Feds hand chassis inspections to ocean carriers, railroads.

BYLINE: Peter T. Leach

Ocean carriers and railroads will soon be required to perform the same safety inspections and maintenance on the chassis they own as the truckers hauling them perform on their trucks. Those requirements are detailed in a 136-page rule-making issued in December by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Interested parties have until March 21 to review and comment on the proposed rules, after which the FMCSA will adjust them to accommodate concerns and objections before they become the so-called roadability rules for all chassis owners.

The FMCSA's proposed regulations implement a legislative compromise negotiated between chassis …