Hours of Service of Drivers: Cummins, Inc. (Cummins) Application for Exemption, 13948-13950 [E8-5176]
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13948
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 51 / Friday, March 14, 2008 / Notices
• Mail: Docket Management Facility;
U.S. Department of Transportation,
Room W–12–140, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., 20590–0001.
• Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, DOT Building, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday
through Friday, except Federal
Holidays.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the Agency name and docket
number. For detailed instructions on
submitting comments and additional
information on the exemption process,
see the Public Participation heading
below. Note that all comments received
will be posted without change to
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. Please
see the Privacy Act heading below.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to
www.regulations.gov at any time or to
the ground floor, room W12–140, DOT
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search
the electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the
comment (or signing the comment, if
submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). You may
review DOT’s complete Privacy Act
Statement in the Federal Register
published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR
19477–78) or you may visit
www.regulations.gov.
Public Participation: The
www.regulations.gov Web site is
generally available 24 hours each day,
365 days each year. You can get
electronic submission and retrieval help
and guidelines under the ‘‘help’’ section
of the www.regulations.gov Web site
and also at the DOT’s https://
docketsinfo.dot.gov Web site. If you
want us to notify you that we received
your comments, please include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or
postcard or print the acknowledgement
page that appears after submitting
comments online.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Richard Clemente, FMCSA Driver and
Carrier Operations Division; Office of
Bus and Truck Standards and
Operations; Telephone: 202–366–4325.
E-mail: MCPSD@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4007 of the Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century (Pub. L.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:17 Mar 13, 2008
Jkt 214001
105–178, 112 Stat. 107, June 9, 1998)
amended 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e)
to provide authority to grant exemptions
from motor carrier safety regulations.
Under its regulations, FMCSA must
publish a notice of each exemption
request in the Federal Register (49 CFR
381.315(a)). The Agency must provide
the public an opportunity to inspect the
information relevant to the application,
including the conducting of any safety
analyses. The Agency must also provide
an opportunity for public comment on
the application.
The Agency reviews the safety
analyses and the public comments, and
determines whether granting the
exemption would likely achieve a level
of safety equivalent to, or greater than,
the level that would be achieved by the
current regulation (49 CFR 381.305).
The decision of the Agency must be
published in the Federal Register (49
CFR 381.315(b)) with the reason for
denying or, in the alternative, the
specific person or class of persons
receiving the exemption, and the
regulatory provision or provisions from
which exemption is granted. The notice
must also specify the effective period of
the exemption (up to 2 years), and
explain the terms and conditions of the
exemption. The exemption may be
renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)).
Request for Exemption
Volvo has applied for an exemption
from the commercial driver’s license
(CDL) rules, specifically 49 CFR 383.23
that prescribes licensing requirements
for drivers operating commercial motor
vehicles (CMVs) in interstate or
intrastate commerce. Volvo requests the
exemption because its driver-employees
are citizens and residents of Sweden,
and because they cannot apply for a
CDL in any of the United States. A copy
of the application is in Docket No.
FMCSA–2006–25756.
The exemption would allow three
drivers to operate CMVs in interstate
commerce as part of a team of drivers
who will support a Volvo field test to
meet future air quality standards, to testdrive Volvo prototype vehicles at its test
site and in the vicinity around Phoenix,
Arizona, to verify results in ‘‘real
world’’ environments, and to deliver the
vehicles if necessary in the U.S. The
drivers are: Andreas Hamsten, CarlGustaf Theen, and Therese Johansson.
Each driver holds a valid Swedish
CDL, and as explained by Volvo in
previous exemption requests, drivers
applying for a Swedish-issued CDL
must undergo a training program and
pass a knowledge and skills tests. Volvo
also stated in prior exemption requests
that the knowledge and skills tests and
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
training program that Swedish drivers
undergo to obtain a Swedish CDL
ensure the exemption provides a level of
safety that is equivalent to, or greater
than, the level of safety obtained by
complying with the U.S. requirement for
a CDL.
FMCSA has previously determined
the process for obtaining a Swedishissued CDL is comparable to, or as
effective as the Federal requirements of
Part 383, and adequately assesses the
driver’s ability to operate CMVs in the
U.S. On prior occasions FMCSA has
published notices concerning similar
Volvo requests. The first notice was the
granting of an exemption to Volvo for 11
Swedish CDL drivers permitting them to
operate CMVs in the U.S. (71 FR 27780,
May 12, 2006). Of these 11 drivers,
Volvo requested and received renewal
of the exemption for an additional 2
years (73 FR 6552, February 4, 2008).
Notices granting an exemption to Volvo
for ten Swedish CDL drivers permitting
them to operate CMVs in the U.S. were
published on April 23, 2007 (72 FR
20166, 20167).
Request for Comments
In accordance with 49 U.S.C.
31315(b)(4) and 31136(e), FMCSA
requests public comment on Volvo’s
application for an exemption from the
CDL requirements of 49 CFR 383.23.
The Agency will consider all comments
received by close of business on April
14, 2008. Comments will be available
for examination in the docket at the
location listed under the ADDRESSES
section of this notice. The Agency will
consider to the extent practicable
comments received in the public docket
after the closing date of the comment
period.
Issued on: March 10, 2008.
Charles A. Horan III,
Acting Associate Administrator for Policy and
Program Development.
[FR Doc. E8–5177 Filed 3–13–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2008–0073]
Hours of Service of Drivers: Cummins,
Inc. (Cummins) Application for
Exemption
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of application for
exemption; request for comments.
AGENCY:
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rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 51 / Friday, March 14, 2008 / Notices
SUMMARY: FMCSA has received from
Cummins, Inc. (‘‘Cummins’’) an
application for an exemption from the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations regarding maximum driving
time for drivers of passenger-carrying
vehicles. The exemption would allow
Cummins’ drivers delivering new buses
without any passengers in a driveaway
operation to be governed by the hoursof-service (HOS) requirements for
drivers of property-carrying vehicles.
Cummins’ drivers are operating these
motor vehicles as test vehicles to
determine the performance of various
types of engines as well as components
that are closely related to the design and
manufacture of the described engines.
Cummins states that the level of safety
will be equivalent or greater than the
level of safety that would be obtained by
complying with the HOS regulations for
drivers of passenger-carrying vehicles.
FMCSA requests public comment on
Cummins’ application for exemption.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before April 14, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by Federal Docket
Management System Number FMCSA–
2008–0073 by any of the following
methods:
• Web site: www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting
comments on the Federal electronic
docket site.
• Fax: 1–202–493–2251.
• Mail: Docket Management Facility,
U.S. Department of Transportation,
Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590–
0001.
• Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, DOT Building, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. e.t., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the Agency name and docket
number or Regulatory Identification
Number (RIN) for this rulemaking. For
detailed instructions on submitting
comments and additional information
on the rulemaking process, see the
Public Participation heading below.
Note that all comments received will be
posted without change to
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. Please
see the Privacy Act heading below.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to
www.regulations.gov at any time or to
the ground floor, room W12–140, DOT
Building, New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m. e.t., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:17 Mar 13, 2008
Jkt 214001
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search
the electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the
comment (or signing the comment, if
submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). You may
review DOT’s complete Privacy Act
Statement in the Federal Register
published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR
19476) or you may visit
www.regulations.gov.
Public participation: The
www.regulations.gov Web site is
generally available 24 hours each day,
365 days each year. You can get
electronic submission and retrieval help
and guidelines under the ‘‘help’’ section
of the www.regulations.gov Web site and
also at the DOT’s https://
docketsinfo.dot.gov Web site. If you
want us to notify you that we received
your comments, please include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or
postcard or print the acknowledgement
page that appears after submitting
comments online.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Richard Clemente, Transportation
Specialist, Driver and Carrier
Operations Division, Office of Bus and
Truck Standards and Operations.
Telephone: 202–366–4325. E-mail:
MCPSD@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4007 of the Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century (Pub. L.
105–178, 112 Stat. 107, June 9, 1998)
amended 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e)
to provide authority to grant exemptions
from motor carrier safety regulations.
Under its regulations, FMCSA must
publish a notice of each exemption
request in the Federal Register (49 CFR
381.315(a)). The Agency must provide
the public an opportunity to inspect the
information relevant to the application,
including the conducting of any safety
analyses. The Agency must also provide
an opportunity for public comment on
the request.
The Agency reviews the safety
analyses and the public comments, and
determines whether granting the
exemption would likely achieve a level
of safety equivalent to, or greater than,
the level that would be achieved by the
current regulation (49 CFR 381.305).
The decision of the Agency must be
published in the Federal Register (49
CFR 381.315(b)) with the reason for
denying or, in the alternative, the
specific person or class of persons
receiving the exemption, and the
regulatory provision or provisions from
which exemption is granted. The notice
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
13949
must also specify the effective period of
the exemption (up to 2 years), and
explain the terms and conditions of the
exemption. The exemption may be
renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)).
Request for Exemption
Cummins, Inc. (Cummins) is a
registered private motor carrier whose
principal place of business is located in
Columbus, Indiana. Cummins employs
118 drivers who are utilized to operate
passenger- and property-carrying
commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in a
driveaway operation from, to and
between points in the U.S. All of
Cummins’ CMVs—either passenger-or
property-carrying—are driven on their
own wheels in a driveaway operation. A
‘‘driveaway-towaway operation’’ is
defined in 49 CFR 390.5 of the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Regulations as ‘‘an
operation in which an empty or unladen
motor vehicle with one or more sets of
wheels on the surface of the roadway is
being transported:
(1) Between vehicle manufacturer’s
facilities;
(2) Between a vehicle manufacturer
and a dealership or purchaser;
(3) Between a dealership, or other
entity selling or leasing the vehicle, and
a purchaser or lessee;
(4) To a motor carrier’s terminal or
repair facility for the repair of disabling
damage (as defined in § 390.5) following
a crash; or
(5) To a motor carrier’s terminal or
repair facility for repairs associated with
the failure of a vehicle component or
system; or
(6) By means of a saddle-mount or
tow-bar.’’
The group of Cummins’ drivers to be
covered by this exemption is
extensively engaged in the driving of the
various types of passenger- and
property-carrying CMVs in a driveaway
operation for the purpose of testing
diesel and natural gas engines and
various related components. Cummins
designs, manufactures, distributes and
services diesel and natural gas engines,
electric power generation systems and
engine-related component products, and
sells these products to original
equipment manufacturers including
Daimler Chrysler, PACCAR, Inc.,
Navistar, Volvo, Ford, Volkswagen and
other customers. Cummins is
continually testing its products
including the diesel and natural gas
engines that are installed in the
passenger and property-carrying CMVs.
According to Cummins, other than the
utilization of the vehicles for testing, the
property-carrying CMVs do not
transport cargo and the passengercarrying CMVs do not transport
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 51 / Friday, March 14, 2008 / Notices
passengers. Their passenger-carrying
CMVs include school buses, transit
buses, and shuttle buses which are all
driven without any passengers.
The Federal hours-of-service (HOS)
regulations for CMV drivers in 49 CFR
395.5 apply to motor carriers and
drivers operating passenger-carrying
vehicles. According to FMCSA’s
regulatory guidance, a driver of a CMV
‘‘designed or used to transport * * *
passengers * * * ’’ (49 CFR 390.5
definition of CMV) would be considered
to be passenger-carrying regardless of
whether there were actually any
passengers in the vehicle. This prevents
a requirement for drivers to switch to
the HOS rules for property-carrying
vehicles each time the bus becomes
empty. However, this also means that
drivers of the empty buses Cummins
test drives are always subject to the HOS
rules for passenger vehicles.
Cummins’ request for an exemption
from the HOS provisions of 49 CFR
395.5 is to allow its drivers operating
the various types of buses, without any
passengers in a driveaway operation, to
be governed by the HOS rules in 49 CFR
395.3, Maximum Driving Time for
Property-Carrying Vehicles. When
operating tractors, trucks, pick-up
trucks, motor homes and other motor
vehicles except passenger-carrying
vehicles, in a driveaway operation,
Cummins’ drivers are adhering to the
HOS regulations applicable to propertycarrying CMVs. A Cummins driver who
is operating a property-carrying CMV for
the purpose of testing could also be
assigned to operate a passenger-carrying
CMV the same or next day for testing
purposes.
Cummins submits that depending
upon the type of CMV being operated,
its drivers are required to be familiar
with and comply with both sets of HOS
regulations applicable to property-as
well as passenger-carrying CMVs. Not
only is compliance with these two sets
of regulations difficult for their drivers,
it is also extremely complex for
Cummins to audit the drivers’ records of
duty status to ensure compliance with
the HOS regulations depending upon
the type of CMV being operated by the
driver on a day-to-day basis.
Cummins submits that it does not
make any ‘‘regulatory common sense’’ to
require a driver to be considered
‘‘passenger-carrying’’ regardless of
whether there are actually any
passengers in the vehicle when the
various types of buses are being utilized
for testing. Furthermore, unless their
request for an exemption is granted,
Cummins will continue to be confronted
with having to administer two different
sets of HOS regulations for a significant
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:17 Mar 13, 2008
Jkt 214001
class of its drivers who are moving
CMVs in a driveaway operation.
Cummins therefore requests that the
‘‘described class’’ of drivers be granted
an exemption from 49 CFR 395.5
governing the maximum driving time
for passenger-carrying vehicles when
these drivers are operating various types
of buses, without passengers, in a
driveaway operation primarily for the
purpose of testing engines and related
components. Cummins states that it
would ensure that the level of safety
will be equivalent or greater than the
level of safety that would be obtained by
complying with the regulations in Part
395.5. Specifically, Cummins has safety
systems in place to monitor compliance
with the HOS rules applicable to
property-carrying CMVs, which is a
substantial portion of its operations. A
copy of Cummins’ exemption
application is in the docket identified at
the beginning of this notice.
Request for Comments
In accordance with 49 U.S.C.
31315(b)(4) and 31136(e), FMCSA
requests public comment on Cummins’
application for an exemption from 49
CFR 395.5. The Agency will consider all
comments received by close of business
on April 14, 2008. Comments will be
available for examination in the docket
at the location listed under the
ADDRESSES section of this notice. The
Agency will file comments received
after the comment closing date in the
public docket, and will consider them to
the extent practicable. In addition to late
comments, FMCSA will also continue to
file, in the public docket, relevant
information that becomes available after
the comment closing date. Interested
persons should monitor the public
docket for new material.
Issued on: March 10, 2008.
Charles A. Horan III,
Acting Associate Administrator for Policy and
Program Development.
[FR Doc. E8–5176 Filed 3–13–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2008–0037]
Medical Review Board Public Meeting
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Medical Review Board
(MRB) Public Meeting.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: FMCSA announces a public
meeting of the Agency’s MRB. The MRB
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Sfmt 4703
public meeting will provide the public
an opportunity to observe and
participate in MRB deliberations about
the revision and development of Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Regulation
(FMCSR) medical standards, in
accordance with the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (FACA).
DATES: The MRB meeting will be held
from 8 a.m.-3:45 p.m. on April 7, 2008.
Please note the preliminary agenda for
this meeting in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this notice for
specific information.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place
at the Westin Gateway, 801 N. Glebe
Road, Arlington, VA 22203. You may
submit comments bearing the Federal
Docket Management System (FDMS)
Docket ID FMCSA–2008–0037 using any
of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
• Mail: Docket Management Facility;
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590–0001.
• Hand Delivery: West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200
New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington,
DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal
Holidays.
• Fax: 1–202–493–2251.
Each submission must include the
Agency name and the docket ID for this
Notice. Note that DOT posts all
comments received without change to
https://www.regulations.gov, including
any personal information included in a
comment. Please see the Privacy Act
heading below.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments, go to https://
www.regulations.gov at any time or
Room W12–140 on the ground level of
the West Building, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between
9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays. The
FDMS is available 24 hours each day,
365 days each year. If you want
acknowledgment that we received your
comments, please include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or
postcard or print the acknowledgement
page that appears after submitting
comments on-line.
Privacy Act: Anyone may search the
electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the
comment (or of the person signing the
comment, if submitted on behalf of an
E:\FR\FM\14MRN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 51 (Friday, March 14, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13948-13950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5176]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2008-0073]
Hours of Service of Drivers: Cummins, Inc. (Cummins) Application
for Exemption
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 13949]]
SUMMARY: FMCSA has received from Cummins, Inc. (``Cummins'') an
application for an exemption from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations regarding maximum driving time for drivers of passenger-
carrying vehicles. The exemption would allow Cummins' drivers
delivering new buses without any passengers in a driveaway operation to
be governed by the hours-of-service (HOS) requirements for drivers of
property-carrying vehicles. Cummins' drivers are operating these motor
vehicles as test vehicles to determine the performance of various types
of engines as well as components that are closely related to the design
and manufacture of the described engines. Cummins states that the level
of safety will be equivalent or greater than the level of safety that
would be obtained by complying with the HOS regulations for drivers of
passenger-carrying vehicles. FMCSA requests public comment on Cummins'
application for exemption.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 14, 2008.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket
Management System Number FMCSA-2008-0073 by any of the following
methods:
Web site: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for
submitting comments on the Federal electronic docket site.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington,
DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room W12-140, DOT Building,
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and
docket number or Regulatory Identification Number (RIN) for this
rulemaking. For detailed instructions on submitting comments and
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Public
Participation heading below. Note that all comments received will be
posted without change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or to the
ground floor, room W12-140, DOT Building, New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. e.t., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19476) or you may visit www.regulations.gov.
Public participation: The www.regulations.gov Web site is generally
available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can get electronic
submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ``help'' section
of the www.regulations.gov Web site and also at the DOT's https://
docketsinfo.dot.gov Web site. If you want us to notify you that we
received your comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped
envelope or postcard or print the acknowledgement page that appears
after submitting comments online.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Clemente, Transportation
Specialist, Driver and Carrier Operations Division, Office of Bus and
Truck Standards and Operations. Telephone: 202-366-4325. E-mail:
MCPSD@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
(Pub. L. 105-178, 112 Stat. 107, June 9, 1998) amended 49 U.S.C. 31315
and 31136(e) to provide authority to grant exemptions from motor
carrier safety regulations. Under its regulations, FMCSA must publish a
notice of each exemption request in the Federal Register (49 CFR
381.315(a)). The Agency must provide the public an opportunity to
inspect the information relevant to the application, including the
conducting of any safety analyses. The Agency must also provide an
opportunity for public comment on the request.
The Agency reviews the safety analyses and the public comments, and
determines whether granting the exemption would likely achieve a level
of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be
achieved by the current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). The decision of
the Agency must be published in the Federal Register (49 CFR
381.315(b)) with the reason for denying or, in the alternative, the
specific person or class of persons receiving the exemption, and the
regulatory provision or provisions from which exemption is granted. The
notice must also specify the effective period of the exemption (up to 2
years), and explain the terms and conditions of the exemption. The
exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)).
Request for Exemption
Cummins, Inc. (Cummins) is a registered private motor carrier whose
principal place of business is located in Columbus, Indiana. Cummins
employs 118 drivers who are utilized to operate passenger- and
property-carrying commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in a driveaway
operation from, to and between points in the U.S. All of Cummins'
CMVs--either passenger-or property-carrying--are driven on their own
wheels in a driveaway operation. A ``driveaway-towaway operation'' is
defined in 49 CFR 390.5 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
as ``an operation in which an empty or unladen motor vehicle with one
or more sets of wheels on the surface of the roadway is being
transported:
(1) Between vehicle manufacturer's facilities;
(2) Between a vehicle manufacturer and a dealership or purchaser;
(3) Between a dealership, or other entity selling or leasing the
vehicle, and a purchaser or lessee;
(4) To a motor carrier's terminal or repair facility for the repair
of disabling damage (as defined in Sec. 390.5) following a crash; or
(5) To a motor carrier's terminal or repair facility for repairs
associated with the failure of a vehicle component or system; or
(6) By means of a saddle-mount or tow-bar.''
The group of Cummins' drivers to be covered by this exemption is
extensively engaged in the driving of the various types of passenger-
and property-carrying CMVs in a driveaway operation for the purpose of
testing diesel and natural gas engines and various related components.
Cummins designs, manufactures, distributes and services diesel and
natural gas engines, electric power generation systems and engine-
related component products, and sells these products to original
equipment manufacturers including Daimler Chrysler, PACCAR, Inc.,
Navistar, Volvo, Ford, Volkswagen and other customers. Cummins is
continually testing its products including the diesel and natural gas
engines that are installed in the passenger and property-carrying CMVs.
According to Cummins, other than the utilization of the vehicles for
testing, the property-carrying CMVs do not transport cargo and the
passenger-carrying CMVs do not transport
[[Page 13950]]
passengers. Their passenger-carrying CMVs include school buses, transit
buses, and shuttle buses which are all driven without any passengers.
The Federal hours-of-service (HOS) regulations for CMV drivers in
49 CFR 395.5 apply to motor carriers and drivers operating passenger-
carrying vehicles. According to FMCSA's regulatory guidance, a driver
of a CMV ``designed or used to transport * * * passengers * * * '' (49
CFR 390.5 definition of CMV) would be considered to be passenger-
carrying regardless of whether there were actually any passengers in
the vehicle. This prevents a requirement for drivers to switch to the
HOS rules for property-carrying vehicles each time the bus becomes
empty. However, this also means that drivers of the empty buses Cummins
test drives are always subject to the HOS rules for passenger vehicles.
Cummins' request for an exemption from the HOS provisions of 49 CFR
395.5 is to allow its drivers operating the various types of buses,
without any passengers in a driveaway operation, to be governed by the
HOS rules in 49 CFR 395.3, Maximum Driving Time for Property-Carrying
Vehicles. When operating tractors, trucks, pick-up trucks, motor homes
and other motor vehicles except passenger-carrying vehicles, in a
driveaway operation, Cummins' drivers are adhering to the HOS
regulations applicable to property-carrying CMVs. A Cummins driver who
is operating a property-carrying CMV for the purpose of testing could
also be assigned to operate a passenger-carrying CMV the same or next
day for testing purposes.
Cummins submits that depending upon the type of CMV being operated,
its drivers are required to be familiar with and comply with both sets
of HOS regulations applicable to property-as well as passenger-carrying
CMVs. Not only is compliance with these two sets of regulations
difficult for their drivers, it is also extremely complex for Cummins
to audit the drivers' records of duty status to ensure compliance with
the HOS regulations depending upon the type of CMV being operated by
the driver on a day-to-day basis.
Cummins submits that it does not make any ``regulatory common
sense'' to require a driver to be considered ``passenger-carrying''
regardless of whether there are actually any passengers in the vehicle
when the various types of buses are being utilized for testing.
Furthermore, unless their request for an exemption is granted, Cummins
will continue to be confronted with having to administer two different
sets of HOS regulations for a significant class of its drivers who are
moving CMVs in a driveaway operation.
Cummins therefore requests that the ``described class'' of drivers
be granted an exemption from 49 CFR 395.5 governing the maximum driving
time for passenger-carrying vehicles when these drivers are operating
various types of buses, without passengers, in a driveaway operation
primarily for the purpose of testing engines and related components.
Cummins states that it would ensure that the level of safety will be
equivalent or greater than the level of safety that would be obtained
by complying with the regulations in Part 395.5. Specifically, Cummins
has safety systems in place to monitor compliance with the HOS rules
applicable to property-carrying CMVs, which is a substantial portion of
its operations. A copy of Cummins' exemption application is in the
docket identified at the beginning of this notice.
Request for Comments
In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b)(4) and 31136(e), FMCSA
requests public comment on Cummins' application for an exemption from
49 CFR 395.5. The Agency will consider all comments received by close
of business on April 14, 2008. Comments will be available for
examination in the docket at the location listed under the ADDRESSES
section of this notice. The Agency will file comments received after
the comment closing date in the public docket, and will consider them
to the extent practicable. In addition to late comments, FMCSA will
also continue to file, in the public docket, relevant information that
becomes available after the comment closing date. Interested persons
should monitor the public docket for new material.
Issued on: March 10, 2008.
Charles A. Horan III,
Acting Associate Administrator for Policy and Program Development.
[FR Doc. E8-5176 Filed 3-13-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P
