Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information Collection Request: The Impact of Driver Compensation on Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety, 6159-6161 [2015-02136]
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2015 / Notices
be mailed or delivered to Mr. Ray C.
Funnye, Director, Departmnet of Public
Services, Georgetown County at the
following address: 108 Screven Street,
Georgetown, South Carolina 29440.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob
Rau, Community Planner, Atlanta
Airports District Office, 1701 Columbia
Ave., Suite 2–260, College Park, Georgia
30337–2747, (404) 305–7004. The
application may be reviewed in person
at this same location.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA
is reviewing a request by Georgetown
County to release eleven parcels
(approximately 18.32 acres) of public
property at the Georgetown County
Airport. On June 4, 1947, the United
States government through the War
Assets Administration executed a Lease
Termination Agreement which returned
approximately 675 acres of land to
Georgetown County with conditions.
This property is to be used for public
airport purposes on reasonable terms
and without unjust discrimination and
without grant of an exclusive right.
These parcels are currently being used
for places of worship, residential homes,
educational and military facilities and
industrial purposes.
Any person may inspect the request
in person at the FAA office listed above
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
In addition, any person may, upon
request, inspect the request, notice and
other documents germane to the request
in person at the Georgetown County
Airport.
Issued in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 29,
2015.
Larry F. Clark,
Manager, Atlanta Airports District Office,
Southern Region.
[FR Doc. 2015–02166 Filed 2–3–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
[Docket No. FMCSA–2014–0325]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; New Information Collection
Request: The Impact of Driver
Compensation on Commercial Motor
Vehicle Safety
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
SUMMARY:
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18:18 Feb 03, 2015
Jkt 235001
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 FMCSA
requests approval of a new ICR titled,
‘‘The Impact of Driver Compensation on
Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety,’’ to
assess the current compensation
practices of commercial vehicle drivers
and the potential influence this may
have on safe commercial vehicle
operations.
DATES: Please send your comments by
March 6, 2015. OMB must receive your
comments by this date in order to act
quickly on the ICR.
ADDRESSES: All comments should
reference Federal Docket Management
System (FDMS) Docket Number
FMCSA–2014–0325. Interested persons
are invited to submit written comments
on the proposed information collection
to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of
Management and Budget. Comments
should be addressed to the attention of
the Desk Officer, Department of
Transportation/Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration, and sent via
electronic mail to oira_submission@
omb.eop.gov, or faxed to (202) 395–
6974, or mailed to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget,
Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Theresa Hallquist, Analysis, Research
and Technology Division, Department of
Transportation, FMCSA, West Building
6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC 20590. Telephone:
202–366–1064; email:
theresa.hallquist@dot.gov. Office hours
are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal
Holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: The Impact of Driver
Compensation on Commercial Motor
Vehicle Safety.
OMB Control Number: 21XX–00XX.
Type of Request: New information
collection.
Respondents: Safety Managers,
Operations Managers or Owner
Operators of commercial motor carriers
companies.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
2184.
Estimated Time per Response:
Minimum response = 0.27; Maximum
response = 1.02 hours.
Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new
information collection.
Frequency of Response: One
questionnaire per participant.
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Sfmt 4703
6159
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1343
hours (Group 1 is defined as very small
and small carriers and Group 2 is
defined as medium and large carriers.
(1164 Group 1 respondents × 0.27 hours
= 303 hours) + (1020 Group 2
respondents × 1.02 hours = 1,040
hours)).
Background: The study will evaluate
the relationship between property
carrying motor carriers compensation
methods and incidences of unsafe
driving. In particular, the research team
will determine if there is a potential
relationship between method of driver
compensation and safe driving behavior.
This study will be conducted using an
online questionnaire. Randomly
selected non-passenger motor carriers
will be notified by letter from the
FMCSA that explains the study and
elicits their participation. Participants
will receive an email directing them to
a Web site to complete the online
questionnaire. This study will assist
motor carriers and other stakeholders
engaged in commercial vehicle safety by
enabling them to make informed
decisions regarding driver
compensation as it relates to safe
driving performance. The form MCSA–
5887 will be used in an electronic
format on the web to collect responses
from study participants. The results of
the study will be available to the public
in 2015 and will be published on the
FMCSA publications and reports Web
site, www.fmcsa.dot.gov. No physical or
psychological risks to individuals are
anticipated as a result of the study, nor
are risks to personally identifiable
information.
Comments From the Public: On
August 29, 2014, FMCSA published a
Federal Register notice (79 FR 51638)
allowing for a 60-day comment period
on this ICR. The Agency received fortyseven (47) unique public comments
which have been reviewed and grouped
by common themes. Note that there are
49 comments indicated for the notice.
Two of these comments are duplicate
postings. Some comments addressed
multiple themes but are grouped here
only by their primary theme. These
themes and the FMCSA responses are
included below. Formal comments were
received from the following
organizations: the American Trucking
Associations; Road Safe America; the
AFL–CIO Amalgamated Transit Union;
the AFL–CIO Transportation Trades
Department; and the Owner-Operator
Independent Driver Association. The
FMCSA has responded in kind to these
organizations with formal and direct
communication; however, in addition,
these comments have been assessed for
common themes and are reflected in the
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04FEN1
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
6160
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2015 / Notices
agency’s responses below along with the
entirety of the public comments. The
full analysis of the public comments
and their subsequent responses are
illustrated in a document titled,
FMCSA_Response_To_FRN2014–0325,
which can be accessed and viewed in
the supplemental section for this notice.
The FMSCA responses to the public
comments are as follows:
Theme: Total compensation
influences driver safety.
FMCSA Response: There could be
many factors that influence safe driving
performance. Fatigue, as you point out
is most certainly one of them as past
research has shown. Although this
research will focus on possible
relationships between the various
methods of compensating truck drivers
and unsafe driving practices, data will
be collected on total compensation
allowing this variable to be assessed for
influence on safe driving performance
as well.
Theme: Hourly pay is the best method
of compensation to influence safe
driving behavior.
FMCSA Response: The proposed
study will assess any relationship
between all of the collected
compensation methods and safe driving
behavior. The study will address hourly
pay as well as others to determine if a
relationship between compensation
method and unsafe driver behaviors
exists.
Theme: Pay by the mile/load
compensation methods lead to unsafe
driving behavior.
FMCSA Response: The goal of the
proposed study is to evaluate all
compensation methods including pay
by the mile or load, but the study will
not focus on or emphasize one method
over another and determine if there is
any relationship to safe driving
behavior.
Theme: Driver experience, integrity,
selection and training are factors in safe
driving performance.
FMCSA Response: Driver experience
may very well be a relevant factor in
safe driving performance. The proposed
study will solicit driver total driving
experience as a variable; however, the
goal will be to assess that factor as it
relates to method of compensation. The
FMCSA may consider specifically
studying driver experience, selection
and training in future research efforts.
Theme: Drivers should be
compensated for ‘‘on-duty not driving
time’’ to reduce fatigue.
FMCSA Response: This study will
solicit information on all of the
variations in compensation methods for
a commercial driver, including for onduty not driving time such as standing,
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:18 Feb 03, 2015
Jkt 235001
waiting, loading and unloading. The
goal of this study is to understand all of
the elements of compensation and
determine if there are any common
factors that influence safe driving
performance. Fatigue has been shown to
be a factor in driver performance and
has been linked to crash causation
through other studies conducted in
recent years.
Theme: Fatigue influences driver
safety performance.
FMCSA Response: Public comments
make several points about the Hours of
Service rules that suggest they enable
drivers to drive while fatigued. Past
studies have shown that fatigue has
played a factor in crashes. The proposed
study does not assess the influence of
the Hours of Service regulation with
regards to safety but will use recent
violations related to safe driving such as
speeding as a measure of safe driving
behavior.
Theme: Drivers of non-commercial
vehicles should be trained on safe
interaction with commercial vehicles
and should have hours of service
regulations imposed on their driving
behavior.
FMCSA Response: FMCSA
acknowledges the influence that the
motoring public has on the roadways
with regards to integration with
commercial motor vehicles. To that end,
FMCSA is actively engaged in outreach
and education campaigns such as The
No-Zone and Ticketing Aggressive Cars
and Trucks (TACT) on a national and
state level to increase the awareness of
the public. Given that FMCSA’s
authority does not extend to regulation
of the general public, the agency cannot
regulate their behaviors.
Theme: The FMCSA should focus its
efforts on issues directly related to its
core mission (to reduce crashes, injuries
and fatalities involving large trucks and
buses) and not engage its resources with
the business relationship between motor
carriers and drivers.
FMCSA Response: The FMCSA strives
to pursue its mission using a strategic
approach that not only includes
enhancing and enforcing the Federal
Motor Carrier Regulations but also
reducing the number and severity of
commercial motor vehicle (CMV)
crashes and enhancing the efficiency of
CMV operations by conducting
systematic studies directed toward
fuller scientific discovery, knowledge,
or understanding (FMCSA Analysis,
Research and Technology Mission
Statement). Conducting research to
understand the nature of an industry or
entity and the means by which it
conducts its business and operations is
at the heart of any safety-conscious
PO 00000
Frm 00122
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
work environment including the motor
carrier industry. The proposed study is
within the FMCSA’s mission and is in
the best interests of public safety and
the motor carrier industry.
Theme: The proposed study implies
the FMCSA has a predisposition to
eliminating all forms of pay except
hourly.
FMCSA Response: This study is
designed to capture information on all
methods of pay across the motor carrier
industry independent of the type of
operation and assess its potential
relationship to safe driver behavior.
This research is being conducted to
determine whether there is a statistical
relationship between method of driver
compensation and safety.
Theme: The proposed ICR needs to
consider additional influential variables
related to safety performance.
FMCSA Response: The FMCSA
acknowledges that many factors may
affect safe driving performance such as
driver experience, training, type of
operation, as well as geographic location
and so on. This study will focus on how
compensation of any method or
combination affects driver safety
performance. Future research efforts
may focus on other areas of carrier
operations or driver performance.
Theme: The FMCSA needs to improve
the quality of investigative activities to
foster safety through compliance.
FMCSA Response: The proposed
study does not address investigative
activities and their relationship to safe
driving behavior but may be considered
for future research. The FMCSA is
continuously improving its approach
and quality of field activities through
policy and training efforts.
Theme: Passenger carrier companies
and drivers and the impact of overtime
exemptions should be included in the
proposed research.
FMCSA Response: The Motorcoach
industry is a unique operating
environment with a differing set of
variables that may influence the
research. The FMCSA recognizes the
value of understanding the potential
effects that compensation may have on
safety as well as many other industry
issues. The proposed study is focused
on non-passenger commercial
operations but will address overtime as
a component of compensation packages.
Future research efforts may be designed
to include passenger carrier operations
and their unique operational
characteristics.
Theme: The proposed research should
include driver’s insights on how
compensation impacts safety
performance. Further, the study should
be concerned with truthful reporting
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04FEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2015 / Notices
and the quality of information from
respondents.
FMCSA Response: The proposed
study will use current data from the
FMCSA safety data systems collected
from carrier investigations and roadside
activities. This data is driver specific
and will be used to compare safety
performance to compensation methods.
In the case where a motor carrier has
only one method of pay, a direct
relationship can be considered.
However, in the case where multiple
methods of pay are used by a single
carrier, then the survey questionnaire
will expand to solicit individual driver
compensation characteristics and safety
history. In this way, the research
considers drivers and their contribution
to the safety. Truthful reporting is
always a concern in any research effort.
The goal is to remove as much opinion
and focus on verifiable, quantitative
data. The FMCSA recognizes the need to
validate collected information and will
use all means available to crossreference data where possible.
Public Comments Invited: You are
asked to comment on any aspect of this
information collection, including: (1)
Whether the proposed collection is
necessary for the FMCSA to perform its
functions; (2) the accuracy of the
estimated burden; (3) ways for the
FMCSA to enhance the quality,
usefulness, and clarity of the collected
information; and (4) ways that the
burden could be minimized without
reducing the quality of the collected
information.
Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87
on: January 23, 2015.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of
Research and Information Technology and
Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015–02136 Filed 2–3–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2014–0107]
Qualification of Drivers; Application for
Exemptions; Hearing
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of applications for
exemptions; request for comments.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY:
FMCSA announces that 10
individuals have applied for a medical
exemption from the hearing requirement
in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations (FMCSRs). In accordance
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:18 Feb 03, 2015
Jkt 235001
with the statutory requirements
concerning applications for exemptions,
FMCSA requests public comments on
these requests. The statute and
implementing regulations concerning
exemptions require that exemptions
must provide an equivalent or greater
level of safety than if they were not
granted. If the Agency determines the
exemptions would satisfy the statutory
requirements and decides to grant
theses requests after reviewing the
public comments submitted in response
to this notice, the exemptions would
enable 10 individuals to operate CMVs
in interstate commerce.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before March 6, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
bearing the Federal Docket Management
System (FDMS) Docket No. FMCSA–
2014–0107 using any of the following
methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
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: West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington,
DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET,
Monday through Friday, except Federal
Holidays.
• 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., ET, 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 online.
Privacy Act: Anyone may search the
electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the
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6161
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:
Charles A. Horan, III, Director, Office of
Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety, (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:
Background
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration has authority to grant
exemptions from many of the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
(FMCSRs) under 49 U.S.C. 31315 and
31136(e), as amended by Section 4007
of the Transportation Equity Act for the
21st Century (TEA- 21) (Pub. L. 105–
178, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 107, 401).
FMCSA has published in 49 CFR part
381, subpart C final rules implementing
the statutory changes in its exemption
procedures made by section 4007, 69 FR
51589 (August 20, 2004).1 Under the
rules in part 381, subpart C, FMCSA
must publish a notice of each exemption
request in the Federal Register. The
Agency must provide the public with an
opportunity to inspect the information
relevant to the application, including
any safety analyses that have been
conducted and any research reports,
technical papers and other publications
referenced in the application. The
Agency must also provide an
opportunity to submit public comment
on the applications for exemption.
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
without the exemption. The decision of
the Agency must be published in the
Federal Register. If the Agency denies
the request, it must state the reason for
doing so. If the decision is to grant the
exemption, the notice must specify the
person or class of persons receiving the
exemption and the regulatory provision
1 This action adopted as final rules the interim
final rules issued by FMCSA’s predecessor in 1998
(63 FR 67600 (Dec. 8, 2008)), and adopted by
FMCSA in 2001 [66 FR 49867 (Oct. 1, 2001)].
E:\FR\FM\04FEN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6159-6161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02136]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2014-0325]
Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information
Collection Request: The Impact of Driver Compensation on Commercial
Motor Vehicle Safety
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 FMCSA requests approval of a new ICR titled, ``The
Impact of Driver Compensation on Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety,'' to
assess the current compensation practices of commercial vehicle drivers
and the potential influence this may have on safe commercial vehicle
operations.
DATES: Please send your comments by March 6, 2015. OMB must receive
your comments by this date in order to act quickly on the ICR.
ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2014-0325. Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments on the proposed information
collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office
of Management and Budget. Comments should be addressed to the attention
of the Desk Officer, Department of Transportation/Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration, and sent via electronic mail to
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov, or faxed to (202) 395-6974, or mailed to
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management
and Budget, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20503.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Theresa Hallquist, Analysis,
Research and Technology Division, Department of Transportation, FMCSA,
West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC
20590. Telephone: 202-366-1064; email: theresa.hallquist@dot.gov.
Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal Holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: The Impact of Driver Compensation on Commercial Motor
Vehicle Safety.
OMB Control Number: 21XX-00XX.
Type of Request: New information collection.
Respondents: Safety Managers, Operations Managers or Owner
Operators of commercial motor carriers companies.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 2184.
Estimated Time per Response: Minimum response = 0.27; Maximum
response = 1.02 hours.
Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new information collection.
Frequency of Response: One questionnaire per participant.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1343 hours (Group 1 is defined as
very small and small carriers and Group 2 is defined as medium and
large carriers. (1164 Group 1 respondents x 0.27 hours = 303 hours) +
(1020 Group 2 respondents x 1.02 hours = 1,040 hours)).
Background: The study will evaluate the relationship between
property carrying motor carriers compensation methods and incidences of
unsafe driving. In particular, the research team will determine if
there is a potential relationship between method of driver compensation
and safe driving behavior. This study will be conducted using an online
questionnaire. Randomly selected non-passenger motor carriers will be
notified by letter from the FMCSA that explains the study and elicits
their participation. Participants will receive an email directing them
to a Web site to complete the online questionnaire. This study will
assist motor carriers and other stakeholders engaged in commercial
vehicle safety by enabling them to make informed decisions regarding
driver compensation as it relates to safe driving performance. The form
MCSA-5887 will be used in an electronic format on the web to collect
responses from study participants. The results of the study will be
available to the public in 2015 and will be published on the FMCSA
publications and reports Web site, www.fmcsa.dot.gov. No physical or
psychological risks to individuals are anticipated as a result of the
study, nor are risks to personally identifiable information.
Comments From the Public: On August 29, 2014, FMCSA published a
Federal Register notice (79 FR 51638) allowing for a 60-day comment
period on this ICR. The Agency received forty-seven (47) unique public
comments which have been reviewed and grouped by common themes. Note
that there are 49 comments indicated for the notice. Two of these
comments are duplicate postings. Some comments addressed multiple
themes but are grouped here only by their primary theme. These themes
and the FMCSA responses are included below. Formal comments were
received from the following organizations: the American Trucking
Associations; Road Safe America; the AFL-CIO Amalgamated Transit Union;
the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department; and the Owner-Operator
Independent Driver Association. The FMCSA has responded in kind to
these organizations with formal and direct communication; however, in
addition, these comments have been assessed for common themes and are
reflected in the
[[Page 6160]]
agency's responses below along with the entirety of the public
comments. The full analysis of the public comments and their subsequent
responses are illustrated in a document titled,
FMCSA_Response_To_FRN2014-0325, which can be accessed and viewed in the
supplemental section for this notice.
The FMSCA responses to the public comments are as follows:
Theme: Total compensation influences driver safety.
FMCSA Response: There could be many factors that influence safe
driving performance. Fatigue, as you point out is most certainly one of
them as past research has shown. Although this research will focus on
possible relationships between the various methods of compensating
truck drivers and unsafe driving practices, data will be collected on
total compensation allowing this variable to be assessed for influence
on safe driving performance as well.
Theme: Hourly pay is the best method of compensation to influence
safe driving behavior.
FMCSA Response: The proposed study will assess any relationship
between all of the collected compensation methods and safe driving
behavior. The study will address hourly pay as well as others to
determine if a relationship between compensation method and unsafe
driver behaviors exists.
Theme: Pay by the mile/load compensation methods lead to unsafe
driving behavior.
FMCSA Response: The goal of the proposed study is to evaluate all
compensation methods including pay by the mile or load, but the study
will not focus on or emphasize one method over another and determine if
there is any relationship to safe driving behavior.
Theme: Driver experience, integrity, selection and training are
factors in safe driving performance.
FMCSA Response: Driver experience may very well be a relevant
factor in safe driving performance. The proposed study will solicit
driver total driving experience as a variable; however, the goal will
be to assess that factor as it relates to method of compensation. The
FMCSA may consider specifically studying driver experience, selection
and training in future research efforts.
Theme: Drivers should be compensated for ``on-duty not driving
time'' to reduce fatigue.
FMCSA Response: This study will solicit information on all of the
variations in compensation methods for a commercial driver, including
for on-duty not driving time such as standing, waiting, loading and
unloading. The goal of this study is to understand all of the elements
of compensation and determine if there are any common factors that
influence safe driving performance. Fatigue has been shown to be a
factor in driver performance and has been linked to crash causation
through other studies conducted in recent years.
Theme: Fatigue influences driver safety performance.
FMCSA Response: Public comments make several points about the Hours
of Service rules that suggest they enable drivers to drive while
fatigued. Past studies have shown that fatigue has played a factor in
crashes. The proposed study does not assess the influence of the Hours
of Service regulation with regards to safety but will use recent
violations related to safe driving such as speeding as a measure of
safe driving behavior.
Theme: Drivers of non-commercial vehicles should be trained on safe
interaction with commercial vehicles and should have hours of service
regulations imposed on their driving behavior.
FMCSA Response: FMCSA acknowledges the influence that the motoring
public has on the roadways with regards to integration with commercial
motor vehicles. To that end, FMCSA is actively engaged in outreach and
education campaigns such as The No-Zone and Ticketing Aggressive Cars
and Trucks (TACT) on a national and state level to increase the
awareness of the public. Given that FMCSA's authority does not extend
to regulation of the general public, the agency cannot regulate their
behaviors.
Theme: The FMCSA should focus its efforts on issues directly
related to its core mission (to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities
involving large trucks and buses) and not engage its resources with the
business relationship between motor carriers and drivers.
FMCSA Response: The FMCSA strives to pursue its mission using a
strategic approach that not only includes enhancing and enforcing the
Federal Motor Carrier Regulations but also reducing the number and
severity of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes and enhancing the
efficiency of CMV operations by conducting systematic studies directed
toward fuller scientific discovery, knowledge, or understanding (FMCSA
Analysis, Research and Technology Mission Statement). Conducting
research to understand the nature of an industry or entity and the
means by which it conducts its business and operations is at the heart
of any safety-conscious work environment including the motor carrier
industry. The proposed study is within the FMCSA's mission and is in
the best interests of public safety and the motor carrier industry.
Theme: The proposed study implies the FMCSA has a predisposition to
eliminating all forms of pay except hourly.
FMCSA Response: This study is designed to capture information on
all methods of pay across the motor carrier industry independent of the
type of operation and assess its potential relationship to safe driver
behavior. This research is being conducted to determine whether there
is a statistical relationship between method of driver compensation and
safety.
Theme: The proposed ICR needs to consider additional influential
variables related to safety performance.
FMCSA Response: The FMCSA acknowledges that many factors may affect
safe driving performance such as driver experience, training, type of
operation, as well as geographic location and so on. This study will
focus on how compensation of any method or combination affects driver
safety performance. Future research efforts may focus on other areas of
carrier operations or driver performance.
Theme: The FMCSA needs to improve the quality of investigative
activities to foster safety through compliance.
FMCSA Response: The proposed study does not address investigative
activities and their relationship to safe driving behavior but may be
considered for future research. The FMCSA is continuously improving its
approach and quality of field activities through policy and training
efforts.
Theme: Passenger carrier companies and drivers and the impact of
overtime exemptions should be included in the proposed research.
FMCSA Response: The Motorcoach industry is a unique operating
environment with a differing set of variables that may influence the
research. The FMCSA recognizes the value of understanding the potential
effects that compensation may have on safety as well as many other
industry issues. The proposed study is focused on non-passenger
commercial operations but will address overtime as a component of
compensation packages. Future research efforts may be designed to
include passenger carrier operations and their unique operational
characteristics.
Theme: The proposed research should include driver's insights on
how compensation impacts safety performance. Further, the study should
be concerned with truthful reporting
[[Page 6161]]
and the quality of information from respondents.
FMCSA Response: The proposed study will use current data from the
FMCSA safety data systems collected from carrier investigations and
roadside activities. This data is driver specific and will be used to
compare safety performance to compensation methods. In the case where a
motor carrier has only one method of pay, a direct relationship can be
considered. However, in the case where multiple methods of pay are used
by a single carrier, then the survey questionnaire will expand to
solicit individual driver compensation characteristics and safety
history. In this way, the research considers drivers and their
contribution to the safety. Truthful reporting is always a concern in
any research effort. The goal is to remove as much opinion and focus on
verifiable, quantitative data. The FMCSA recognizes the need to
validate collected information and will use all means available to
cross-reference data where possible.
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed
collection is necessary for the FMCSA to perform its functions; (2) the
accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for the FMCSA to enhance the
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4)
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of
the collected information.
Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87 on: January 23, 2015.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information
Technology and Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-02136 Filed 2-3-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P
