By Julie Tomascik
Editor
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced yesterday an additional 90-day waiver, delaying implementation of the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate for agricultural haulers.
The move was applauded by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, agricultural organizations and agricultural haulers.
“The ELD mandate imposes restrictions upon the agriculture industry that lack flexibility necessary for the unique realities of hauling agriculture commodities,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said. “If the agriculture industry had been forced to comply by the March 18 deadline, live agricultural commodities, including plants and animals, would have been at risk of perishing before they reached their destination.”
During the 90-day waiver, FMCSA will publish final guidance on the 150-air mile and hours of service agricultural exemption and personal conveyance.
“Current ELD technologies do not recognize the hours-of-service exemptions for agriculture that are in federal law,” Perdue said. “This is a classic example of a one-size-fits-all federal regulation that ignores common sense to the detriment of sectors like agriculture.”
A funding and authorization bill in 2012 known as the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP 21), set the stringent guidelines for ELDs.
The additional time with the new waiver allows FMCSA to consider certain exemptions for agriculture and provide clarity on requirements carriers must adhere to when using ELDs.
“We continue to see strong compliance rates across the country that improve weekly, but we are mindful of the unique work our agriculture community does and will use the following 90 days to ensure we publish more helpful guidance that all operators will benefit from,” FMCSA Administrator Ray Martinez said.
During the temporary waiver, agricultural groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, will monitor their request for a full exemption for agricultural haulers from the rule.
“The new waiver will allow time for farmers, ranchers and legislators to work together to find long-term solutions for issues specific to agriculture,” Tracy Tomascik, associate director of Commodity and Regulatory Activities for Texas Farm Bureau, said. “Flexibility for haulers with live cargo, like livestock, and other perishable commodities is vital for agriculture to prosper.”
Agricultural haulers who operate within 150 air miles of the source of their agriculture commodities or livestock do not have to comply with DOT’s hours-of-service regulation, which limits driving hours to only 11 hours after being off duty for more than 10 consecutive hours.
Click here for more information on the hours of service exemption for agricultural shipments.
Additional information on agricultural commodities that are transported to domestic and foreign markets is available here.