Dock to Dock

The Problem: Temperature recorder not started after loading.

The Key Point: Shippers are responsible for starting temperature recorders.

The Solution: Understanding the responsibilities at shipping point.

QUESTION:  We are a truck broker based in California.  I have a quick question regarding temperature recorders: who is responsible for starting the recorder when the truck is loaded? It is my understanding the shipper is responsible for starting it, and it is the driver’s responsibility to make sure it gets on the truck.  I’m curious what Blue Book says about it.

ANSWER:  We consider starting the recorder to be the responsibility of the shipper. Yes, the driver verifies proper loading for count, bracing, airflow, and any pulp temperatures noted on the bill of lading when he/she signs for the load, but we do not believe this naturally extends to verifying that portable recording devices placed by the shipper are properly started.

As a practical matter, why should both the shipper and driver need to “touch” the portable recorder?  In the normal course of events, the shipper sources, places, and starts the recorder; the driver shouldn’t have to doublecheck this. The driver verifies that count, bracing, air flow, and pulp temperatures are sufficient partly because these may be subject to factual dispute (e.g., how many cartons were loaded?) and partly because the adequacy of bracing and airflow, for instance, can be a somewhat subjective determination.

If the driver fails to object to the shipper’s loading, the presumption is that the loading was adequate and this presumption helps narrow the factual issues.  For example, if the loading was fine, it must have been theft (or conversion), reckless driving, a faulty reefer, etc. that caused any subsequent problems.

Conversely, there’s no factual dispute when the recorder isn’t started.  We know the shipper failed to start the recorder.  The bottom line, in our view, is that a shipper’s failure to start a temperature recorder cannot be pinned on the driver, and the absence of temperature information caused by the shipper’s error should not be allowed to benefit the shipper if a claim arises.

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