Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information Collection Request: Entry Level Driver Training Survey for Commercial Drivers' Licenses, 66448-66451 [2014-26563]

Download as PDF 66448 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 216 / Friday, November 7, 2014 / Notices in the comments a written explanation of why the information should be protected. The submission must indicate, with asterisks, where confidential information was redacted or deleted. The top and bottom of each page of the non-confidential version must be marked either ‘‘PUBLIC VERSION’’ or ‘‘NON-CONFIDENTIAL’’. Public Inspection of Submissions Comments will be placed in the docket and open to public inspection, except confidential business information. Comments may be viewed on the https://www.regulations.gov Web site by entering the relevant docket number in the search field on the home page. Douglas M. Bell, Chair, Trade Policy Staff Committee. [FR Doc. 2014–26453 Filed 11–6–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3290–F5–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Highway Administration South Mountain Freeway Project FEIS Comment Consideration Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The FHWA is issuing this notice of omission to advise the public that 10 comments submitted by email during the comment period for the South Mountain Freeway (Loop 202) Interstate 10 (Papago Freeway) to Interstate 10 (Maricopa Freeway) Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Evaluation were inadvertently omitted from the South Mountain Freeway (Loop 202) Interstate 10 (Papago Freeway) to Interstate 10 (Maricopa Freeway) Final Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Evaluation. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Hansen, Federal Highway Administration, 4000 North Central Avenue, Suite 1500, Phoenix, AZ 85012; (602) 382–8964. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 26, 2014, at 79 FR 57929, FHWA published a notice of availability for its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Section 4(f) Evaluation for the South Mountain Freeway (Loop 202) Interstate 10 (Papago Freeway) to Interstate 10 (Maricopa Freeway) project. On October 21, 2014, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) was contacted mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:12 Nov 06, 2014 Jkt 235001 by a stakeholder organization and told that the comments they submitted on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement were not included in the FEIS. The ADOT examined this concern and found that the comments, submitted through email, had been received, but were never brought to the attention of the project team. The ADOT conducted a thorough search of the entire email system and found that 10 email comments had been inadvertently omitted from the FEIS. The omitted comments consist of the email from the stakeholder organization and 9 emails from other interested parties. Based on this, FHWA, in conjunction with ADOT, has published this omission notice in the Federal Register and will prepare an Errata to the FEIS including responses to the 10 omitted comments, will publish a notice of availability for the Errata to the FEIS in the Federal Register, and will provide a 30-day review period for the Errata to the FEIS. All interested parties who received project communications, including notice of the FEIS availability, will receive the notice of omission and notice of availability of the Errata to the FEIS. The Errata to the FEIS will also be available on the project Web site with the FEIS at www.azdot.gov/ southmountainfreeway. Issued on: October 31, 2014. Karla S. Petty, Arizona Division Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, Phoenix, AZ. [FR Doc. 2014–26533 Filed 11–6–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–22–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [Docket No. FMCSA–2014–0388] Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information Collection Request: Entry Level Driver Training Survey for Commercial Drivers’ Licenses Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT. ACTION: Notice and request for comments. AGENCY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The purpose of this ICR is to examine, by a one-time collection of survey data, the SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 relationship of commercial driver license (CDL) entry level driver training (ELDT), as influenced by any subsequent employer training that may have been received, to safety performance of the drivers. The goal of this research is to contribute to other related research being done evaluating the relationship of CDL ELDT to subsequent safety performance of the drivers. The results of this study, along with others, will provide FMCSA with information to support its consideration of the congressionally mandated requirement to establish enhanced minimum training requirements for CDL entry-level drivers from those currently required at 49 CFR 380.503. There is no national database that contains or collects data on the training received by drivers to enable them to qualify for a CDL. Recently licensed freight CDL drivers will be surveyed. (This will contain both drivers without hazardous material endorsements and drives with hazardous materials endorsements.) Motorcoach and bus drivers recently observed to have begun driving such vehicles in the most recent three years, as indicated by data in MCMIS, will be surveyed. The goal is to obtain a better understanding of the amount and type of total training they received, and its composition between that received before obtaining the CDL, and that received after obtaining the CDL. Type of training is divided into hours-based versus performance-based. Data on the amount and type of training received will be collected using a one-time survey effort. The data will be analyzed to describe the details of the driver training reported by the survey participants. Results of the training survey data will be analyzed in relation to the safety performance data of the responding drivers available from two databases: the State-operated Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) and the Federally-operated Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). DATES: We must receive your comments on or before January 6, 2015. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA–2014–0388 using any of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • Fax: 1–202–493–2251. • Mail: Docket Services; U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 E:\FR\FM\07NON1.SGM 07NON1 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 216 / Friday, November 7, 2014 / Notices New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 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. e.t., 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 https://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 https:// www.regulations.gov, and follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets, or go to the street address listed above. 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 for the Federal Docket Management System published in the Federal Register on January 17, 2008 (73 FR 3316), or you may visit https:// edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdfE8794.pdf. Public Participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ‘‘help’’ section of the Federal eRulemaking Portal 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. Comments received after the comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be considered to the extent practicable. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Goettee, Research Division, Office of Analysis, Research and Technology, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202–366–4097); email David.Goettee@ dot.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:12 Nov 06, 2014 Jkt 235001 Background: CDL driving is a specialized skill, distinct in many ways and more demanding than operating a smaller vehicle such as an automobile.1 In the early 1970’s the CDL Program (49 CFR Parts 383 and 384) did not exist.2 Thus, there were no standardized national requirements that prevented a driver from operating a vehicle heavier than 26,000 lbs. or that carries 16 or more persons without demonstrating minimum knowledge and skills. Neither the Federal government nor any State had CDL ELDT requirements. In States that did have a classified licensing system, only a few required the driver candidate to be skills-tested in a representative commercial vehicle. As a result, many drivers were operating large commercial motor vehicles that they may not have been qualified to drive.3 Additionally, because there was no tracking of existing licenses, there was no systematic method for preventing drivers from obtaining multiple licenses from multiple States and spreading convictions of any traffic violations over those licenses. That allowed them to avoid having any driver license suspended or revoked in any jurisdiction as a result of convictions for violations of moving traffic laws and thus being reported to the National Driver Registry. In the early 1980’s, before the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act (CMVSA) was enacted, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Motor Carriers (the predecessor to FMCSA) determined that there was a need for technical guidance in the area of truck driver training. At that time, only a few driver-training institutions offered a structured curriculum or a standardized training program for any type of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver. In 1986, 32 States issued some form of a classified driver’s license (i.e., a license that makes a distinction between types of vehicles that the holder may operate). Of these 32 States, 12 required State-conducted, behind-the-wheel skills testing of all applicants in a vehicle that represented the type that the driver operated or expected to operate. The other 20 of those 32 States waived testing if the applicants met 1 National Transportation Safety Board. (1986) Safety Recommendations H–86–27 through 34. Washington, DC. 2 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. (1996). Purpose and scope of this part and responsibility for compliance and training. 49 CFR, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. 3 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Commercial Driver’s License Program (CDL/CDLIS). Retrieved from https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ registration-licensing/cdl/cdl.htm. PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 66449 certain conditions, such as certification of training and testing by their employer; two States recognized training schools. The remaining 18 States and the District of Columbia did not require applicants to demonstrate their driving skills in the types of vehicles they drove or intended to drive, nor did they require certification of training and testing by the employer or a recognized training school. Drivers in those States who obtained a driver license to drive a passenger car were also considered qualified to drive an 18wheeler or a three-axle intercity bus. In 1986 Congress passed the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act 4 (CMVSA), and subsequent amendments, explicitly to begin addressing these issues. Implementation of the CDL Program and its supporting information system, CDLIS, have been addressing many of these issues. The goal of the CDL program is to ensure that drivers of large trucks and commercial passenger vehicles possess the knowledge and skills necessary to obtain a CDL and operate those vehicles on public highways, and that such drivers are uniformly sanctioned for specified convictions. The CMVSA established the CDL Program and directed the Secretary to establish minimum Federal standards that the States must meet when licensing drivers required to have a CDL and sanctions for convictions for specified violations. The CMVSA and implementing regulations apply to virtually anyone who operates a CMV requiring a CDL in interstate or intrastate commerce, including employees of Federal, State, and local governments. There are very limited exceptions. One of the issues not addressed by the original CMVSA was standardizing the ELDT to be received by those drivers before obtaining a CDL. A 1995 FHWAsponsored study titled Assessing the Adequacy of Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Training (the Adequacy Report) concluded, among other things, that effective entry-level driver training needs to include behind-the-wheel instruction on how to operate a heavy vehicle.5 In 2004 FMCSA issued a Final Rule for such CDL ELDT, found at 49 CFR 380.503. The requirements of that rule were estimated to take on average 10 4 U.S. Congress, (1986). Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986. Title XII of Public Law 99–570, Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 49 U.S.C. 31301 et seq., Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 5 Dueker, R. L. (1995). Assessing the Adequacy of Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Training: Final Report (FHWA–MC–96–011). Washington, DC: U.S. DOT FHWA Office of Motor Carriers. E:\FR\FM\07NON1.SGM 07NON1 66450 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 216 / Friday, November 7, 2014 / Notices mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES hours of training to accomplish. However, the rule was challenged; the court determined FMCSA needed to give more attention to its previous research in establishing meaningful minimum CDL training standards, in particular with regard to behind-thewheel training requirements. The court left the rule in effect but remanded it to FMCSA for further action. In 2007 FMCSA issued a follow-on Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), proposing revised ELDT standards for CDL drivers. The 2012 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP–21) requirement expanded the scope of the needed rule. In January and March 2013, FMCSA held public listening sessions to obtain additional input. In December 2012, FMCSA tasked its Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC) with developing training recommendations; these were delivered in June 2013. In September 2013, FMCSA withdrew the 2007 NPRM in order to develop a new proposed rule responsive to the 2007 docket comments, the MAP–21-directives, input from the listening sessions, the MCSAC recommendations, and several research projects under way (including this survey). In March 2014, it was announced that a negotiated rulemaking was being considered to facilitate the rulemaking process. On August 19, 2014, the agency announced initiation of the process with the contracted convener (79 FR 49044). Title: Entry Level Driver Training Survey for Commercial Drivers’ Licenses OMB Control Number: 2126–00XX. Type of Request: New information collection. Respondents: Entry-level interstate 6 freight and bus/motorcoach drivers. The goal is to understand what entry-level training general freight drivers without endorsements received to obtain their CDLs, and what additional training the hazmat freight (H—non-tanker, X— tanker endorsements) and bus/ motorcoach drivers (P endorsement) received to obtain the required endorsement(s). Respondents will therefore be from one of two groups. The first group is CDL drivers newly licensed within the past three years (for 6 Intrastate drivers do not cross jurisdictions, and often do not operate on interstate highways. Therefore, they tend toward having minimal number of inspections and traffic citations from either a MCSAP or non-MCSAP officers. This lack of safety performance data would make it harder to evaluate any relationship between their training and early subsequent safety performance. Therefore, due to this lower availability of safety performance data, intrastate drivers are not included in the target population. VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:12 Nov 06, 2014 Jkt 235001 freight—non-hazmat and hazmat). The second group is drivers first observed operating a motorcoach or bus as demonstrated by MCMIS data within the last three years, regardless of when they received their CDL. The criteria for selection of this second group is different because such drivers could have obtained their CDL in the past, but only recently obtained training and began driving bus/motorcoaches. In order to have more safety performance data available, all drivers must be driving for a carrier authorized to operate interstate. To avoid specific bias caused by a higher than usual inspection rate at the border for international drivers, the carriers must operate solely in the United States.7 Recent entry-level freight CMV drivers for purposes of this survey are defined as those who received their initial commercial license within the past three years. This will be verified by examining the date the CDL index record was added to the CDLIS index. The drivers also must have received an inspection within the past 12 months. This is to verify they were recently, and thus may still be, driving a CMV for a living. (Previous survey research from CDL drivers, found while the response rate by CDL drivers was quite low, drivers who were currently driving were more likely to respond.) Those drivers who also have an H or X endorsement will automatically be routed to additional questions regarding training for those endorsements. Recent entry-level Bus/Motorcoach (P) CMV drivers are defined as having had an inspection or crash recorded in MCMIS in the past three years while driving a bus or motorcoach vehicle.8 (As noted above, entry level bus/ motorcoach drivers are defined differently from the freight drivers because drivers can enter the profession of bus/motorcoach driving many years after obtaining their CDL.) Estimated Number of Invitees: 82,207 drivers will be invited to participate in the survey. Estimated Number of Respondents: 7,399. Estimated Time Per Response: Between 12 and 21 minutes per response, primarily via online technology to a secure Web site for 7 Drivers who cross the Canadian and Mexican borders have a high number of inspections at the border and would bias the sample. 8 Neither CDLIS nor MCMIS contains the date when an endorsement was earned. Therefore, this research assumes that when a driver has their first inspection operating a motor vehicle requiring a P endorsement, it is more likely they recently completed training, likely from the employer, to operate that type vehicle. PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 completing only one survey instrument by the invited drivers. The necessary login information will be provided in their solicitation letter. The length of time required depends on which survey instrument applies to that type of driver (see detailed calculation below.) The average is 15.4 minutes because of the small number of drivers with H, X or P endorsements that will be included in the invited sample. Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new ICR for a one-time survey. Frequency of Response: Once per respondent. Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 1903 hours [6620 general freight survey responses × 15 minutes/60 minutes = 1655; 498 hazmat endorsement freight survey responses × 21 minutes/60 minutes = 174.3; 109 bus survey responses × 12 minutes/60 minutes = 21.8; 172 motorcoach survey responses × 18 minutes/60 minutes = 51.6; total estimated burden thus is 1902.7, rounded to 1903 hours]. Form(s): MCSA–5890, ‘‘Entry-Level CMV CDL Truck Driver Training Survey,’’ MCSA–5891, ‘‘Entry-Level CMV CDL Bus Driver Training Survey,’’ and MCSA–5892, ‘‘Entry-Level CMV CDL Motorcoach Driver Training Survey.’’ Analysis This study will obtain safety performance data from both MCMIS and CDLIS to analyze the safety performance in relation to the amount and type of training received by recently licensed CDL drivers who chose to respond to this survey. FMCSA maintains the MCMIS, which contains violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) found during roadside inspections (including driver out-of-service orders) and crash data submitted by States supported by Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) funding. CDLIS Index data are maintained by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA). The licensing States maintain the detailed CDLIS driver records that contain convictions on State and local traffic infractions, suspensions, and revocations. This study will ensure confidentiality regarding the identity and responses of the participating drivers. Only summarized data will be published. Results of this study will provide FMCSA with information to support its considerations of establishing minimum entry-level training requirements for CDL drivers. Public Comments Invited: On whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance E:\FR\FM\07NON1.SGM 07NON1 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 216 / Friday, November 7, 2014 / Notices of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; the accuracy of the Department’s estimates of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87 on: October 31, 2014. G. Kelly Regal, Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information Technology and Chief Information Officer. [FR Doc. 2014–26563 Filed 11–6–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [Docket No. FMCSA–2014–0308] Qualification of Drivers; Exemption Applications; Diabetes Mellitus Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). DOT. ACTION: Notice of applications for exemptions; request for comments. AGENCY: FMCSA announces receipt of applications from 52 individuals for exemption from the prohibition against persons with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) operating commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. If granted, the exemptions would enable these individuals with ITDM to operate CMVs in interstate commerce. SUMMARY: Comments must be received on or before December 8, 2014. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Docket No. FMCSA– 2014–0308 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. mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES DATES: VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:12 Nov 06, 2014 Jkt 235001 • Fax: 1–202–493–2251. Instructions: Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket numbers for this notice. 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 heading below for further information. 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 Federal Docket Management System (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 association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT’s Privacy Act Statement for the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) published in the Federal Register on January 17, 2008 (73 FR 3316). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elaine M. Papp, R.N., Chief, Medical Programs Division, (202) 366–4001, fmcsamedical@dot.gov, FMCSA, Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W64– 224, Washington, DC 20590–0001. Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, FMCSA may grant an exemption from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for a 2-year period if it finds ‘‘such exemption would likely achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to or greater than the level that would be achieved absent such exemption.’’ The statute also allows the Agency to renew exemptions at the end of the 2-year period. The 52 individuals listed in this notice have recently requested such an exemption from the diabetes prohibition in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(3), which applies to drivers of CMVs in interstate commerce. PO 00000 Frm 00101 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 66451 Accordingly, the Agency will evaluate the qualifications of each applicant to determine whether granting the exemption will achieve the required level of safety mandated by statute. II. Qualifications of Applicants Travis L. Beck Mr. Beck, 21, has had ITDM since 1997. His endocrinologist examined him in 2014 and certified that he has had no severe hypoglycemic reactions resulting in loss of consciousness, requiring the assistance of another person, or resulting in impaired cognitive function that occurred without warning in the past 12 months and no recurrent (2 or more) severe hypoglycemic episodes in the last 5 years. His endocrinologist certifies that Mr. Beck understands diabetes management and monitoring, has stable control of his diabetes using insulin, and is able to drive a CMV safely. Mr. Beck meets the requirements of the vision standard at 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10). His optometrist examined him in 2014 and certified that he does not have diabetic retinopathy. He holds a Class A Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) from Ohio. Corey C. Bennett Mr. Bennett, 36, has had ITDM since 2013. His endocrinologist examined him in 2014 and certified that he has had no severe hypoglycemic reactions resulting in loss of consciousness, requiring the assistance of another person, or resulting in impaired cognitive function that occurred without warning in the past 12 months and no recurrent (2 or more) severe hypoglycemic episodes in the last 5 years. His endocrinologist certifies that Mr. Bennett understands diabetes management and monitoring, has stable control of his diabetes using insulin, and is able to drive a CMV safely. Mr. Bennett meets the requirements of the vision standard at 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10). His optometrist examined him in 2014 and certified that he does not have diabetic retinopathy. He holds a Class A CDL from Mississippi. Richard C. Bennett Mr. Bennett, 52, has had ITDM since 2010. His endocrinologist examined him in 2014 and certified that he has had no severe hypoglycemic reactions resulting in loss of consciousness, requiring the assistance of another person, or resulting in impaired cognitive function that occurred without warning in the past 12 months and no recurrent (2 or more) severe hypoglycemic episodes in the last 5 years. His endocrinologist certifies that Mr. Bennett understands E:\FR\FM\07NON1.SGM 07NON1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 216 (Friday, November 7, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66448-66451]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26563]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2014-0388]


Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information 
Collection Request: Entry Level Driver Training Survey for Commercial 
Drivers' Licenses

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA 
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review 
and approval. The purpose of this ICR is to examine, by a one-time 
collection of survey data, the relationship of commercial driver 
license (CDL) entry level driver training (ELDT), as influenced by any 
subsequent employer training that may have been received, to safety 
performance of the drivers. The goal of this research is to contribute 
to other related research being done evaluating the relationship of CDL 
ELDT to subsequent safety performance of the drivers.
    The results of this study, along with others, will provide FMCSA 
with information to support its consideration of the congressionally 
mandated requirement to establish enhanced minimum training 
requirements for CDL entry-level drivers from those currently required 
at 49 CFR 380.503. There is no national database that contains or 
collects data on the training received by drivers to enable them to 
qualify for a CDL.
    Recently licensed freight CDL drivers will be surveyed. (This will 
contain both drivers without hazardous material endorsements and drives 
with hazardous materials endorsements.) Motorcoach and bus drivers 
recently observed to have begun driving such vehicles in the most 
recent three years, as indicated by data in MCMIS, will be surveyed. 
The goal is to obtain a better understanding of the amount and type of 
total training they received, and its composition between that received 
before obtaining the CDL, and that received after obtaining the CDL. 
Type of training is divided into hours-based versus performance-based. 
Data on the amount and type of training received will be collected 
using a one-time survey effort. The data will be analyzed to describe 
the details of the driver training reported by the survey participants.
    Results of the training survey data will be analyzed in relation to 
the safety performance data of the responding drivers available from 
two databases: the State-operated Commercial Driver's License 
Information System (CDLIS) and the Federally-operated Motor Carrier 
Management Information System (MCMIS).

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before January 6, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2014-0388 using any of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Services; U.S. Department of Transportation, 
1200

[[Page 66449]]

New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
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. e.t., 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 https://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 https://www.regulations.gov, and follow the 
online instructions for accessing the dockets, or go to the street 
address listed above.
    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 for the Federal Docket Management System 
published in the Federal Register on January 17, 2008 (73 FR 3316), or 
you may visit https://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdfE8-794.pdf.
    Public Participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available 
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic 
submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ``help'' section 
of the Federal eRulemaking Portal 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. Comments received after the 
comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be 
considered to the extent practicable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Goettee, Research Division, 
Office of Analysis, Research and Technology, Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Washington, DC 20590. 
Telephone: (202-366-4097); email David.Goettee@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background: CDL driving is a specialized skill, distinct in many 
ways and more demanding than operating a smaller vehicle such as an 
automobile.\1\ In the early 1970's the CDL Program (49 CFR Parts 383 
and 384) did not exist.\2\ Thus, there were no standardized national 
requirements that prevented a driver from operating a vehicle heavier 
than 26,000 lbs. or that carries 16 or more persons without 
demonstrating minimum knowledge and skills. Neither the Federal 
government nor any State had CDL ELDT requirements. In States that did 
have a classified licensing system, only a few required the driver 
candidate to be skills-tested in a representative commercial vehicle. 
As a result, many drivers were operating large commercial motor 
vehicles that they may not have been qualified to drive.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ National Transportation Safety Board. (1986) Safety 
Recommendations H-86-27 through 34. Washington, DC.
    \2\ Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. (1996). Purpose 
and scope of this part and responsibility for compliance and 
training. 49 CFR, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
    \3\ Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Commercial 
Driver's License Program (CDL/CDLIS). Retrieved from https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration-licensing/cdl/cdl.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Additionally, because there was no tracking of existing licenses, 
there was no systematic method for preventing drivers from obtaining 
multiple licenses from multiple States and spreading convictions of any 
traffic violations over those licenses. That allowed them to avoid 
having any driver license suspended or revoked in any jurisdiction as a 
result of convictions for violations of moving traffic laws and thus 
being reported to the National Driver Registry.
    In the early 1980's, before the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act 
(CMVSA) was enacted, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office 
of Motor Carriers (the predecessor to FMCSA) determined that there was 
a need for technical guidance in the area of truck driver training. At 
that time, only a few driver-training institutions offered a structured 
curriculum or a standardized training program for any type of 
commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver.
    In 1986, 32 States issued some form of a classified driver's 
license (i.e., a license that makes a distinction between types of 
vehicles that the holder may operate). Of these 32 States, 12 required 
State-conducted, behind-the-wheel skills testing of all applicants in a 
vehicle that represented the type that the driver operated or expected 
to operate. The other 20 of those 32 States waived testing if the 
applicants met certain conditions, such as certification of training 
and testing by their employer; two States recognized training schools. 
The remaining 18 States and the District of Columbia did not require 
applicants to demonstrate their driving skills in the types of vehicles 
they drove or intended to drive, nor did they require certification of 
training and testing by the employer or a recognized training school. 
Drivers in those States who obtained a driver license to drive a 
passenger car were also considered qualified to drive an 18-wheeler or 
a three-axle intercity bus.
    In 1986 Congress passed the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act \4\ 
(CMVSA), and subsequent amendments, explicitly to begin addressing 
these issues. Implementation of the CDL Program and its supporting 
information system, CDLIS, have been addressing many of these issues.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ U.S. Congress, (1986). Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act 
of 1986. Title XII of Public Law 99-570, Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 
49 U.S.C. 31301 et seq., Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing 
Office.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The goal of the CDL program is to ensure that drivers of large 
trucks and commercial passenger vehicles possess the knowledge and 
skills necessary to obtain a CDL and operate those vehicles on public 
highways, and that such drivers are uniformly sanctioned for specified 
convictions. The CMVSA established the CDL Program and directed the 
Secretary to establish minimum Federal standards that the States must 
meet when licensing drivers required to have a CDL and sanctions for 
convictions for specified violations. The CMVSA and implementing 
regulations apply to virtually anyone who operates a CMV requiring a 
CDL in interstate or intrastate commerce, including employees of 
Federal, State, and local governments. There are very limited 
exceptions.
    One of the issues not addressed by the original CMVSA was 
standardizing the ELDT to be received by those drivers before obtaining 
a CDL. A 1995 FHWA-sponsored study titled Assessing the Adequacy of 
Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Training (the Adequacy Report) 
concluded, among other things, that effective entry-level driver 
training needs to include behind-the-wheel instruction on how to 
operate a heavy vehicle.\5\
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    \5\ Dueker, R. L. (1995). Assessing the Adequacy of Commercial 
Motor Vehicle Driver Training: Final Report (FHWA-MC-96-011). 
Washington, DC: U.S. DOT FHWA Office of Motor Carriers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In 2004 FMCSA issued a Final Rule for such CDL ELDT, found at 49 
CFR 380.503. The requirements of that rule were estimated to take on 
average 10

[[Page 66450]]

hours of training to accomplish. However, the rule was challenged; the 
court determined FMCSA needed to give more attention to its previous 
research in establishing meaningful minimum CDL training standards, in 
particular with regard to behind-the-wheel training requirements. The 
court left the rule in effect but remanded it to FMCSA for further 
action. In 2007 FMCSA issued a follow-on Notice of Proposed Rule Making 
(NPRM), proposing revised ELDT standards for CDL drivers.
    The 2012 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) 
requirement expanded the scope of the needed rule. In January and March 
2013, FMCSA held public listening sessions to obtain additional input. 
In December 2012, FMCSA tasked its Motor Carrier Safety Advisory 
Committee (MCSAC) with developing training recommendations; these were 
delivered in June 2013. In September 2013, FMCSA withdrew the 2007 NPRM 
in order to develop a new proposed rule responsive to the 2007 docket 
comments, the MAP-21-directives, input from the listening sessions, the 
MCSAC recommendations, and several research projects under way 
(including this survey). In March 2014, it was announced that a 
negotiated rulemaking was being considered to facilitate the rulemaking 
process. On August 19, 2014, the agency announced initiation of the 
process with the contracted convener (79 FR 49044).
    Title: Entry Level Driver Training Survey for Commercial Drivers' 
Licenses
    OMB Control Number: 2126-00XX.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Respondents: Entry-level interstate \6\ freight and bus/motorcoach 
drivers. The goal is to understand what entry-level training general 
freight drivers without endorsements received to obtain their CDLs, and 
what additional training the hazmat freight (H--non-tanker, X--tanker 
endorsements) and bus/motorcoach drivers (P endorsement) received to 
obtain the required endorsement(s). Respondents will therefore be from 
one of two groups. The first group is CDL drivers newly licensed within 
the past three years (for freight--non-hazmat and hazmat). The second 
group is drivers first observed operating a motorcoach or bus as 
demonstrated by MCMIS data within the last three years, regardless of 
when they received their CDL. The criteria for selection of this second 
group is different because such drivers could have obtained their CDL 
in the past, but only recently obtained training and began driving bus/
motorcoaches. In order to have more safety performance data available, 
all drivers must be driving for a carrier authorized to operate 
interstate. To avoid specific bias caused by a higher than usual 
inspection rate at the border for international drivers, the carriers 
must operate solely in the United States.\7\
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    \6\ Intrastate drivers do not cross jurisdictions, and often do 
not operate on interstate highways. Therefore, they tend toward 
having minimal number of inspections and traffic citations from 
either a MCSAP or non-MCSAP officers. This lack of safety 
performance data would make it harder to evaluate any relationship 
between their training and early subsequent safety performance. 
Therefore, due to this lower availability of safety performance 
data, intrastate drivers are not included in the target population.
    \7\ Drivers who cross the Canadian and Mexican borders have a 
high number of inspections at the border and would bias the sample.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Recent entry-level freight CMV drivers for purposes of this survey 
are defined as those who received their initial commercial license 
within the past three years. This will be verified by examining the 
date the CDL index record was added to the CDLIS index. The drivers 
also must have received an inspection within the past 12 months. This 
is to verify they were recently, and thus may still be, driving a CMV 
for a living. (Previous survey research from CDL drivers, found while 
the response rate by CDL drivers was quite low, drivers who were 
currently driving were more likely to respond.) Those drivers who also 
have an H or X endorsement will automatically be routed to additional 
questions regarding training for those endorsements.
    Recent entry-level Bus/Motorcoach (P) CMV drivers are defined as 
having had an inspection or crash recorded in MCMIS in the past three 
years while driving a bus or motorcoach vehicle.\8\ (As noted above, 
entry level bus/motorcoach drivers are defined differently from the 
freight drivers because drivers can enter the profession of bus/
motorcoach driving many years after obtaining their CDL.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ Neither CDLIS nor MCMIS contains the date when an 
endorsement was earned. Therefore, this research assumes that when a 
driver has their first inspection operating a motor vehicle 
requiring a P endorsement, it is more likely they recently completed 
training, likely from the employer, to operate that type vehicle.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Number of Invitees: 82,207 drivers will be invited to 
participate in the survey.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 7,399.
    Estimated Time Per Response: Between 12 and 21 minutes per 
response, primarily via online technology to a secure Web site for 
completing only one survey instrument by the invited drivers. The 
necessary login information will be provided in their solicitation 
letter. The length of time required depends on which survey instrument 
applies to that type of driver (see detailed calculation below.) The 
average is 15.4 minutes because of the small number of drivers with H, 
X or P endorsements that will be included in the invited sample.
    Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new ICR for a one-time survey.
    Frequency of Response: Once per respondent.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 1903 hours [6620 general freight 
survey responses x 15 minutes/60 minutes = 1655; 498 hazmat endorsement 
freight survey responses x 21 minutes/60 minutes = 174.3; 109 bus 
survey responses x 12 minutes/60 minutes = 21.8; 172 motorcoach survey 
responses x 18 minutes/60 minutes = 51.6; total estimated burden thus 
is 1902.7, rounded to 1903 hours].
    Form(s): MCSA-5890, ``Entry-Level CMV CDL Truck Driver Training 
Survey,'' MCSA-5891, ``Entry-Level CMV CDL Bus Driver Training 
Survey,'' and MCSA-5892, ``Entry-Level CMV CDL Motorcoach Driver 
Training Survey.''

Analysis

    This study will obtain safety performance data from both MCMIS and 
CDLIS to analyze the safety performance in relation to the amount and 
type of training received by recently licensed CDL drivers who chose to 
respond to this survey.
    FMCSA maintains the MCMIS, which contains violations of Federal 
Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) found during roadside 
inspections (including driver out-of-service orders) and crash data 
submitted by States supported by Motor Carrier Safety Assistance 
Program (MCSAP) funding. CDLIS Index data are maintained by the 
American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA). The 
licensing States maintain the detailed CDLIS driver records that 
contain convictions on State and local traffic infractions, 
suspensions, and revocations.
    This study will ensure confidentiality regarding the identity and 
responses of the participating drivers. Only summarized data will be 
published. Results of this study will provide FMCSA with information to 
support its considerations of establishing minimum entry-level training 
requirements for CDL drivers.
    Public Comments Invited: On whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance

[[Page 66451]]

of the functions of the Department, including whether the information 
will have practical utility; the accuracy of the Department's estimates 
of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.

    Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87 on: October 31, 2014.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology and Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-26563 Filed 11-6-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P
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