Marine Chassis Road Service Policy

Effective: february 6, 2025

 

1. General Information

Direct ChassisLink, Inc. provides critical road service to applicable Customers/Motor Carriers (MC) operating a DCLI chassis under the DCLI Chassis Interchange Agreement.

Critical Road Service should NOT be engaged following an accident.  In the event of an accident, Customer/MC should immediately contact the appropriate law enforcement agency and the Railway/IMC from which the chassis was interchanged. For notification to DCLI, Customer/MC should refer to the  Incident Reporting Policy.

All critical road service repairs on DCLI equipment must be facilitated through the DCLI Road Service Call Center (via online form, email, phone, or REACH), utilizing DCLI authorized approved vendor network.  Any Customer/MC facilitating repairs and/or utilizing outside repair vendor networks will not be covered nor reimbursed under this policy.  All repairs and rebills are at DCLI direction and discretion.

All DCLI authorized road service bills will be paid by DCLI.  All road service repairs/failures will be analyzed by DCLI with photo or vendor back-up prepared by DCLI’s vendor(s) to determine financial responsibility between DCLI or the applicable Customer/MC.  All repairs determined to be caused by reasons other than wear and tear are considered damage and will be rebilled to the Customer/MC.

DCLI will not cover any damaged tires.

 

2. Coverage

DCLI will be responsible for wear and tear repairs to DCLI equipment and associated charges (i.e. dispatch fee, service call, mileage, etc.)

Covered road service repairs (i.e. wear and tear) may include, but are not limited to, the following service requests:

• Mechanical Brake Failures

• Electrical Failures

• Tire Failure:

  • Cap Peel / Cap Separation

All repairs determined to be caused by reasons other than wear and tear are considered damage and will be assessed an administrative fee of $30 per occurrence and rebilled to the Customer/MC.  DCLI will rebill for all costs including associated charges (i.e. dispatch fee, service call, mileage, etc.).

Road service repairs that are not covered (i.e. damage) may include, but are not limited to, the following service requests:

• Components with the following damage descriptions:

  • Broken

  • Bent

  • Cut/Torn

  • Missing

• Tire Damage:

  • Cut / Sidewall Puncture or Impact

  • Punctured (Due to nail or foreign object in tire)

  • Run Flat / Run to Destruction / Blown / Blowout

  • Flat Spot / Slid Flat / Skid Flat

  • Cap Peel on the same axle position caused by the first tire being run to destruction

  • Original cause for tire damage can no longer be determined

 

3. FMCSA Inspection:

• All road service requests resulting from failure to perform a proper FMCSA pre-trip inspection will not be covered under this policy .

• If a unit out-gates with an expired inspection, all costs will be the responsibility of the Customer/MC.

• If a unit out-gates with a valid inspection, but expires while out, DCLI will be responsible for the cost of the inspection, any wear and tear items, and the associated fees for road service (dispatch fees, mileage, etc.)

All repairs determined solely by DCLI to be caused by reasons other than wear and tear are considered damage and will be rebilled to the Customer/MC. This includes, but is not limited to, missing paperwork, license plate and registration, as these items are part of the pre-trip inspection and should be verified during interchange.

• Customer/MC is responsible for ensuring all tires are in proper working condition prior to out-gating a unit.  DCLI reserves the right to bill the Customer/MC for any fees associated with a road service request for worn tires that is made within the first seven (7) days of a units out-gate.

• Unit Recovery

• • Impounds – All impound-related charges including, but not limited to, tow, impoundment, storage, and recovery fees, plus 15% of the total invoice shall be subject to re-billing.

• • When the responsible party of an impounded unit (party at the time of last interchange) fails to recover the unit for any reason, DCLI may step in to recover the chassis to avoid additional charges or auction. All charges associated with said recovery will be rebilled to the responsible party.

 

4. High-Level Requirements

DCLI will require the below information for all service requests.  Failure to provide proper information could result in additional charges which will be rebilled to motor carriers (i.e. improper tire size reported)

• Trucking/Motor Carrier Company Name or SCAC

• Driver Name and Phone

• Chassis Number

• Container Number

• Empty/Loaded

• Road Service Location: Physical Address, Cross Street, City, State

• Identify the Problem (mechanical/tire)

• Tire Type, Tire Size, Tire Position

• Description of mechanical failure

• Declare if Road Service Event involves an accident of any kind

Road Service is intended for critical roadside assistance only.  Any critical road service call determined by DCLI to be a non-critical matter, as described in Section 2, will be paid by DCLI, however; DCLI will rebill to the responsible Customer/MC based on requested service failures/repairs requested.

Road Service may NOT be available to any delinquent Customer/MC until all non-disputed invoices for chassis usage or other charges payable by the Customer/MC to DCLI more than forty-five (45) days past due are fully paid to DCLI.

Placing a call for Road Service is a commitment on the part of the Customer/MC driver to be present for the completion of the service call.  DCLI will rebill the Customer/MC for the vendor’s “Dry Run”* if:

1. The customer/MC driver of the road service request cannot be located after making the Road Service request;

2. Customer/MC driver leaves the scene without receiving the requested service; or

3. Customer/MC driver leaves the scene prior to the dispatched authorized Road Service vendor arriving.

* A Dry Run refers to any instance in which a vendor arrives at the reported location and is unable to locate the unit or make repairs; either due to the unit being unavailable, inaccessible, incorrect information being reported, or no repairs being needed.

It is the responsibility of the Customer/MC to retrieve the chassis from the tow/storage yard and satisfy all associated charges. Additionally, it is the responsibility of the Customer/MC to return the chassis to an appropriate DCLI start/stop location and bear all costs for relocation. Please contact your local DCLI representative to identify an appropriate start/stop location.

Any necessary deviation from this policy, as determined solely by DCLI, will be communicated directly to the Customer/MC.

 

5. Additional Disclaimer

DCLI agrees to accept financial responsibility for critical road service repair costs as outlined above, which include the actual repair costs.  DCLI hereby expressly disclaims any responsibility to pay or reimburse any Customer/Motor Carrier for incidental charges including, but not limited to: driver waiting time, missed appointment fees, per diem, demurrage, or similar charges, and per the terms of the DCLI Chassis Interchange Agreement and/or Unregistered User Terms, any such special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages of any type or character resulting from the use, misuse, possession or operation of any intermodal chassis are not the responsibility or liability of DCLI.