The Good, the Bad and the Ugly About ELDs

By: Doug Smith, PhD University of Nebraska Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture

Did I grab your attention with that title? Does this trio exist? The latest discussions on this mandate have many people looking for answers on this topic.

The trucking industry is relied on heavily for transportation of products and goods across the country. This involves everything from dry goods to livestock.

There are many regulations that have been put into place in many areas that we may scratch our heads about and this may be another, but let’s look at some of the features of the proposed mandates involving ELDs, or Electronic Logging Devices. The rule was put into place to affect those who have to prepare or keep Hours of Service records. The following statement is found in the Federal Register for this mandate: “The requirements for ELDs will improve compliance with the HOS rules.”

Electronic Logging Devices are devices that are connected directly to the motor to record driving time and hours of operation. The effective date for this mandate was February 16, 2016, and the compliance date was December 18, 2017. Prior to the compliance date, a 90-day waiver was granted for the livestock industry hauler which made the compliance date March 18, 2018 and now another 90-day waiver was granted. So this is where we discuss the above title.

The Good

You might ask, is there any good that can come from this mandate? The good is the protection of the driver of the truck and other drivers on the road. In studies done by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), crashes and fatalities involving semi trucks and trailers have risen since 1995.

This might beg the question, is the issue with the semi drivers or other drivers? Are drivers being pushed to get their loads to particular locations?

The number of drivers in the United States has reached 3.5 million according to the American Trucking Association. With the aforementioned number, there are approximately 250,000 livestock haulers in the United States according to the FMCSA. Making sure the drivers and livestock arrive safely is a concern for the Administration as well as the livestock industry. This concern of Hours of Service and ELDs does not go without its faults or challenges.

The Bad

With the dooming date upon the horizon to meet compliance, several groups are in Washington lobbying for change in the policy. Some suggestions have been made such as a 4-year extension of the moratorium to complete repeal for livestock haulers.

As we look at the mandate about ELDs, the question concerning hauling livestock comes due to the Hours of Service that sometimes are required to move those livestock across the country.

At a symposium in 2015, Lisa Pedersen of North Dakota State University Extension stated that there might be 125,000 head of fat cattle on the road on any given day and with feeder cattle moving about, that number could reach

400,000. Cattle move from various points throughout the United States to many feedyards in the Midwest. The distance of travel takes longer than the 11 hours stated in the mandate for Electronic Logging Devices. The administration has a mandatory rule of a 30-minute rest period during the 11- and 14-hour rule. The 11-hour rule only allows drivers to be behind the wheel for 11 hours, and the 14-hour rule is defined as the hours on duty.

Many times drivers are required to be outside of their truck 20-25% of their duty time loading and unloading the truck according to the American Trucking Association. With the information provided, it will not be manageable for a truck driver to load a trailer in central Texas and make it to Nebraska during the allotted time with the required break. Several items could happen here: more rapid loading, higher rates of speed and lack of concern for the livestock. With these occurrences, challenges will increase for the beef producer, feedlot owners and packers, such as additional shrink, fatigue and bruising to the carcass.

The Ugly

With the discussions on these issues, many different ideas have been thrown about addressing the ELD mandate. In this article, the main focus has been on the commercial livestock hauling industry, but the mandate will also affect those who haul horses for a living, show horses or participate in rodeos, and it looks to even affect the people that show livestock throughout the country.

Some suggestions have been team drivers in a truck, rest locations for livestock and different regulations for the livestock haulers. The team driver issue could very well be the answer, but if you look at the numbers, that would require doubling the current number of drivers from 250,000 to 500,000. Many companies are having a challenge just keeping enough drivers for the work they have. If the companies were required to double the number of drivers, then we would probably see less livestock hauling companies available for moving livestock throughout the country. Compensation for two drivers in one truck does not pencil very often, especially for the smaller companies.

The issue of rest locations throughout the country opens the door for disease outbreak and sharing of bacteria and viruses more quickly than they currently may travel. The biosecurity at one of these locations would have to be extreme.

Several other questions come to mind such as who is going to build these locations? Where is the money coming from? Will there be enforcement of stopping trucks? There are several questions that need some further review prior to enforcement of this mandate. The answer may be totally different regulations for livestock haulers. This could entail different hour requirements, loading and unloading changes, or time allotted for the week changes.

The answer is up to the legislative body, but we need to focus on what is good for the livestock and the industry. There are a lot of opportunities for education of legislators and Senators during these discussions. Many possibilities are ahead, and the hope is that all of these aspects will be looked at prior to making a decision. Hopefully you have been able to see some of the good, the bad and the ugly.