The U.S. Department of Transportation has granted a one year exemption to the Hours of Service requirement for transportation of livestock. National Cattlemen Beef Association’s Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall says his group is pleased with the decision. He says the rule calls for all commercial motor vehicle operators to take a 30 minute rest break for every eight hours of service. Woodall says without the exemption animal’s health is negatively impacted.
Woodall says NCBA has been battling that rule for over a year and now will be looking for a long term solution and some type of legislative vehicle to obtain that.
Woodall says the Hours of Service Exemption takes effect immediately and is a common sense move by D-O-T that keeps cattle herds and the nation’s highways safe.