Source: https://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/CR689/welcome.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 20:35:01+00:00

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Electronic Logging Devices and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Regulations: Impacts on 4-H, FFA, Rodeo, and Other “Not-For-Hire” Hauling Activities Does It Matter to You?
Obtaining a commercial driver’s license (CDL).
This article is mainly focused on describing requirements for people who typically are not professional for-profit carriers, but who may be transporting livestock, equipment, or other items as part of their commercial operation, and who have a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,001 lb or more.
Requirements for DOT numbers, ELD mandate, and CDL are all the same.
Placing “Not-For-Hire” on a vehicle exempts that vehicle from FMCSA regulations.
Private agriculture-related activities are all exempt from FMCSA regulations.
All of these are not necessarily true. Requirements for CDL, ELD, and DOT numbers are all separate. Each may have exemptions, but they DO NOT apply to all. For example, ELD exemptions do not apply to DOT number requirements.
Information marked with “49 C.F.R.” refers to FMCSA regulations found in the electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) (link in Resources section below).
DOT number requirements have the potential to impact the most people who are “not-for-hire” and travel out of state. Though the ELD mandate is currently garnering the most attention, DOT number requirements have been in place for several years but have largely been unenforced. The new ELD mandate has brought focus to existing laws and the enforcement of those laws. Just because you may have avoided fines in the past, it is still possible for the laws to be enforced in the future.
If you transport animals, supplies, or other materials across state lines for interstate commerce and have a combined GVWR above 10,001 lb, your vehicle is considered a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) and you are required to obtain, display, and maintain a federal DOT number.
Thus, if you are above the 10,001-lb combined GVWR but are hauling a horse across state lines for pleasure only, the DOT number requirements do not apply to you.
A half-ton pickup with a small trailer hauling show steer to Denver for the Stock Show.
A one-ton pickup driving from New Mexico to Muleshoe, TX, to purchase vaccines.
Due to road limitations, your pickup and stock trailer cross into Arizona and back to New Mexico hauling animals for your business—even if you do not unload the animals in Arizona.
You cross state lines with a flatbed trailer to purchase equipment or supplies in another state.
You cross state lines with a horse to participate in a rodeo or horse show and have the opportunity to win money.
You cross state lines with a trailer (most trailer types are affected) to compete in any activity that pays money.
You cross state lines to haul livestock to an out-of-state market.
You cross a state line with your empty CMV to take it to an out-of-state repair shop.
a.	Talk to your insurance company now because many may not be familiar with the CMV regulations related to the 10,001-lb combined GVWR.
b.	Be prepared financially because, at the time of writing this article, informal estimates from insurance professionals in New Mexico indicated that if a CDL (described below) and CMV DOT number are required, your current insurance costs could double or triple.
2)	Go to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website (https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration/do-i-need-usdot-number) and select “Get a DOT Number.” The FMCSA website also has a training manual for using the online system.
3)	Once a DOT number is obtained, it must be clearly displayed on the vehicle. See 49 C.F.R. §390.21 for regulations on how to properly display your DOT number.
Now I Have a DOT Number. What Else?
a)	You are involved in interstate commerce and have a GVWR of 10,001 lb or more.
b)	You are involved in intrastate commerce and have a GVWR of 26,001 lb or more.
2)	You must keep a written log of your driving time and non-driving time while on duty work hours unless you meet short-haul and agricultural operation exemptions (see Hours of Service and Log Book Exemptions below).
3)	If you are involved in interstate commerce and have a GVWR of 10,001 lb or more, you must also follow the requirements for vehicle parts, accessories, inspection, and maintenance (49 C.F.R. §393 and §396). You may also be subject to inspections (vehicle and driver) when at weigh stations/ports of entry or when pulled over on the road by law enforcement.
a)	The requirements/guidelines for vehicle parts, accessories, inspection, and maintenance are rather extensive, and you are encouraged to review the C.F.R. closely to remain in compliance.
There are exemptions to DOT number requirements found in 49 C.F.R. §390.3(f), but they largely do not apply to vehicles with a GVWR over 10,001 lb that are involved in interstate commerce as described in this article.
Possible exemptions include activities that are not undertaken for profit, such as if prize money is not declared as ordinary income for tax purposes, if the cost of the activities is not deducted as a business expense for tax purposes, or if corporate sponsorship is not involved. Examples include a high school or college rodeo student hauling animals to competition, or a 4-H or FFA student hauling animals to competition.
Note: If you are a professional rodeo participant or have sponsors, you are involved in interstate commerce. If you raise show animals and are traveling to a show as part of your business, you are involved in interstate commerce.
Readers are encouraged to review the C.F.R. to determine if they are exempt from DOT number requirements, and to check with the FMCSA office in the state in which they are travelling or states they will be traveling to.
Generally, drivers of commercial motor vehicles are required to adhere to limits on the amount of time they can drive in a given period, and are required to keep a log of their driving and non-driving hours. The following hours of service regulations apply to drivers of CMVs carrying property.
Drivers engaging in “not-for-hire” hauling activities may fall under the short-haul or agricultural exemptions described below; there are more exemptions that can be found in 49 C.F.R. §395.
You remain within a 100 air-mile radius of your normal work reporting location, return to the reporting location within 12 consecutive hours, and have at least 10 consecutive hours off duty separating each 12 hours on duty (49 C.F.R. §395.1(e)).
If you meet the short-haul or agricultural exemptions described above, you do not need to keep a log book (paper or ELD).
If you fall outside of these exemptions, you are required to obtain an electronic logging device. In general, most drivers engaging in “not-for-hire” hauling activities are exempt from electronic logging device requirements, but may not be exempt from paper logbook requirements.
You are required to have a CDL if the GVWR, Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR), or the actual weight of the vehicle or vehicle combination is 26,001 lb or more, or if you are hauling an amount or type of hazardous materials that requires placarding.
There are three CDL classes: A, B, and C.
One-ton or some three-quarter-ton pickups towing a 24-foot stock trailer.One-ton or some three-quarter-ton pickups towing a 6-horse trailer with living quarters.
Some one-ton pickups alone are rated to haul in excess of 30,000 pounds.
In New Mexico, farmers and ranchers can obtain a class E endorsement, which allows them to drive a vehicle in excess of 26,001 lb GVWR as long as they are within 150 air miles of the farm or ranch.
Should you be pulled over and have not fulfilled the proper requirements, you could be facing significant fines and be prevented from continuing your trip until someone with proper credentials (DOT number, paper log book or ELD, and/or CDL) picks up your livestock or supplies.
ALWAYS check with your state DOT and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration representative for more information. This publication aims to increase awareness of existing and pending laws and is not intended to describe every law or requirement.

References: §390
 §393
 §396
 §390
 §395
 §395