Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network — The U.S. Department of Transportation officially suspended the rule, requiring livestock haulers to use Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) in their trucks. While this is welcome news from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there is still uncertainty for drivers.
Steve Hilker, chairman of the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association Transportation Committee, says they’ve been to Washington D.C. three time last year to educate elected officials and FMCSA on why electronic logging devices wouldn’t work in livestock transportation. Hilker says they’ve also had to deal with contentions from the American Trucking Association.
Livestock haulers transport anything from cattle, to honey bees, to live fish. They’re a diverse group and completely different than the rest of the transportation industry according to Hilker. In may, A Bipartisan group of eleven senators, introduced the “Transporting Livestock Across America Safety Act” which would help reform federal hours of service regulations for truckers hauling livestock. Hilker says the bill would really assist livestock transportation.
Hilker says getting people to understand their issues can be difficult, especially in the west coast, where there is misinformation on the safety of livestock transportation. He says the Trump Administration has helped some. The current ELD waiver however is not much more than a band-aid for livestock haulers.
He says the battle will continue, and involve reaching out to many new senators and congressional members.
