Rules of Automotive Transport RAT
Rules of Automotive Transport (RAT)
in the USSR, a normative act regulating automotive transport. The RAT are adopted by the council of ministers of a Union republic. The RAT for the RSFSR were approved by the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR on Jan. 8, 1969.
The RAT outline the basic functions, tasks, rights, and duties of automotive transport enterprises and organizations and of ministries, departments, enterprises, organizations, and institutions acting as shippers and receivers of freight. Furthermore, the RAT set requirements for vehicles, roads, structures, and equipment for shipping and passenger service. In addition to regulating the procedures for planning and organizing the transport of freight, the RAT regulate the transport of passengers, baggage, and mail; the rental of motor vehicles; transportation tariffs and payments; relations with other types of transport that may be used in conjunction with automotive transport; and the carrying out of dispatching operations and services. The RAT define the responsibilities of automotive transport enterprises and organizations, of consignors, of consignees, of passengers, and of citizens using rented motor vehicles. They set forth the procedure for preparing documents initiating claims and suits relating to transportation.
The RAT apply to all automotive transport organizations and enterprises, regardless of the government body to which they are subordinate; exceptions are organizations and enterprises of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, the Committee of State Security (KGB) of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR.
As a supplement to the RAT, and in accordance with the procedure established by them, other sets of rules are drawn up and adopted. Examples are the Regulations for Automotive Shipping; the Special Conditions for Automotive Shipping by Enterprises, Organizations, and Institutions of Branches of the Economy; the Regulations for the Transport of Passengers and Baggage; and the Regulations for the Transport of Mail.