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Part II .

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Carriage of Freight by Vehicle Regulations

made under

Section 303 of the

Motor Vehicle Act

R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 293

O.I.C. 95-188 (March 7, 1995), N.S. Reg. 24/95

1 These regulations apply to carriage by commercial vehicle and by freight vehicle.

Definitions

2 In these regulations

(a) "carrier" means a person who owns, leases or is otherwise responsible for

the operation of a commercial vehicle;

(b) "commercial vehicle" means a commercial motor vehicle having a

registered gross vehicle weight exceeding 4500 kg;

(c) "freight vehicle" means a vehicle operated by or on behalf of any person

carrying on the business of a carrier of freight for gain;

(d) "motor carrier" means a person who owns, leases or is otherwise

responsible for the operation of a freight vehicle.

Insurance

3 In addition to any other policy of insurance required by the Act, every carrier shall

effect or place and maintain a motor vehicle liability policy of insurance issued by a

company duly authorized to issue the policy in the Province of Nova Scotia and in a

form approved by the Superintendent of Insurance for the Province providing third

party coverage in respect of liability for loss or damage resulting from bodily injury

to or the death of persons other than passengers and for damage to property of others

to the limit of at least $1 000 000.00, exclusive of interest and costs, for commercial

vehicles, and $2 000 000.00, exclusive of interest and costs, for commercial vehicles

carrying dangerous goods, under an inclusive coverage for each commercial vehicle

used.

4 A motor vehicle liability policy of insurance for the protection of freight carried by a

motor carrier must be in a form approved by the Superintendent of Insurance for the

Province of Nova Scotia, shall be issued by a company duly authorized to issue the

policy in the Province, must insure against the liability of the motor carrier for loss or

damage resulting from direct physical loss or damage to freight caused by

(

a) fire (including self-ignition and internal explosion and lightning);

(

b) flood (meaning rising navigable waters);

(

c) cyclone, hurricane or tornado;

(

d) accidental collision of the vehicle with any other vehicle or object;

(

e) overturning of the vehicle;

(

f) collapse of a bridge;

(

g) stranding, sinking, fire or collision, including general average or salvage

charges when being transported on or in the vehicle while on a regular

ferry;

(

h) theft of an entire shipping package,

and must be in the maximum amount prescribed by clause (

k) of the Uniform

Conditions of Carriage set out in

Section 7 of these regulations.

5 A carrier must permit any vehicle used by the carrier to be inspected by an Inspector

appointed under the Act at any reasonable time.

6 It is an offence for a carrier or for any person employing or otherwise directing the

driver of a commercial vehicle to require the operation of the vehicle upon a highway

when the vehicle is equipped otherwise than as required or permitted by these

regulations or by any other law.

Freight and express carriage conditions and documents

7 Except as otherwise provided by or under these regulations, the following clauses are

prescribed as uniform conditions of carriage of freight by a motor carrier and are

deemed to be part of every contract for the carriage of freight by a motor carrier and

shall be contained or incorporated by reference in every bill of lading relating to the

carriage of freight by a motor carrier:

Uniform conditions of carriage

Liability of motor carrier

(

a) The motor carrier of the goods herein described is liable for any loss of or

damage to goods accepted by him or his agent, except as herein provided.

Liability of originating and delivering motor carriers

(

b) Where a shipment is accepted for carriage by more than one motor carrier,

the originating contracting motor carrier and the motor carrier who

assumes responsibility for delivery to the consignee (hereinafter called the

delivering motor carrier), in addition to any other liability hereunder, are

liable jointly and severally for any loss or damage to the goods while they

are in the custody of any other motor carrier to whom the goods are or

have been delivered and from which liability the other motor carrier is not

relieved.

Recovery from connecting motor carrier

(

c) The originating motor carrier or the delivering motor carrier, as the case

may be, is entitled to recover from any other motor carrier to whom the

goods are or have been delivered, the amount of loss or damage that the

original contracting motor carrier or delivering motor carrier, as the case

may be, may be required to pay hereunder resulting from any loss of or

damage to the goods while they are in the custody of such other motor

carrier.

Remedy by consignor or consignee

(

d) Nothing in clauses (

b) or (

c) deprives a consignor or consignee of any

rights the consignor or consignee may have against any motor carrier.

Exceptions from liability

(

e) The motor carrier is not liable for

(

i) loss, damage or delay to any of the goods described in the bill of

lading caused by

an act of God, the Queen's or public enemies, riots,

strikes, a defect or inherent vice in the goods, the act or default of the

consignor, owner or consignee, authority of law or quarantine,

(ii) loss arising from

(

A) damage to fragile articles that are not packed and unpacked by

the contracting motor carrier, the motor carrier's agent or

employee,

(

B) damage to mechanical, electronic or other operations of radios,

phonographs, clocks, appliances, musical instruments and other

equipment unless packed by the motor carrier, the motor

carrier's agent or employee,

(

C) deterioration of or damage to perishable food, plants or pets,

(

D) loss of contents of articles packed by the consignor, unless the

containers used are opened for the motor carrier's inspection

and articles are listed on the bill of lading and a receipt for the

articles is provided by the motor carrier,

other than that due to the negligence of the motor carrier, the motor

carrier's agent or employee, the burden or [of] proving absence of

such negligence shall be on the motor carrier,

(iii) damage to or loss of a complete set or unit when only part of such set

or unit is damaged or lost, in which event the motor carrier shall only

be liable for the repair or recovery of the lost or damaged part;

(iv) damage to the goods at place of pick-up at which the consignor or

the consignor's agent is not in attendance,

(

v) damage to the goods at place of delivery where the consignee or the

consignee's agent is not in attendance and cannot give receipt for

goods delivered.

Delay

(

f) At the time of acceptance of the contract, the motor carrier shall provide

the consignor with a date or time period within which delivery is to be

made, which date or time period shall be shown on the bill of lading.

Failure by the motor carrier to effect delivery on the date or within the time

period specified shall render the motor carrier liable for reasonable food

and lodging expenses incurred by the consignee which result from the

failure.

(

g) Failure by the consignee to accept delivery when tendered within the time

specified on the bill of lading will render the consignee liable for

reasonable storage in transit, handling and redelivery charges incurred by

the motor carrier which result from the failure.

Routing by motor carrier

(

h) In the case of physical necessity where the motor carrier forwards the

goods by a conveyance that is not a licensed for-hire vehicle, the liability

of the motor carrier is the same as though the entire carriage were by

licensed for-hire vehicle.

Stoppage in transit

(

i) Where goods are stopped or held in transit at the request of a party entitled

to so request, the goods are held at the risk of that party.

Valuation

(

j) Subject to clause (k), the amount of any loss or damage for which the

motor carrier is liable, whether or not the loss or damage results from

negligence of the motor carrier or its employees or agents, shall be

computed on the basis of the value of the lost or damaged articles at the

time and place of shipment.

Maximum liability

(k) (

i) The amount of any loss or damage computed under clause (

j) must

not exceed the greater of

(

A) the value declared by the consignor, or

(B) $4.41 per kg computed on the total weight of the shipment,

provided that where the consignor releases to the motor carrier a

shipment which is stated in writing to have a value of $1.32 per kg

per

article or less, the amount of any loss or damage computed under

clause (

j) must not exceed such lower amount,

(ii) Where paragraph (

A) or (

B) applies, additional charges to cover the

additional coverage over $1.32 per kg per

article shall be paid by the

consignor.

Consignor's risk

(

l) Where it is agreed that the goods are carried at the risk of the consignor of

the goods, such agreement covers only such risks as are necessarily

incidental to the transportation and the agreement will not relieve the

motor carrier from liability for any loss or damage or delay which results

from any negligent act or omission of the motor carrier, the motor carrier's

agents or employees and the burden of proving absence of negligence is

on the motor carrier.

Notice of claim

(

m) No motor carrier is liable for loss, damage or delay to any goods carried

under the bill of lading unless notice setting out particulars of the origin,

destination and date of shipment of the goods and the estimated amount

claimed in respect of the loss, damage or delay is given in writing to the

originating motor carrier or the delivering motor carrier within 60 days

after the delivery of the goods, or, in the case of failure to make delivery,

within 9 months from the date of shipment.

(

n) The final statement of the claim shall be filed with the motor carrier within

9 months from the date of shipment.

(

o) The party receiving the notice of claim shall acknowledge receipt of claim

within 30 days of receipt of the claim.

Articles of extraordinary value

(

p) No motor carrier is bound to carry any documents, specie or any articles of

extraordinary value without a special agreement to do so. If such goods

are carried without a special agreement and the nature of the goods is not

disclosed on the face of the bill of lading, the motor carrier is not [to] be

[held] liable for any loss or damage to them.

Dangerous goods

(

q) Every consignor, whether as principal or agent, shipping explosives or

dangerous goods without previous full disclosure to the motor carrier as

required by law shall indemnify the motor carrier against all loss, damage

or delay caused thereby, and such goods may be warehoused at the

consignor's risk and expense.

Undelivered goods

(

r) Where, through no fault of the motor carrier, the goods cannot be

delivered, the motor carrier shall immediately give notice to the consignor

and consignee that delivery has not been made, and shall request disposal

instructions.

(

s) Pending receipt of such disposal instructions

(

i) the goods may be stored in the warehouse of the motor carrier,

subject to a reasonable charge for storage, or

(ii) if the motor carrier has notified the consignor of the motor carrier's

intention, the goods may be removed to, and stored in, a public or

licensed warehouse, at the expense of the consignor, without liability

on the part of the motor carrier, and subject to a lien for all freight

and other lawful charges, including a reasonable charge for storage.

Alterations

(

t) Subject to

Section 11 of the Regulations Respecting the Carriage of

Freight by Vehicle, any limitation on the motor carrier's liability on the bill

of lading, and any alteration, or addition or erasure on the bill of lading,

shall be signed or initialled by the consignor or the consignor's agent and

the originating motor carrier or originating motor carrier's agent and unless

so acknowledged is of no effect.

Weights

(

u) It is the responsibility of the originating motor carrier or the originating

motor carrier's agent to show the correct tare, and the gross and net

weights measured by use of a certified public scale, on the bill of lading,

and attach the weight scale ticket to the originating motor carrier's copy of

the bill of lading.

(

v) Where certified public scales are not available at origin or at any point

within a radius of 16 km thereof, a constructive weight based on 112 kg/m 3

of properly loaded van space shall be used.

8 Except as otherwise provided by or under these regulations respecting any service or

vehicle, every motor carrier shall, at the time of acceptance by the motor carrier or on

the motor carrier's behalf of a shipment of freight for transportation on a freight

vehicle, issue or cause to be issued for each shipment a bill of lading in accordance

with these regulations.

(1) Except as otherwise provided by these regulations, the consignor shall plainly

mark on each

article covered by the bill of lading the name of the consignee and

the destination, except where the shipment is from one consignor to one

consignee and constitutes a truckload shipment.

(2) The bill of lading shall be signed in full, rather than initialled, by the consignor

or the consignor's agent and by the motor carrier as an acceptance of all terms

and conditions contained therein.

(3) At the option of the motor carrier a waybill may be prepared by the motor carrier

and the waybill shall bear the same number or other positive means of

identification as the original bill of lading.

(4) Under no circumstances shall the waybill replace the original bill of lading.

(5) The bill of lading acknowledging the receipt of goods must be signed by the

originating motor carrier or the originating motor carrier's agent and shall

indicate whether the goods were received in apparent good order and condition

or otherwise when the shipment was taken into the originating motor carrier's

custody.

(6) A signed copy of the bill of lading shall be retained by the consignor, one copy

shall be retained by the motor carrier and one copy or the motor carrier's waybill

shall accompany the shipment to its destination.

(7) If the shipment is carried on more than one vehicle, the motor carrier shall

ensure that every part of the shipment is accompanied by a copy of the bill of

lading or by the motor carrier's waybill.

(8) A bill of lading shall be identified by some numerical code and

(

a) must show

(

i) the name of the consignor,

(ii) the date of consignment,

(iii) the originating point of the shipment,

(iv) the name of the originating motor carrier,

(

v) the names of connecting motor carrier, if any,

(vi) the name and address of the consignee,

(vii) the destination of the shipment,

(viii) the particulars of the goods comprising the shipment; and

(

b) must contain

(

i) a space for designating whether the goods are received in apparent

good order and condition or otherwise,

(ii) a space to show the declared value of the shipment,

(iii) a space to indicate whether the charges are prepaid or collect,

(iv) a space to show whether the cash-on-delivery fee is prepaid or

collect,

(

v) a space in which to show the amount to be collected by the motor

carrier on a cash-on-delivery shipment,

(vi) a statement to indicate that the Uniform Conditions of Carriage

apply,

(vii) a space to note any special agreement between consignor and motor

carrier,

(viii) a statement in conspicuous form to indicate that motor carrier's

liability is limited by a term or condition of the applicable

schedule

of rates or by other agreement,

(ix) a verbatim statement of the notice of claim requirements as set out in

clauses (m), (

n) and (

o) of the Uniform Conditions of Carriage.

(1) Bills of lading shall be issued in triplicate or more and shall consist of an

"original bill of lading", a "shipping order" and a "memorandum" and shall be

so marked.

(2) The original bill of lading shall be delivered to the consignor; the shipping order

must be retained by the motor carrier and shall be filed at the main office of the

motor carrier and kept for a period of 3 years subject to inspection by the

Registrar or the Registrar's duly authorized representative.

(3) The memorandum shall be delivered to the consignor if demanded by the

consignor.

(1) The freight covered by a bill of lading must be in possession or control of the

motor carrier at the time the bill of lading is issued.

(2) A bill of lading must cover only goods received from one shipper, picked up at

one place, and consigned to one consignee at one destination and delivered at

one place.

(1) Shipments which are greater than the capacity of the available equipment of the

motor carrier may be accepted on one bill of lading, if the portion of the

shipment equal to or approximating but not exceeding the licensed carrying

capacity of the freight vehicle is transported on the vehicle which takes the first

load.

(2) The remainder of the shipment shall be moved in the name of the motor carrier

moving the first portion of the shipment.

(3) The revenue bill shall cover the entire shipment and shall show the weight, the

rate assessed and the freight charges.

(4) A separate waybill or similar document shall be issued by the driver and be in

the possession of the driver of each vehicle carrying the remaining portions of

the shipment, such waybills or similar documents making reference to the

revenue bill and giving weight and description of each load.

(1) A motor carrier need not issue the bill of lading, local moving order, invoice,

delivery slip, or similar document respecting transportation of commodities

described in this Section, but shall keep a daily record with respect to each

licensed vehicle of freight transported therein showing the names of the

consignor and consignee, description and quantity of freight, distance

transported, rate and total amount charged for the transportation and number of

trips, which record must be preserved in the main office of the motor carrier for

not less than 3 years and be available for the inspection of the Registrar or the

Registrar's duly authorized representative.

(2) The commodities are:

(

a) Her Majesty's mail;

(

b) fluid milk and cream and the containers on regular milk routes from farms

to creamery, processing plant or market and return of empty containers

from creamery, processing plant or market;

(

c) petroleum products in bulk or bituminous construction materials in bulk;

(

d) logs, poles, piles, ties, shingle-bolts, pit-props, pulpwood and fence posts;

(

e) fuel-wood and sawdust;

(

f) coal or ore in bulk;

(

g) earth, rock, gravel or sand in bulk;

(

h) grain in bulk;

(

i) hay, baled or unbaled;

(

j) vegetables or fruit in bulk;

(

k) fertilizer or animal manure in bulk;

(

l) livestock.

14 The shipping order or a copy of a local moving order, invoice, delivery slip or similar

document, or, in lieu thereof, an expense bill or waybill showing the consignor's

name, point of origin, date of shipment, name of consignee, destination, any

connecting motor carriers and itemized statement of shipment must be in the

possession of the driver of a freight vehicle while the freight is being carried thereon

and may be inspected by any inspector or duly authorized representative of the

Registrar while the freight is being transported.

15 The Registrar may prescribe forms to be used to give effect to the provisions of the

Act and these regulations.