Numerous truck drivers in Hialeah protested on Monday against federal regulations that would keep tabs on the hours they work. NBC 6’s Amanda Plasencia reports.
Semi-truck drivers staged a protest on Monday along Okeechobee Road in Hialeah against new federal regulations.
The drivers present at the demonstration are not pleased with the regulations, which require truck drivers to install digital devices known as ELDs – electronic logging devices – to monitor the number of hours they spend behind the wheel.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's deadline to incorporate what is referred to as the ELD Mandate was on Monday.
“The problem that we have is that this electronic mandate is actually going to stop us from working what we normally work with common sense. And that’s where the safety goes for us and for the public," Fernando Collazo, who has been a truck driver for 22 years, said. “We can’t do anything and unfortunately a lot of people are leaving the business because it’s not worth it.”
The regulations would limit driving to no more than 11 hours a day and drivers must be off-duty for 10 consecutive hours.
The American Trucking Association said there are over 3.5 million trucks in the United States.
“What we’re trying to achieve is to tell Washington: listen, we’re here and we’re trying not to lose our trucks, we’re trying not to lose our business. We give everything to this country. We’re truck drivers because, in a way, it’s in our blood," Collazo said.
