Almost all commercial truckers driving on the roads today are required by federal law to use Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) to ensure compliance with the Hours of Service (HOS) rules. But a few segments of the industry including livestock and insect haulers have managed to avoid compliance so far. Now it looks as though their exemption will last at least a little bit longer.
Since the record-setting partial government shutdown which ended in January, lawmakers have been trying to reach a deal to avoid a second shutdown and keep the government open. Now that both the House and the Senate have passed the budget, it will go on to the White House where it looks like it will pass as well.
While the budget mostly concerns government spending, the deal also includes riders for unrelated legislation slipped in. One of these riders extends the ELD exemption for livestock and insect haulers through the fiscal year which ends on September 30th, 2019.
Up until now, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) had been responsible for issuing exemptions to livestock haulers. But the inclusion of this rider makes further exemptions from the FMCSA unnecessary.
It also shows the sway that the agricultural lobby has in Washington. That’s important since they’re currently petitioning the FMCSA to expand HOS to 16-hour on-duty periods. If that rule passes, livestock, fish, and insect haulers would be allowed to spend at least 18 hours on-duty at a time.
Lady Doe says
WHAT ABOUT PRODUCE, FRESH FOOD FROM THE FIELD.
Scott says
This just in: irrisponsible children continue to endanger the public.
Bob Rupp says
These people have ruined trucking with all their rules and regulations, I’m sorry that I ruined my life and wasted my time with this industry. Everybody needs to turn the keys to the left, and tell the country that we will go back to work after you learn a severe lesson.
Joe says
How about the drivers that haul hazardous material. We have to take detour around tunnel we should have some extra time to do are run.
Trokerito says
April 12 , right ? I’m willing to stop for the whole week .
MICHAEL WHITEHEAD says
It’s to bad that we cant come together as a group and solve our own problems! Otherwise we could get whatever we wanted if we only stood together… Breaks my heart!
Donald D Miller says
Everyone needs extra hours occasionally but livestock haulers are scary most times anyway because of the hard work they do and extending their days to 18 hrs seems like a bad idea for fellow travelers and for the drivers. Tired is tired is tired even for livestock haulers who are almost supermen and women!
Trisha Bryant says
The trucking industry is not what it ised to be. Truckers looked out for each other and stood together as a whole back in the day. They government has ruined another industry of people working their hind ends off to provide for this country. We are away from our homes, family and lives for greedy people who just continue to take from us and regulate us. We need the outlaw truckers back but they are a dying breed thats to our lovely government.
Charlie says
Everybody wants to dog us out. how about some off you big time truck drivers come on over here and try it out hook your truck up to my trailer lets see how you do as far as taking the 10 hr break build us some pins to hold all the cattle that yal see running up and down the road. I’ll be glad to go to sleep.
Thetruthslayer says
I like that I’m glad somebody is gaining a little freedom. Too many Martin Luther Kong’s and not enough Malcom Xes