DOT Rejects Farm Groups’ Request for Longer Trucker Driving Time

The Biden administration denied a request for truckers who transport livestock, insects, and aquatic animals to be exempt from some federal driving time regulations, according to a notice set to publish in the Federal Register on Tuesday. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Livestock Marketing Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Beekeeping Federation, American Honey Producers Association, and National Aquaculture Association asked for an exemption to allow for additional time on the road on behalf of truckers moving the animals. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rejected the request, saying it wouldn’t meet an acceptable safety level.

The hours-of-service regulations place limits on when and how long a trucker may drive. Animal and livestock haulers have long sought leniency from the rules, arguing they could put the well-being of livestock at risk during transport or burden drivers, particularly in rural areas. The agency received more than 350 comments on the exemption request. The National Transportation Safety Board, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Truckload Carriers Association, Iowa Motor Truck Association, and Animal Welfare Institute urged the agency to deny the request. The infrastructure law (Public Law 117-58) provided an exemption from the rules for transporting livestock within a 150 air-mile radius. FMCSA also implemented some relief to hours-of-service requirements during the pandemic, but ended that emergency declaration this year.