16.3 Characteristics of Carriage

Bailment for reward — possession of the goods for transit; the carrier's heightened care duty; The common carrier's public character — the old common-law insurer's liability: the common carrier answered for all loss short of the classic exceptions quartet: act of God, act of the state's enemies, the shipper's own fault, inherent vice — now softened by statute, convention and standard terms; Document-driven — the consignment note (land), rail receipt, bill of lading (sea), air waybill (air); Freight as the price — the carrier's lien on the goods for freight and charges; The standard-form world — carriers' conditions, limitation clauses, convention caps; the consumer-protection overlay policing the riders.