Livestock Haulers Granted ELD Waiver

The U.S. Department of Transportation issued livestock haulers a 90-day waiver from a regulation that could have negative effects on animal well-being.  The National Pork Producers Council issued a statement in support of the move.  NPPC had requested the waiver from a requirement that certain drivers install Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) on their trucks. The organization also requested an exemption from the waiver, saying the job of transporting livestock and the DOT’s Hours of Service rule are not compatible. Those regulations limit truckers to 11 hours of driving daily, after 10 straight hours off-duty and restrict work time to 14 consecutive hours, which includes non-driving time.

“Those regulations make things very difficult for livestock haulers and the animals in their care,” says NPPC president Ken Maschoff, an Illinois pork producer. “This waiver gives the department time to consider our request that truckers transporting hogs, cattle, and other livestock be exempt from the ELD mandate. Drivers transporting livestock have a moral obligation to care for the animals they’re hauling.”

The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act, enacted in 2012, mandated that ELDs be installed by December 18, 2017.

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