From Senator Tanya Storer's "Capitol Conversations: From Pasture to Policy"
Every Nebraska rancher who has moved a herd of cattle across a public highway understands the momentary confusion that can occur when a vehicle crests the hill, and there's brief uncertainty about what may happen next. We live in a world where common sense is simply not as common and more and more drivers have little to no understanding of cattle. Until now, Nebraska law provided no clarity on the rules of the road regarding livestock; however, that lack of clarity ended on April 14th with the Governor's signature on Legislative Bill 977.
I introduced LB977 to strengthen safety protections for livestock being moved along Nebraska's roads and highways, and I am pleased to report that it passed the Legislature 49 to 0. For generations, Nebraska ranchers and farmers have moved livestock along public roads as a normal part of agricultural operations; however, the previous law lacked a clear, enforceable framework detailing the rights of those handling livestock and the responsibilities of motorists encountering a cattle drive, a horse being led, or a herd crossing a highway. LB977 successfully closes this gap in the law.
The core of this legislation is to formally expand Nebraska's "vulnerable road user" definition. This expansion now includes any individual who is leading, herding, or driving livestock on or along a highway; the very livestock central to Nebraska agriculture. By doing this, livestock handlers are placed in the same legal category that Nebraska has traditionally applied to pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and farm-tractor operators.
The new law mandates that motorists encountering livestock on a highway must approach cautiously and yield the right-of-way to the animals. A handler raising a hand is a distress signal requiring the motorist to stop immediately. The only circumstance where moving forward is permissible is if it is the safer option to prevent a crash. Violating this law results in escalating penalties: a first offense is a traffic infraction, while a second or subsequent violation within five years is elevated to a Class IIIA misdemeanor.
Before LB977, ranchers moving cattle across a highway had no clear statutory right-of-way, and motorists had no specific obligation to stop or slow significantly. That ambiguity created real danger. A spooked herd, a distracted driver, and the results can be catastrophic. Cattle are a very valuable asset, but more importantly, the men and women moving them deserve the protection of the law.
LB977's preventive approach matters: by writing down clear rules to establish that the livestock and those moving or herding them, have the right of way, the Legislature is addressing a situation the data cannot yet quantify but every rural producer recognizes.
The law runs both ways. Livestock handlers cannot use any roadway where the posted minimum speed is 20 miles per hour or more, keeping animal movements off interstates, freeways, and other higher-speed corridors. For most day-to-day pasture moves on county roads and lower-speed state highways, the rules of the road are now written down.
I am grateful to my co-introducers, Senators DeKay and Strommen, and to every rancher and livestock handler who shared their experiences to help shape this bill. Agriculture is not a special interest in Nebraska, it is who we are, and this law reflects that.
