RELO Roundtable…a gathering place

Several years ago a city administrator confided that more and more new neighborhoods that were being planned, developed, or had been constructed to federal, state, and municipal building codes in the last ten years were at least partially inaccessible to most long-haul truck drivers.

His comments were in response to the concerns that I often raised about the impractical access (and egress) for most interstate household goods movers to some new streets throughout the city.

When I reviewed the drawings and site maps at zoning hearings, my first thought was always about the difficulty a tractor-trailer driver would have moving into or out of the area. The second was to how to explain the additional cost that some homeowners would have to incur if a smaller truck had to be used to accomplish the move. It’s the ol’ trucker in me.

Due to the high price of real estate, most urban land developers and builders want to construct new residential and small business properties as densely as the applicable building code will allow on each parcel.

Meanwhile the ever-rising cost of energy has forced those involved in long distance transportation to employ longer, more powerful twin-axle tractors to pull longer (53’), wider (102”), and higher (13’6”) trailers that will handle more payload and thus reduce their operating costs.

Most movers have impractical operation (or shuttle) provisions in their tariff which allow them to legally apply additional equipment and/or manpower charges to their bill if a van operator is prevented from providing loading and/or unloading service because:

• the size of his normal, over-the-road equipment makes it impractical or illegal to operate on a highway, road, street, driveway, alley, or approach to a customer’s home, or;
• there are inadequate or unsafe loading or unloading facilities; or,
• providing the service using normal access and egress routes would endanger life or place personal property in jeopardy; or,
• riots, Acts of God, the public enemy, the authority of law, the existence of violence, or such possible disturbances as tend to create reasonable apprehension of danger to persons or property

Frequently shuttle charges are included on cost estimates because the company is not sure if the use of a smaller truck will be required to complete the moving service. The cost of the services varies by carrier base on their unique tariff pricing.

In many cases a driver will canvas the situation and make a good faith attempt to get in without creating any problems. Even if the charges are included on the original cost estimate, however, a carrier can not charge a customer for shuttle service if no other equipment or manpower was used to complete the move.

Related Articles:

Moving companies sometimes restricted by regulations that prohibit truck traffic – RELORoundtable

Legitimate fees Big Apple movers can apply when relocating into or out of NYC – RELORoundtable

Tips for moving in and around Philadelphia – RELORoundtable

What matters most when planning a move? – RELORoundtable

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