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"ELD or Me" Campaign Gains Steam, Truckers Protest

by Jake Tully - Published: 12/04/2017

Across the nation today, truckers from all states and regions of the country are reportedly gathering in order to protest the electronic logging mandate (ELD) slated to take effect on December 18 of this year.

The grassroots group “ELD or Me” originally formed on Facebook sees over 19,000 members and sees responsibility for helping organize protests on both the local level and the national level over the course of the day.

The group reports that larger states are likely to hold multiple rallies, while smaller states may have more centralized efforts, with all rallies associated with the movement scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. local time.

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Charlie Claburn, a veteran trucker and commercial trucking activist from Diberville, Mississippi reported earlier that rallies today will likely cause a notable impact, reports the news outlet American Trucker.

“We‘re going to have some pretty heavy hitters speaking on Monday,” said Claburn on his Facebook announcement. “Amateur hour is over 9 a.m. on Monday Dec. 4. Truck drivers are all in it together – it’s a team effort. We’re going to get it done. We’re taking back what is ours.”

Some sources in the industry suggest that while the ELD mandate is the primary focus of rallies gathering today, some drivers across the lower 48 may be protesting regulations in trucking as a whole and speaking to the federal government.

The protests follow recent action on the governmental level, with Attorney general of Indiana, Curtis Hill, Jr. sending a letter to the Federal Motor Carrier Association (FMCSA) in regards to delaying the mandate implementation date.

In Hill’s letter, the Attorney General spoke to the FMCSA on behalf of the mandate requiring drivers to invest in ELD-compliant products despite not having a precedent to go off of in terms of what technology will work best.

Sources from the ELD or Me group have stated that the technology associated with the ELD Compliance is one of several reasons as to why the mandate should be postponed, stating that drivers across the country all face different challenges in their careers, yet the ELD Mandate may be a common challenge.