Teamsters back New Jersey bill on safe chassis

Teamsters back New Jersey bill on safe chassis    The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said Thursday it backs a proposed highway safety bill considered by the New Jersey State House requiring tighter standards of inspection and maintenance of container chassis.
   The New Jersey Assembly Transportation Committee will hold a hearing Monday on A.B. 1482, 'a bill designed to insure that only safe equipment is tendered to the drivers who go to New Jersey seaports to pick up containers off-loaded from ships,” the Teamster said.
   The chassis are used by truck drivers to move maritime containers over the road, but they are owned and maintained by shipping lines and railroads, leaving the truck drivers exposed to potential safety problems, according to the union.
   “Hopefully this legislation will prevent accidents like the crash on route 17 in Bergen county that took the life of a prominent doctor and his mother-in-law,” said Fred Potter, president of Teamsters local 469 in Hazlet, N.J., commenting on the proposed bill.