Hours of Service, 2467-2469 [2010-826]
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erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2010 / Proposed Rules
extent possible without incurring
additional expenses or delays.
ADDRESSES: (1) Public Hearing: The
public hearing will be held at the
following location: Washington, DC:
Washington Plaza Hotel, Ten Thomas
Circle, Washington, DC 20005.
(2) Extension of Comment Period:
Comments related to Docket No. FRA–
2009–0032, may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
• Fax: 1–202–493–2251;
• Mail: U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations, M–
30, West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC 20590;
• Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations,
West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays; or
• Electronically through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal, https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the agency name, docket name,
and docket number or Regulatory
Identification Number (RIN) for this
rulemaking. Note that all comments
received will be posted without change
to https://www.regulations.gov, including
any personal information provided.
Please see the Privacy Act section of this
document.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov at any time or to
U.S. Department of Transportation,
Docket Operations, M–30, 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron
Ries, Office of Safety, FRA, 1200 New
Jersey Ave. SE., RRS–23, Mail Stop 25,
Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone 202–
493–6299), or Zeb Schorr, Trial
Attorney, Office of Chief Counsel, FRA,
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Mail Stop
10, Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone
202–493–6072).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FRA has
received written comments submitted
by interested parties related to various
parts of the NPRM and written requests
for a hearing regarding the NPRM. FRA
is holding a public hearing to permit the
exchange of information and concerns
regarding FRA’s proposed rule. The
public hearing is meant to allow
interested parties to fully develop and
VerDate Nov<24>2008
13:17 Jan 14, 2010
Jkt 220001
articulate the issues and concerns they
have with the NPRM so that these
concerns can be fully addressed in any
final rule that is developed. Interested
parties are invited to present oral
statements and proffer evidence at the
hearing. The hearing will be informal
and will be conducted by a
representative designated by FRA in
accordance with FRA’s Rules of Practice
(49 CFR 211.25). The hearing will be a
non-adversarial proceeding; as such,
there will be no cross-examination of
persons presenting statements or
proffering evidence. An FRA
representative will make an opening
statement outlining the scope of the
hearing. After all initial statements have
been completed, those persons wishing
to make a brief rebuttal will be given the
opportunity to do so in the same order
in which the initial statements were
made. Additional procedures, as
necessary for the conduct of the hearing,
will be announced at the hearing.
On February 22, 2010, the comment
period for the NPRM will reopen for
fourteen (14) days so that FRA can make
the public hearing transcript available
for review and comment by the general
public, interested parties can provide
additional comments and documents
related to the NPRM, and interested
parties can provide responses to matters
that arise at the public hearing.
Public Participation Procedures
Any person wishing to participate in
the public hearing should notify the
FRA’s Docket Clerk by mail, Michelle
Silva, Office of Chief Counsel, FRA,
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Room W31–
109, Washington, DC 20590, or e-mail
(Michelle.Silva@dot.gov), or at the fax
number 202–493–6068, at least five (5)
working days prior to the date of the
hearing. The notification should
identify the party the person represents,
and the particular subject(s) the person
plans to address. The notification
should also provide the Docket Clerk
with the participant’s mailing address
and other contact information. FRA
reserves the right to limit participation
in the hearing by persons who fail to
provide such notification.
Privacy Act
FRA wishes to inform all potential
commenters that anyone is able to
search the electronic form of all
comments received into any agency
docket 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
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
2467
(65 FR 19477–78) or you may visit
https://www.regulations.gov/search/
footer/privacyanduse.jsp.
Issued in Washington, DC, on January 11,
2010.
Grady C. Cothen, Jr.,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety
Standards and Program Development,
Federal Railroad Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010–684 Filed 1–14–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
49 CFR Part 395
[Docket No. FMCSA–2004–19608]
RIN 2126–AB26
Hours of Service
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of public listening
session.
SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it will
hold a public listening session (in
addition to those identified in a Federal
Register notice on January 5, 2010) to
solicit comments and information on
potential hours-of-service (HOS)
regulations. Specifically, the Agency
wants to know what factors, issues, and
data it should be aware of as it prepares
to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM) on HOS requirements for
property-carrying commercial motor
vehicle (CMV) drivers. This session will
be held in the Davenport, Iowa area. The
listening session will allow interested
persons to present comments, views,
and relevant research on revisions
FMCSA should consider in its
forthcoming rulemaking. All comments
will be transcribed and placed in the
rulemaking docket for the FMCSA’s
consideration.
DATES: This listening session will be
held on Thursday, January 28, 2010, in
Davenport, Iowa. It will begin at 1 p.m.
local time and end at 9 p.m., or earlier,
if all participants wishing to express
their views have done so.
ADDRESSES: The January 28 meeting will
be held in Davenport, Iowa, at the
Comfort Inn Hotel and Suites, 8300
Northwest Boulevard, Davenport, Iowa
52806 (563–324–8300).
You may submit comments bearing
the Federal Docket Management System
(FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA–2004–19608
using any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
E:\FR\FM\15JAP1.SGM
15JAP1
erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2010 / Proposed Rules
online 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 or Courier: 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 number 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 to
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
online Federal document management
system 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 online.
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
association, business, labor union, etc.).
You may review DOT’s Privacy Act
Statement for the FDMS published in
the Federal Register on January 17,
2008 (73 FR 3316), or you may visit
https://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/
E8-785.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
special accommodations for this
listening session, such as sign language
interpretation, contact Mr. David Miller,
Regulatory Development Division, (202)
366–5370 or at FMCSAregs@dot.gov, by
January 20, 2010, to allow us to arrange
for such services. There is no guarantee
that interpreter services requested on
short notice can be provided. For
information concerning the hours-ofservice rules, contact Mr. Tom Yager,
Chief, Driver and Carrier Operations
Division, (202) 366–4325,
mcpsd@dot.gov.
VerDate Nov<24>2008
13:17 Jan 14, 2010
Jkt 220001
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On October 26, 2009, Public Citizen,
et al. (Petitioners) and FMCSA entered
into a settlement agreement under
which the parties agreed to seek to hold
Petitioners’ petition for judicial review
of the November 19, 2008 Final Rule on
drivers’ hours of service in abeyance
pending the publication of an NPRM.
The settlement agreement states that
FMCSA will submit the draft NPRM to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) within nine months, and publish
a Final Rule within 21 months, of the
date of the settlement agreement. The
current rule will remain in effect during
the rulemaking proceedings.
On January 5, 2010, FMCSA
announced its plans to hold three public
listening sessions concerning the HOS
rulemaking (75 FR 285). FMCSA
announces a fourth public listening
session to solicit written and/or oral
comments and information on potential
revisions to the HOS rule. The Agency
will provide further opportunity for
public comment when the NPRM is
published.
This listening session will be held
within walking distance of the Flying J
Travel Plaza, 8200 Northwest Boulevard
near the intersection of Interstate
Highway 80 at Exit 292, Davenport,
Iowa 52806 (563–386–7710).
II. Meeting Participation
This listening session is open to the
public. Speakers’ remarks will be
limited to 10 minutes each. The public
may submit material to the FMCSA staff
at each session for inclusion in the
public docket, FMCSA–2004–19608.
III. Questions for Discussion During the
Listening Sessions
In preparing their comments, meeting
participants should consider the
following questions about possible
alternatives to the current HOS
requirements. These scenarios are
merely set forth for discussion; FMCSA
will not necessarily include them in an
NPRM but would request similar
information and data in an NPRM.
Answers to these questions should be
based upon the experience of the
participants and any data or information
they can share with FMCSA.
A. Rest and On-Duty Time
1. Would mandatory short rest
periods during the work day improve
driver alertness in the operation of a
CMV? How long should these rest
periods be? At what point in the duty
cycle or drive-time would short rest
periods provide the greatest benefit?
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What are the unintended consequences
if these short rest periods are
mandatory? Should the on-duty period
be extended to allow for mandatory rest
periods?
2. If rest or other breaks from driving
improve alertness, could a driver who
chooses to take specified minimum
breaks be given scheduling flexibility—
the ability to borrow an hour from
another driving day once a week, for
example—if that flexibility would not
increase safety risks or adversely impact
driver health?
3. How many hours per day and per
week would be safe and healthy for a
truck driver to work?
4. Would an hours-of-service rule that
allows drivers to drive an hour less
when driving overnight improve driver
alertness and improve safety? Are there
any adverse consequences that could
arise from the implementation of a
separate night time hours-of-service
regulation?
B. Restart to the 60- and 70-Hour Rule
1. Is a 34-consecutive-hour off-duty
period long enough to provide
restorative sleep regardless of the
number of hours worked prior to the
restart? Is the answer different for a
driver working a night or irregular
schedule?
2. What would be the impact of
mandating two overnight off-duty
periods, e.g., from midnight to 6 a.m., as
a component of a restart period? Would
such a rule present additional
enforcement challenges?
3. How is the current restart provision
being used by drivers? Do drivers restart
their calculations after 34 consecutive
hours or do drivers take longer periods
of time for the restart?
C. Sleeper Berth Use
1. If sleeper-berth time were split into
two periods, what is the minimum time
in each period necessary to provide
restorative sleep?
2. Could the 14-hour on-duty
limitation be extended by the amount of
some additional sleeper-berth time
without detrimental effect on highway
safety? What would be the appropriate
length of such a limited sleeper-berth
rest period?
D. Loading and Unloading Time
1. What effect has the fixed 14-hour
driving ‘‘window’’ had on the time
drivers spend waiting to load or unload?
Have shippers and receivers changed
their practices to reduce the amount of
time drivers spend waiting to load or
unload?
E:\FR\FM\15JAP1.SGM
15JAP1
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 10 / Friday, January 15, 2010 / Proposed Rules
E. General
1. Are there aspects of the current rule
that do not increase safety risks or
adversely impact driver health and that
should be preserved?
Issued on: January 13, 2010.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy and
Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2010–826 Filed 1–13–10; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 090225243–91127–01]
RIN 0648–AX67
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish
Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico;
Amendment 31
erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
SUMMARY: NMFS issues this proposed
rule to implement Amendment 31 to the
Fishery Management Plan for the Reef
Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico
(FMP) prepared by the Gulf of Mexico
Fishery Management Council (Council).
This proposed rule would implement
restrictions applicable to the bottom
longline component of the reef fish
fishery in the exclusive economic zone
(EEZ) of the eastern Gulf of Mexico
(Gulf). The proposed restrictions would
include a bottom longline endorsement
requirement, a seasonal closed area, and
a limitation on the number of hooks that
could be possessed and fished. The
intent of the proposed rule is to balance
the continued operation of the bottom
longline component of the reef fish
fishery in the eastern Gulf while
maintaining adequate protective
measures for sea turtles.
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before March 1, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on the proposed rule, identified by
‘‘0648–AX67’’ by any of the following
methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov.
VerDate Nov<24>2008
13:17 Jan 14, 2010
Jkt 220001
• Fax: 727–824–5308; Attention:
Cynthia Meyer.
• Mail: Cynthia Meyer, Southeast
Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th
Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL
33701–5505.
Instructions: No comments will be
posted for public viewing until after the
comment period has closed. All
comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be
posted to https://www.regulations.gov
without change. All Personal Identifying
Information (for example, name,
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by
the commenter may be publicly
accessible. Do not submit Confidential
Business Information or otherwise
sensitive or protected information.
To submit comments through the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov, enter ‘‘NOAANMFS–2008–0310’’ in the keyword
search, then select ‘‘Send a Comment or
Submission.’’ NMFS will accept
anonymous comments (enter N/A in the
required fields, if you wish to remain
anonymous). You may submit
attachments to electronic comments in
Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe PDF file formats only.
Copies of Amendment 31, which
include a draft environmental impact
statement (DEIS), an initial regulatory
flexibility analysis (IRFA), and a
regulatory impact review may be
obtained from the Gulf of Mexico
Fishery Management Council, 2203
North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa,
FL 33607; telephone 813–348–1630; fax
813–348–1711; e-mail
gulfcouncil@gulfcouncil.org; or may be
downloaded from the Council’s website
at https://www.gulfcouncil.org/.
Written comments regarding the
burden-hour estimate or other aspects of
the collection-of-information
requirement contained in this proposed
rule may be submitted to Richard
Malinowski, Southeast Regional Office,
NMFS, and by e-mail to
DavidlRostker@omb.eop.gov, or by fax
to 202–395–7285.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Cynthia Meyer, telephone: 727–824–
5305.
The reef
fish fishery of the Gulf of Mexico is
managed under the FMP. The FMP was
prepared by the Council and is
implemented through regulations at 50
CFR part 622 under the authority of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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2469
Background
Sea turtles are incidentally taken, and
some are killed, as a result of numerous
activities, including fishery-related
activities in the Gulf and along the
Atlantic seaboard. Under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) and its
implementing regulations, the taking of
sea turtles is prohibited, with
exceptions identified in 50 CFR
223.206(d), or according to the terms
and conditions of a biological opinion
issued under section 7 of the ESA, or
according to an incidental take permit
issued under section 10 of the ESA. All
sea turtles that occur in U.S. waters are
listed as either endangered or
threatened under the ESA of 1973. The
Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii),
leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), and
hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata)
turtles are listed as endangered. The
loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green
(Chelonia mydas) turtles are listed as
threatened, except for breeding
populations of green turtles in Florida
and on the Pacific coast of Mexico,
which are listed as endangered.
In September 2008, NMFS released a
report analyzing sea turtle takes in the
reef fish fishery as documented through
an observer program. Subsequently
updated in April 2009, the report
indicated that the number of hardshell
sea turtle takes by the bottom longline
component of the Gulf reef fish fishery
had exceeded the incidental take
estimates specified in a 2005 Biological
Opinion. Therefore, action was needed
to provide protection for threatened
loggerhead sea turtles in compliance
with ESA.
To address this issue in the short-term
while the Council developed a longterm management strategy, NMFS
published an emergency rule effective
May 18, 2009. The emergency rule
prohibited longline fishing for reef fish
in the eastern Gulf shoreward of a line
approximating the 50–fathom depth
contour, and prohibited all longline
fishing in the eastern Gulf after the
deep-water grouper and tilefish
commercial quotas were filled.
On October 16, 2009, NMFS
published a rule, under the authority of
the ESA, to replace the emergency rule.
The rule prohibits bottom longline
fishing in the eastern Gulf shoreward of
a line approximating the 35–fathom
(64–m) contour with a restriction of
1,000 hooks per vessel with no more
than 750 hooks rigged for fishing or
fished at any given time. The intended
effect of the rulemaking is to maintain
protective measures for loggerhead sea
turtles as well as to maintain a viable
bottom longline fleet pending the
E:\FR\FM\15JAP1.SGM
15JAP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 10 (Friday, January 15, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2467-2469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-826]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
49 CFR Part 395
[Docket No. FMCSA-2004-19608]
RIN 2126-AB26
Hours of Service
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of public listening session.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it will hold a public listening session
(in addition to those identified in a Federal Register notice on
January 5, 2010) to solicit comments and information on potential
hours-of-service (HOS) regulations. Specifically, the Agency wants to
know what factors, issues, and data it should be aware of as it
prepares to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on HOS
requirements for property-carrying commercial motor vehicle (CMV)
drivers. This session will be held in the Davenport, Iowa area. The
listening session will allow interested persons to present comments,
views, and relevant research on revisions FMCSA should consider in its
forthcoming rulemaking. All comments will be transcribed and placed in
the rulemaking docket for the FMCSA's consideration.
DATES: This listening session will be held on Thursday, January 28,
2010, in Davenport, Iowa. It will begin at 1 p.m. local time and end at
9 p.m., or earlier, if all participants wishing to express their views
have done so.
ADDRESSES: The January 28 meeting will be held in Davenport, Iowa, at
the Comfort Inn Hotel and Suites, 8300 Northwest Boulevard, Davenport,
Iowa 52806 (563-324-8300).
You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket Management
System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA-2004-19608 using any of the following
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the
[[Page 2468]]
online 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 or Courier: 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 number
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 to 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 online Federal document management system
is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. If you want
acknowledgment 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.
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 association, business, labor union, etc.).
You may review DOT's Privacy Act Statement for the FDMS published in
the Federal Register on January 17, 2008 (73 FR 3316), or you may visit
https://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-785.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For special accommodations for this
listening session, such as sign language interpretation, contact Mr.
David Miller, Regulatory Development Division, (202) 366-5370 or at
FMCSAregs@dot.gov, by January 20, 2010, to allow us to arrange for such
services. There is no guarantee that interpreter services requested on
short notice can be provided. For information concerning the hours-of-
service rules, contact Mr. Tom Yager, Chief, Driver and Carrier
Operations Division, (202) 366-4325, mcpsd@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On October 26, 2009, Public Citizen, et al. (Petitioners) and FMCSA
entered into a settlement agreement under which the parties agreed to
seek to hold Petitioners' petition for judicial review of the November
19, 2008 Final Rule on drivers' hours of service in abeyance pending
the publication of an NPRM. The settlement agreement states that FMCSA
will submit the draft NPRM to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
within nine months, and publish a Final Rule within 21 months, of the
date of the settlement agreement. The current rule will remain in
effect during the rulemaking proceedings.
On January 5, 2010, FMCSA announced its plans to hold three public
listening sessions concerning the HOS rulemaking (75 FR 285). FMCSA
announces a fourth public listening session to solicit written and/or
oral comments and information on potential revisions to the HOS rule.
The Agency will provide further opportunity for public comment when the
NPRM is published.
This listening session will be held within walking distance of the
Flying J Travel Plaza, 8200 Northwest Boulevard near the intersection
of Interstate Highway 80 at Exit 292, Davenport, Iowa 52806 (563-386-
7710).
II. Meeting Participation
This listening session is open to the public. Speakers' remarks
will be limited to 10 minutes each. The public may submit material to
the FMCSA staff at each session for inclusion in the public docket,
FMCSA-2004-19608.
III. Questions for Discussion During the Listening Sessions
In preparing their comments, meeting participants should consider
the following questions about possible alternatives to the current HOS
requirements. These scenarios are merely set forth for discussion;
FMCSA will not necessarily include them in an NPRM but would request
similar information and data in an NPRM. Answers to these questions
should be based upon the experience of the participants and any data or
information they can share with FMCSA.
A. Rest and On-Duty Time
1. Would mandatory short rest periods during the work day improve
driver alertness in the operation of a CMV? How long should these rest
periods be? At what point in the duty cycle or drive-time would short
rest periods provide the greatest benefit? What are the unintended
consequences if these short rest periods are mandatory? Should the on-
duty period be extended to allow for mandatory rest periods?
2. If rest or other breaks from driving improve alertness, could a
driver who chooses to take specified minimum breaks be given scheduling
flexibility--the ability to borrow an hour from another driving day
once a week, for example--if that flexibility would not increase safety
risks or adversely impact driver health?
3. How many hours per day and per week would be safe and healthy
for a truck driver to work?
4. Would an hours-of-service rule that allows drivers to drive an
hour less when driving overnight improve driver alertness and improve
safety? Are there any adverse consequences that could arise from the
implementation of a separate night time hours-of-service regulation?
B. Restart to the 60- and 70-Hour Rule
1. Is a 34-consecutive-hour off-duty period long enough to provide
restorative sleep regardless of the number of hours worked prior to the
restart? Is the answer different for a driver working a night or
irregular schedule?
2. What would be the impact of mandating two overnight off-duty
periods, e.g., from midnight to 6 a.m., as a component of a restart
period? Would such a rule present additional enforcement challenges?
3. How is the current restart provision being used by drivers? Do
drivers restart their calculations after 34 consecutive hours or do
drivers take longer periods of time for the restart?
C. Sleeper Berth Use
1. If sleeper-berth time were split into two periods, what is the
minimum time in each period necessary to provide restorative sleep?
2. Could the 14-hour on-duty limitation be extended by the amount
of some additional sleeper-berth time without detrimental effect on
highway safety? What would be the appropriate length of such a limited
sleeper-berth rest period?
D. Loading and Unloading Time
1. What effect has the fixed 14-hour driving ``window'' had on the
time drivers spend waiting to load or unload? Have shippers and
receivers changed their practices to reduce the amount of time drivers
spend waiting to load or unload?
[[Page 2469]]
E. General
1. Are there aspects of the current rule that do not increase
safety risks or adversely impact driver health and that should be
preserved?
Issued on: January 13, 2010.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-826 Filed 1-13-10; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P
