Electronic Logging Device Could Make Livestock Hauling More Difficult

The old trick of keeping two log books, one for your employer and one for the authorities will be going y the wayside as new electronic logging devices have been mandated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Executive Director of Government Affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Allison Cooke said they are hoping to get a one-year delay for livestock and insect haulers.

“We can only ask for a one-year delay with an appropriations bill because it’s a year-to-year process, so that’s why the one-year delay request.”

The goal is to get a one-year delay so that NCBA can work with FMCSA to get some flexibility within the hours of service.

Cooke said livestock hauling is quite different from other forms of long-haul shipping, particularly as their drivers are trained on livestock as well.

“So just sticking another driver in the cab is not always as easy as it might sound. So, just having those kinds of conversations and trying to get them to understand where cattle are being moved across the country. I don’t think that’s something they knew when we first started the conversations.”

Cooke said there are a lot of questions that are still out there before implementation is scheduled to begin on December 17^th.