Hours of Service of Drivers: National Tank Truck Carriers; Application for Exemption, 44871-44873 [2017-20525]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 185 / Tuesday, September 26, 2017 / Notices duration of a driver’s medical certification. The physical qualification standard for drivers regarding hearing found in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(11) states that a person is physically qualified to driver a CMV if that person: First perceives a forced whispered voice in the better ear at not less than 5 feet with or without the use of a hearing aid or, if tested by use of an audiometric device, does not have an average hearing loss in the better ear greater than 40 decibels at 500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, and 2,000 Hz with or without a hearing aid when the audiometric device is calibrated to American National Standard (formerly ASA Standard) Z24.5–1951. 49 CFR 391.41(b)(11) was adopted in 1970, with a revision in 1971 to allow drivers to be qualified under this standard while wearing a hearing aid, 35 FR 6458, 6463 (April 22, 1970) and 36 FR 12857 (July 3, 1971). The two individuals listed in this notice have requested renewal of their exemptions from the hearing standard in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(11), in accordance with FMCSA procedures. Accordingly, FMCSA has evaluated these applications for renewal on their merits and decided to extend each exemption for a renewable two-year period. II. Request for Comments Interested parties or organizations possessing information that would otherwise show that any, or all, of these drivers are not currently achieving the statutory level of safety should immediately notify FMCSA. The Agency will evaluate any adverse evidence submitted and, if safety is being compromised or if continuation of the exemption would not be consistent with the goals and objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, FMCSA will take immediate steps to revoke the exemption of a driver. III. Basis for Renewing Exemptions In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, each of the two applicants have satisfied the renewal conditions for obtaining an exemption from the hearing requirement (80 FR 48394). In addition, for Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) holders, the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) and the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) are searched for crash and violation data. For non-CDL holders, the Agency reviews the driving records from the State Driver’s Licensing Agency (SDLA). These factors provide an adequate basis for predicting each driver’s ability to continue to safely operate a CMV in interstate commerce. Therefore, FMCSA concludes that VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:28 Sep 25, 2017 Jkt 241001 extending the exemption for each of these drivers for a period of two years is likely to achieve a level of safety equal to that existing without the exemption. As of September 12, 2017, and in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, the following two individuals, have satisfied the renewal conditions for obtaining an exemption from the hearing requirement in the FMCSRs for interstate CMV drivers (80 FR 48394): Casey Wayne Patrick (WA) and Eduwin Pineiro (NJ). The drivers were included in docket number FMCSA–2014–0386. The exemptions were applicable on September 12, 2017, and will expire on September 12, 2019. IV. Conditions and Requirements The exemptions are extended subject to the following conditions: (1) Each driver must report any crashes or accidents as defined in 49 CFR 390.5; (2) report all citations and convictions for disqualifying offenses under 49 CFR part 383 and 49 CFR 391 to FMCSA, and (3) each driver prohibited from operating a motorcoach or bus with passengers in interstate commerce. The driver must also have a copy of the exemption when driving, for presentation to a duly authorized Federal, State, or local enforcement official. In addition, the exemption does not exempt the individual from meeting the applicable CDL testing requirements. Each exemption will be valid for two years unless rescinded earlier by FMCSA. The exemption will be rescinded if: (1) The person fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the exemption; (2) the exemption has resulted in a lower level of safety than was maintained before it was granted; or (3) continuation of the exemption would not be consistent with the goals and objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315. V. Preemption During the period the exemption is in effect, no State shall enforce any law or regulation that conflicts with this exemption with respect to a person operating under the exemption. VI. Conclusion Based upon its evaluation of the two exemption applications, FMCSA renews the exemptions of the aforementioned drivers from the hearing requirement in 49 CFR 391.41 (b)(11). In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, each exemption will be valid for two years unless revoked earlier by FMCSA. PO 00000 Frm 00113 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 44871 Issued on: September 19, 2017. Larry W. Minor, Associate Administrator for Policy. [FR Doc. 2017–20524 Filed 9–25–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [Docket No. FMCSA–2017–0270] Hours of Service of Drivers: National Tank Truck Carriers; Application for Exemption Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments. AGENCY: FMCSA announces that it has received an application from the National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc. (NTTC) requesting exemption from the requirement that drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) obtain a 30minute rest break. The exemption would enable drivers engaged in the transportation of petroleum-based fuels to use 30 minutes of time attending the load to satisfy the 30-minute rest break requirement. FMCSA requests public comment on NTTC’s application for exemption. SUMMARY: Comments must be received on or before October 26, 2017. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket Management System Number FMCSA– 2017–0270 by any of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. See the Public Participation and Request for Comments section below for further information. • 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., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, 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. DOT posts all comments received without change to www.regulations.gov. This includes any personal information contained in a comment. Please see the Privacy Act heading below. Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or DATES: E:\FR\FM\26SEN1.SGM 26SEN1 44872 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 185 / Tuesday, September 26, 2017 / Notices comments, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or visit 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 on-line FDMS is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this notice, please contact Mr. Tom Yager, Chief, FMCSA Driver and Carrier Operations Division; Telephone: (614) 942–6477; Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, contact Docket Services, telephone (202) 366–9826. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Participation and Request for Comments FMCSA encourages you to participate by submitting comments and related materials. Submitting Comments If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this notice (FMCSA–2017–0270), indicate the specific section of this document to which the comment applies, and provide a reason for suggestions or recommendations. You may submit your comments and material online or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only one of these means. FMCSA recommends that you include your name and a mailing address, an email address, or a phone number in the body of your document so the Agency can contact you if it has questions regarding your submission. To submit your comment online, go to www.regulations.gov and put the docket number, ‘‘FMCSA–2017–0270’’ in the ‘‘Keyword’’ box, and click ‘‘Search.’’ When the new screen appears, click on ‘‘Comment Now!’’ button and type your comment into the text box in the following screen. Choose whether you are submitting your comment as an individual or on behalf of a third party and then submit. If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 81⁄2 by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit comments by mail and would VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:28 Sep 25, 2017 Jkt 241001 like to know that they reached the facility, please enclose a stamped, selfaddressed postcard or envelope. FMCSA will consider all comments and material received during the comment period and may grant or not grant this application based on your comments. the driver’s last off-duty or sleeper-berth period of at least 30 minutes. However, the requirement to take a minimm 30 minute rest break does not apply to drivers operating within the 100 airmile radius ‘‘short haul’’ exemption area. Legal Basis FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315 to grant exemptions from certain Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). FMCSA must publish a notice of each exemption request in the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The Agency must provide the public an opportunity to inspect the information relevant to the application, including any safety analyses that have been conducted. The Agency must also provide an opportunity for public comment on the request. The Agency reviews safety analyses and public comments submitted, and determines whether granting the exemption would likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved by the current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). The decision of the Agency must be published in the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(b)) with the reasons for denying or granting the application and, if granted, the name of the person or class of persons receiving the exemption, and the regulatory provision from which the exemption is granted. The notice must also specify the effective period (up to 5 years) and explain the terms and conditions of the exemption. The exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)). Request for Exemption Applicant NTTC seeks exemption from the 30-minute rest break provision on behalf of motor carriers and drivers engaged in the transportation of petroleum-based products. While it estimates that 38,000 tractors perform these operations daily, the number that would require the exemption would be much smaller. NTTC explains that most drivers engaged in the transportation of petroleum products by CMV qualify for the 100 air-mile exception and thus are not required to observe a 30-minute break. However, on rare occasions, a driver does not qualify for the 100 airmile exception, usually because unexpected interruptions to the workday stretch the driver’s duty day beyond the 12-hour limit of that exception. When this occurs, the driver is required to go off duty for at least 30 minutes. However, even if the driver parks the CMV, he or she must attend it because it is an HM load, and a driver who is attending a load is not considered off duty. NTTC seeks exemption for these drivers to allow them to proceed without observing a 30minute off-duty break. It asks that these drivers be able to designate a period of on-duty waiting time of at least 30 minutes duration to satisfy the restbreak requirement, provided the only work performed during that time is attending the HM load. NTTC indicates that the typical workday of these drivers consists of loading petroleum fuel at one location and then delivering it to 3 or 4 service stations. Some, if not all, of these stops exceed 30 minutes, during which the driver is often only attending the load. NTTC describes this waiting time as restful because the driver is otherwise free to engage in activities such as eating and making personal phone calls. NTTC asserts that exemption for these drivers will result in a level of safety that is equivalent to that achieved without the exemption. It asserts that considerable time is required to locate a suitably secure location for parking an HM load so that the driver can go off duty. NTTC believes that the considerable, additional movement of the CMV for this purpose increases the risk of a crash. It also asserts that the safest approach is to keep the CMV moving toward its destination and cites two authorities for its position. It first Background The HOS rules require most interstate drivers to maintain a record of duty status (RODS) on board the CMV at all times. This record, or log, must reflect the driver’s duty status on that date and for the preceding 7 (or in some cases, 8) days. However, the HOS rules provide an exception to this rule—the 100 airmile radius exception (49 CFR 395.1(e)(1)). This provision relieves CMV drivers of the duty to maintain a log if they remain within a 100 air-mile radius of the normal work reporting location during the duty day and return to the work-reporting location and quit work within 12 hours. The motor carrier must maintain at the principal place of business a record of the time the driver came on duty, the time the driver was released from duty, and the total number of hours the driver was on duty. The HOS rules include a requirement that drivers of property-carrying CMVs take a rest break of at least 30 minutes if 8 hours have passed since the end of PO 00000 Frm 00114 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\26SEN1.SGM 26SEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 185 / Tuesday, September 26, 2017 / Notices cites the Transportation Security Administration’s warning to truckers that vehicles transporting HM are ‘‘targets of choice’’ for terrorists and thus should not be parked en route. Second, NTTC cites a regulation of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (US DOT) stating that ‘‘[a]ll shipments of hazardous materials must be transported without unnecessary delay, from and including the time of commencement of the loading of the hazardous material until its final unloading at destination’’ (49 CFR 177.800(d)). For these reasons, NTTC believes that its drivers should not be required to take a rest break when they discover that they are no longer eligible for the short-haul exemption. NTTC seeks exemption for the maximum period of 5 years. A copy of NTTC’s application for exemption is available in the docket of this matter. Issued on: September 18, 2017 Larry W. Minor, Associate Administrator for Policy. [FR Doc. 2017–20525 Filed 9–25–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Agency Information Collection Activities: Information Collection Revisions; Comment Request; Regulation C; Fair Housing Home Loan Data System Regulation Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Treasury. ACTION: Notice and request for comment. AGENCY: The OCC, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a continuing information collection as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OCC is soliciting comment concerning the revisions of information collections titled ‘‘Regulation C’’ and ‘‘Fair Housing Home Loan Data System Regulation.’’ DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before November 27, 2017. ADDRESSES: Because paper mail in the Washington, DC area and at the OCC is SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:28 Sep 25, 2017 Jkt 241001 subject to delay, commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if possible. Comments may be sent to: Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Attention: 1557–0176; 1557–0159, 400 7th Street SW., Suite 3E–218, Mail Stop 9W–11, Washington, DC 20219. In addition, comments may be sent by fax to (571) 465–4326 or by electronic mail to prainfo@occ.treas.gov. You may personally inspect and photocopy comments at the OCC, 400 7th Street SW., Washington, DC 20219. For security reasons, the OCC requires that visitors make an appointment to inspect comments. You may do so by calling (202) 649–6700 or, for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, TTY, (202) 649– 5597. Upon arrival, visitors will be required to present valid governmentissued photo identification and submit to security screening in order to inspect and photocopy comments. All comments received, including attachments and other supporting materials, are part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. Do not include any information in your comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shaquita Merritt, OCC Clearance Officer, (202) 649–5490 or, for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, TTY, (202) 649–5597, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 400 7th Street SW., Washington, DC 20219. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from the OMB for each collection of information that they conduct or sponsor. ‘‘Collection of information’’ is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to include agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of title 44 requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed revision of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, the OCC is publishing this notice. Titles: Regulation C; Fair Housing Home Loan Data System Regulation. OMB Control Nos.: 1557–0176; 1557– 0159. Type of Review: Regular review. PO 00000 Frm 00115 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 44873 Description: Regulation C,1 which implements the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act 2 (HMDA) enacted in 1975, requires certain depository and non-depository institutions that make certain mortgage loans to collect, report, and disclose data about originations and purchases of mortgage loans, as well as loan applications that do not result in originations. HMDA generates loan data that can be used to: (1) Help determine whether financial institutions are serving the housing needs of their communities; (2) assist public officials in distributing public-sector investments so as to attract private investment to areas where it is needed; and (3) assist in identifying possible discriminatory lending patterns and enforcing anti-discrimination statutes. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 3 (the Dodd-Frank Act) transferred HMDA and its rulemaking authority from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and transferred supervisory and enforcement authority for HMDA for depository institutions over $10 billion in consolidated assets from the Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, OCC, and National Credit Union Administration to the CFPB. The CFPB published a final rule on October 28, 2015, that expanded the data collected and reported under HMDA, as implemented by Regulation C, and published a final rule on September 13, 2017, with additional corrections and clarifications (final rules). The final rules also modified the types of lenders and loans covered under Regulation C. First, for data collected in 2017, and reported in 2018, the rule simply reduces the number of institutions covered under Regulation C because only depositories originating more than 25 closed end loans must report. Then, starting January 1, 2018, an institution will collect expanded data under HMDA if it either originates 25 or more closed-end mortgage loans or 500 or more open-end lines of credit secured by a dwelling in each of the two preceding years, in addition to meeting other criteria. These institutions will begin reporting the expanded HMDA data in 2019. Starting in 2020, an institution will collect data on open-end lines of credit if it originates more than 100 open-end lines of credit secured by a dwelling in each of the two preceding years (and report that open-end lines of credit data beginning in 2021). An 1 12 CFR part 1003. U.S.C. 2801–2811. 3 Public Law 111–203, July 21, 2010. 2 12 E:\FR\FM\26SEN1.SGM 26SEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44871-44873]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-20525]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2017-0270]


Hours of Service of Drivers: National Tank Truck Carriers; 
Application for Exemption

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

ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it has received an application from the 
National Tank Truck Carriers, Inc. (NTTC) requesting exemption from the 
requirement that drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) obtain a 
30-minute rest break. The exemption would enable drivers engaged in the 
transportation of petroleum-based fuels to use 30 minutes of time 
attending the load to satisfy the 30-minute rest break requirement. 
FMCSA requests public comment on NTTC's application for exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 26, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System Number FMCSA-2017-0270 by any of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. See the 
Public Participation and Request for Comments section below for further 
information.
     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., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, 
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. DOT posts all comments received without change to 
www.regulations.gov. This includes any personal information contained 
in a comment. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or

[[Page 44872]]

comments, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or visit 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 on-line FDMS is available 24 hours each 
day, 365 days each year.
    Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits 
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT 
posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information 
the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the 
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.dot.gov/privacy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this 
notice, please contact Mr. Tom Yager, Chief, FMCSA Driver and Carrier 
Operations Division; Telephone: (614) 942-6477; Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. 
If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, 
contact Docket Services, telephone (202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    FMCSA encourages you to participate by submitting comments and 
related materials.

Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
notice (FMCSA-2017-0270), indicate the specific section of this 
document to which the comment applies, and provide a reason for 
suggestions or recommendations. You may submit your comments and 
material online or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only 
one of these means. FMCSA recommends that you include your name and a 
mailing address, an email address, or a phone number in the body of 
your document so the Agency can contact you if it has questions 
regarding your submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to www.regulations.gov and put 
the docket number, ``FMCSA-2017-0270'' in the ``Keyword'' box, and 
click ``Search.'' When the new screen appears, click on ``Comment 
Now!'' button and type your comment into the text box in the following 
screen. Choose whether you are submitting your comment as an individual 
or on behalf of a third party and then submit. If you submit your 
comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no 
larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic 
filing. If you submit comments by mail and would like to know that they 
reached the facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard 
or envelope. FMCSA will consider all comments and material received 
during the comment period and may grant or not grant this application 
based on your comments.

Legal Basis

    FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315 to grant 
exemptions from certain Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations 
(FMCSRs). FMCSA must publish a notice of each exemption request in the 
Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The Agency must provide the 
public an opportunity to inspect the information relevant to the 
application, including any safety analyses that have been conducted. 
The Agency must also provide an opportunity for public comment on the 
request.
    The Agency reviews safety analyses and public comments submitted, 
and determines whether granting the exemption would likely achieve a 
level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be 
achieved by the current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). The decision of 
the Agency must be published in the Federal Register (49 CFR 
381.315(b)) with the reasons for denying or granting the application 
and, if granted, the name of the person or class of persons receiving 
the exemption, and the regulatory provision from which the exemption is 
granted. The notice must also specify the effective period (up to 5 
years) and explain the terms and conditions of the exemption. The 
exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)).

Background

    The HOS rules require most interstate drivers to maintain a record 
of duty status (RODS) on board the CMV at all times. This record, or 
log, must reflect the driver's duty status on that date and for the 
preceding 7 (or in some cases, 8) days. However, the HOS rules provide 
an exception to this rule--the 100 air-mile radius exception (49 CFR 
395.1(e)(1)). This provision relieves CMV drivers of the duty to 
maintain a log if they remain within a 100 air-mile radius of the 
normal work reporting location during the duty day and return to the 
work-reporting location and quit work within 12 hours. The motor 
carrier must maintain at the principal place of business a record of 
the time the driver came on duty, the time the driver was released from 
duty, and the total number of hours the driver was on duty. The HOS 
rules include a requirement that drivers of property-carrying CMVs take 
a rest break of at least 30 minutes if 8 hours have passed since the 
end of the driver's last off-duty or sleeper-berth period of at least 
30 minutes. However, the requirement to take a minimm 30 minute rest 
break does not apply to drivers operating within the 100 air-mile 
radius ``short haul'' exemption area.

Request for Exemption

    Applicant NTTC seeks exemption from the 30-minute rest break 
provision on behalf of motor carriers and drivers engaged in the 
transportation of petroleum-based products. While it estimates that 
38,000 tractors perform these operations daily, the number that would 
require the exemption would be much smaller. NTTC explains that most 
drivers engaged in the transportation of petroleum products by CMV 
qualify for the 100 air-mile exception and thus are not required to 
observe a 30-minute break. However, on rare occasions, a driver does 
not qualify for the 100 air-mile exception, usually because unexpected 
interruptions to the workday stretch the driver's duty day beyond the 
12-hour limit of that exception. When this occurs, the driver is 
required to go off duty for at least 30 minutes. However, even if the 
driver parks the CMV, he or she must attend it because it is an HM 
load, and a driver who is attending a load is not considered off duty. 
NTTC seeks exemption for these drivers to allow them to proceed without 
observing a 30-minute off-duty break. It asks that these drivers be 
able to designate a period of on-duty waiting time of at least 30 
minutes duration to satisfy the rest-break requirement, provided the 
only work performed during that time is attending the HM load. NTTC 
indicates that the typical workday of these drivers consists of loading 
petroleum fuel at one location and then delivering it to 3 or 4 service 
stations. Some, if not all, of these stops exceed 30 minutes, during 
which the driver is often only attending the load. NTTC describes this 
waiting time as restful because the driver is otherwise free to engage 
in activities such as eating and making personal phone calls.
    NTTC asserts that exemption for these drivers will result in a 
level of safety that is equivalent to that achieved without the 
exemption. It asserts that considerable time is required to locate a 
suitably secure location for parking an HM load so that the driver can 
go off duty. NTTC believes that the considerable, additional movement 
of the CMV for this purpose increases the risk of a crash. It also 
asserts that the safest approach is to keep the CMV moving toward its 
destination and cites two authorities for its position. It first

[[Page 44873]]

cites the Transportation Security Administration's warning to truckers 
that vehicles transporting HM are ``targets of choice'' for terrorists 
and thus should not be parked en route. Second, NTTC cites a regulation 
of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (US DOT) 
stating that ``[a]ll shipments of hazardous materials must be 
transported without unnecessary delay, from and including the time of 
commencement of the loading of the hazardous material until its final 
unloading at destination'' (49 CFR 177.800(d)). For these reasons, NTTC 
believes that its drivers should not be required to take a rest break 
when they discover that they are no longer eligible for the short-haul 
exemption.
    NTTC seeks exemption for the maximum period of 5 years. A copy of 
NTTC's application for exemption is available in the docket of this 
matter.

    Issued on: September 18, 2017
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2017-20525 Filed 9-25-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P
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