Seeing a few posts about this on FB. Supposedly will affect anyone who makes money in the horse industry. Anybody know anything?
There was some information about this on FB and from what I read, it looks like a lot of people will be using commercial shippers and not hauling their own horses. I own a dually and from what I understand, due to weight, I will need to get a CDL to haul my own rig. And if you cross state lines (which I don’t anymore) or haul horses for others, or own any kind or horse business there are all kinds of new (read $$$) regulations that you’ll need to adhere to. I can’t wait to see the Virginia State Police sitting on I-81 pulling every horse trailer going to the Virginia Horse Center. I would bet money on it. I am taking the back roads starting Dec. 17th (when the new regulations hit). It is going to be ugly from what I can tell.
Even if you don’t “earn money”, this change could affect you, particularly if you cross state lines. The devil is in the details.
I feel like this is absolutely ridiculous.
So, from what I read, someone PLEASE correct me if I’m wrong -
We have a pick up truck. We have a horse boarding facility. We use the pickup truck for both personal and farm use. Thus, it would be considered commercial, yes? So I’d have to have a tracker thing?
We now live in Florida, having moved from Ohio. It’s a 14 hour drive to visit home, if we decide not to fly (we drive or fly about 50/50). So you’re telling me, since my truck is a commercial vehicle, we’d only be allowed to drive 11 hours of the drive home for Christmas, then be forced to take a 10 hour break? Because that is NOT happening.
Or, because the drive home is personal, not commercial/farm related, that drive would be exempt? Does the ELD thing turn on and off?
Now, this is our first year having the farm, so I guess if I just don’t claim anything truck related on the farm taxes, and no mileage, I don’t have to consider it a commercial vehicle?
I don’t believe that driving your pickup truck “home for the holidays” would constitute a commercial trip, even if it would be considered commercial an subject to the regulation for hauling, etc. If it were a semi, well…that would be a different story. 
Obviously, but if the truck is considered commercial and requires and ELD, do they turn on and off so that I could turn it off for my trip home? That was the question.
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As Jim said, READ THE DETAILS. Even as a commercial vehicle, you can swap CDL licensed drivers, to keep going past a single 10 hour stretch. You have to read what is allowed by law, KNOW what is allowed or not.
A good way to get a ticket, is to just listen to everyone else’s theories, instead of getting correct information thru the Department of Motor Vehicles. They can probably can give you a booklet with all the details spelled out, no chance of getting things mixed up.
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Best to check with the Department of Motor Vehicles, as goodhors mentioned. They will be able to answer questions that relate to your circumstance, specifically, or put you in touch with the folks who can.
I’ve seen a few posts and articles floating around on FB about it, too. Similarly to most stuff you see come up on FB, it’s often a little fear-mongering or the writer’s taken some of the laws or information out of context. From my understanding, the folks who’re more “at risk” for being effected by the ELD laws are people like trainers who own their own rigs and do long hauls to shows or sales, for example. I could be incorrect about that assumption, but I did get a little tired of reading a post that essentially insinuated it was doomsday for anyone with a truck and horse trailer.
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This was my frustration reading hearsay via FB. I wanted to see what was being understood via this forum.
It looks like, as you said, trainers are a big group affected, but also anyone who claims their truck and mileage as a tax write-off.
I’m not sure that switching drivers is a fix because I think the ELD tracks the truck, mileage, and hours driven -not who is driving. This is why some fleets are discussing staging vehicles and tagging out so that the trailer is disconnected and reconnected to a new truck for each leg.
Sorry, but what is ELD?
That was my understanding, too, about how the ELD works. So I don’t know that a different driver will have any influence.
@dressagegirl123 ELD is Electronic Logging Device. It’s intended to log the run time and mileage for commercial vehicles.
I don’t foresee them being an especially great idea, and I would imagine there will be a lot of expressed annoyance from both operators and civilian commuters.
Electronic Logging Device
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ELD logs the driver, not the truck so yes, you can switch drivers. Both would log in as a team at the start of the trip and when its your turn to drive, you would change duty status from sleeper berth ( off duty ) to driving. Hubby and I both have CDLs and hubby’s job uses ELD.
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From what I have read, if you have a truck and trailer and use it for “commercial shipping” meaning you ship other peoples horses and get paid for it (my trainer does this) or you own a horse business or make money from your horses (like winning prize money or have sponsors) then you will need a DOT number, a CDL and will need to start keeping an EDL log effective Dec. 18th. There is also a clause for weight - if your rig is above a certain weight - this will also apply (that is what has me worried). This is nuts. Then you understand why some people want to get rid of Big Government with stupid and onerous rules - this is a perfect example. I am not shipping anywhere anytime soon until I see what happens out there. Also crossing state lines is a factor too. I live near a big interstate with lots of cops who love to pull people - I can hardly wait to see how many rigs I see being pulled over later this month on their way to Florida. Lots of people IMHO are going to be very unhappy.
So will this apply to me? I have a truck and a 2 horse trailer that is for my own personal use for both my horses. I haul locally and go to the Virginia Horse Center often and generally stay in Virginia with an occasional trip to Swan Lake. I also haul out to school too when the ground freezes to a local indoor. Can anyone break this down for a dummy?!
Disclaimer: I am HR at a logistics company. I have a safety department who provides me with information, but am pretty familiar with the regulations myself. Also posting from my phone so apologies for any typos.
Just to be clear, ELD is not what is providing new rules. The rules are exactly the same as before. If you have a CMV and are shipping for a profit and traveled outside the 100 mile radius you should have had a DOT/MC number and therefore been complying with logs, DQ files, medical card, etc. (Some of the aforementioned circumstances may make you fall under different regulations).
The only thing that ELDs change is the method in which logs are tracked. Big shippers such as Brookledge already use two drivers to be in compliance with DOT regs.
Those of you with personal rigs should not need to have ELDs just as you have not been required to keep logs in the past - ELDs are only for those who the regulations apply to and again the regulations are not changing.
Those with a CMV who haul horses to shows or other activities with no intent to make profit as a business should be exempt under section 390.3 (f)(3).
Again if you are shipping and making money for your business doing so you should have been following the rules and keeping logs all along.
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Nope, no ELD for you, me, or most folks. 
skip99 and Fourbeats, thanks for some clarity! I didn’t think ELDs were new, but that there may have been some new legislation being passed in regards to them that were the cause for all the hysteria. FB posts are often to be taken with a grain of salt.
Thank you! I figured as much! Everyone that is getting hyped up over it have been ones doing “shady” things all along! I’ll juts keep trucking along with my boys in tow and doing our thing! Thanks for the clarification!!!
No problem! It’s not hard to get confused by a misleading or misinformed article.
The FMCSA website and eldfacts.com have more info about ELDs, probably also more impartial than many FB posts.
I hadn’t realized ELDs have a log in option for operators. I had thought they worked similarly to other governors or electronic devices that solely track the vehicle.
THANK YOU!
I have been watching horse people freak out about this on Facebook for days, and it is exhausting trying to correct every single misconception. There have been no changes in regulations regarding what constitutes a commercial vehicle; only the way in which driver hours will be monitored is changing.
Are there A LOT of horse professionals shipping illegally? Yep. Probably more than who are shipping legally. Are they likely to get caught anytime soon? Probably not, but, if you are one of those people/operations, you should take the required steps to get yourself legal as soon as possible. It’s the right thing to do, and, you know…in compliance with federal law.
