers and Brokers from Liability

Summary:

Whether it is a bill or an amendment to must-pass legislation, efforts to limit liability for shippers and brokers are named and defined to mislead the public. Instead of improving safety as their definitions and names portend, their true purposes are to protect brokers from getting sued if they hire unsafe motor carriers who are involved in injurious and fatal truck crashes.

If passed, such language would consider a shipper and broker “to have made the selection of the motor carrier in a reasonable and prudent manner” if they ensure that the carrier:

1.     Registered with and authorized by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to operate as a motor carrier or household goods motor carrier, if applicable.

2.     Has the minimum insurance coverage required by federal regulation ($750,000).

3.     Is not determined unfit to operate safely commercial motor vehicles by the Secretary of Transportation or otherwise ordered to discontinue operations.

Key Points:

The three requirements identified in the amendments set a standard for shippers and brokers at such an inadequate threshold that it would diminish accountability throughout the supply chain.

High-risk, unsafe, and chameleon carriers could easily satisfy the three criteria. This is because none of the requirements inform shippers and brokers about the current safety performance of a carrier.  

Because these amendments would protect shippers and brokers from being sued if the motor carrier meets the three criteria, it would incentivize shippers and brokers to rely on insufficient information to select the cheapest motor carriers who may sacrifice safety to lower their operating costs.

These amendments would indemnify shippers and brokers even if they ignored troubling and dangerous actions carried out by a motor carrier, including but not limited to:

·       Hiring drivers who have poor records or abuse drugs while operating,

·       High risk carriers that use speed as a competitive advantage, or

·       Reincarnating under a new name after being involved in a fatal truck crash.

A robust national hiring standard would require shippers and brokers to review a motor carrier’s:

·       Crash rates (for property-damage only, injury, and fatal),

·       Driver screening and training policies,

·       Driver and vehicle out of service rates and violations,

·       Vehicle maintenance,

·       Investment in safety technologies (like automatic emergency braking and driver-facing cameras).

Shippers and Brokers should be part of an effort to improve safety, and should be responsible for their purchasing decisions, as other industries are.