It shall be deemed, prima facie, a reasonable time within which to order cars that any shipper shall give notice thereof to the station agent at the place of shipment, or in his or her absence to the nearest station agent of the railroad company to which the application is made, three (3) days before a shipment of five (5) cars or fewer, and five (5) days for fewer than ten (10) but more than five (5) cars, and eight (8) days for ten (10) cars or more. It shall be the duty of the railroad companies to furnish their station agents with printed blanks upon which shippers may make application for their cars. However, nothing in this section and §§ 23-10-401, 23-10-433 — 23-10-437, and 23-12-605 shall be construed to exempt any railroad company from the obligation to furnish cars for shipment without the written notice, but it shall only be subject to the penalties of §§ 23-10-434 — 23-10-437 for failure to furnish cars to shippers where notice thereof shall be given in writing or, in case of shipment of freight wholly between points in this state, then in accordance with the rules of the Arkansas Department of Transportation.