50
RISKMANAGEMENT
ACT
OCTOBER 2014
RobertMoore
and
Kate Lasky
discuss why
your company needs a
pilot car agreement.
D
oes your company specialize
inhaulingoversize,
overweight loads, and
frequentlyusepilot/escort cars to lead the
route? If so, it is imperative that youhave
an agreement betweenyour company
and thepilot/escort outlining the roles,
responsibilities and assumptionof risks
in escorting theoversize/overweight
load.Many carrier companies continue
tooperateon an invoice, or evenworse a
handshake, for these types of situations.
However, some recent claimsNBIShas
handled, show justwhy it is so important
for your company tohave an agreement
inplace.
Imagine the following, everyday
scenario, that couldhappen to anyone.
Your company is pulling anoversize,
overweight, permitted load in a crowded
anddense area. You’ve contracted a
lead escortwith aheight pole, andhave
a company escort followingbehind
your load. Youdon’t have any typeof
agreement inplacewith the lead escort,
other than an invoicewithminimal
information about the job. The loadhas
skidder boards over the lengthof the top
of the load to allowwires to slideover
the loadwithout catching. Your driver
is in constant communicationwith the
lead and rear escort, particularly as they
aredirectingyour loadunder thewires.
Thewires slide seamlessly across thewire
skidder boards, but, as they comeoff the
rear, theydropdown and theweight of
thewires causes onewoodenpoleonone
sideof the road tobreak, and another
poleon theopposite sideof the road to
completely comeout of the ground. The
weight of thewires and the twopoles
cause another thirdpole tobreak and fall,
striking an aluminum traffic signal pole,
and causing it to fall.As the traffic signal
falls, it strikes several parked and stopped
vehicles. Somepassengers in the stopped
cars complainof injuries.Almost all of the
cars havedamage frombeing struckby
fallingpoles.
As a result of the accident, several
different vehicleowners andoperators
come forwardpresenting claims toyour
insurer for thedamage to their vehicles
and allegedbodily injury.Additionally,
theutility companies present claims for
damages to their power lines. You feel
the escort shouldpickupdefense and
indemnitybecause theywere leading the
load andyouwere following their height
pole, and their directions.However, you
don’t have any agreement inplacewith
them, and as a result they areunderno
obligation todefendor indemnifyyou,
costingyou substantial legal fees from the
multiple suits presented. Theirnegligence,
if any,will bedeterminedover the course
of the various lawsuits.
The above example is just oneofmany
that show the importanceof having a
contract inplacewith companies and
individuals you contractwith as pilot/
escort carswhenhaulingoversize/
overweight loads. If the companyhad
an agreement inplace, the escort car
wouldhavebeen forced topickup the
defense and indemnity, saving the carrier
substantialmoney in attorney fees, and
subsequent juryverdicts or settlement
amounts. Further, the agreementwould
clearlyoutline the responsibilities of each
of theparties, and the requirements of the
pilot car in escorting the load.
NBIShas recentlydeveloped anew
escort/pilot car agreement for this
purpose. Someof thekeyprovisions in
the contract are as follows:
Kate Lasky
is an associate corporate
attorney in the Legal Department of
NBIS. Her primary function is contract
management, in conjunctionwith its Risk
Management Support System (RMSS).
She is also responsible for handling
communicationswith the department of
insurance, coverage opinions, performing
legal research and analysis, and general
legal support to the company.
THEAUTHORS:
RobertMoore
is chief legal officer
for NBIS and its subsidiaries. His primary
function is the oversight and coordination of
all legal activities and functions to ensure
that regulatory compliance ismaintained,
and that the organization is protected from
potential legal action.
The agreement between the carrier
and the pilot car/escort service clearly
outlines the responsibilities of each of
the parties, and the requirements of the
pilot car in escorting the load.
Who’s leading
theway?
