Hours of Service; Electronic Logging Devices; Limited 90-Day Waiver; Truck Renting and Leasing Association, Inc., 2868-2869 [2018-00843]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2018 / Notices
6. Historic and Cultural Resources: Section
106 of the National Historic Preservation
Act of 1966, [54 U.S.C. 306108];
Archeological Resources Protection Act
of 1977 [16 U.S.C. 470(aa)–470(mm)];
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American Grave Protection and
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7. Land: Section 4(f) of The Department of
Transportation Act: [49 U.S.C. 303]
Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA)
[7 U.S.C. 4201–4209]. Solid Waste
Disposal Act, as amended by the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6901, et seq.).
8. Social and Economic: Civil Rights Act of
1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000(d)–2000(d)(1)];
Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real
Property Acquisition Act [42 U.S.C. 61].
9. Wetlands and Water Resources: Clean
Water Act [33 U.S.C 1251–1387(Sections
319, 401, and 404)]; Flood Disaster
Protection Act (42 U.S.C. 4012a 4106).
10. Executive Orders: E.O. 11990 Protection
of Wetlands; E.O. 12898, Federal Actions
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Populations; E.O. 11514 Protection and
Enhancement of Environmental Quality;
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and Construction. The regulations
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program.)
Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139(l)(1)
Issued on: January 9, 2018.
Barbara Breslin,
FHWA Rhode Island Division Second in Line,
Providence, Rhode Island.
[FR Doc. 2018–00665 Filed 1–18–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2016–0428]
Hours of Service; Electronic Logging
Devices; Limited 90-Day Waiver; Truck
Renting and Leasing Association, Inc.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT
ACTION: Notice; grant of waiver.
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY:
FMCSA grants a limited 3month waiver from the Federal hoursof-service (HOS) requirements for
electronic logging devices (ELDs) to
motor carriers and drivers operating
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:05 Jan 18, 2018
Jkt 244001
property-carrying commercial motor
vehicles (CMVs) that are rented for a
period not exceeding 30 days. The
Agency takes this action in response to
a waiver request from the Truck Renting
and Leasing Association, Inc. (TRALA).
The Agency has determined that
granting this waiver is in the public
interest and will likely achieve a level
of safety that is equivalent to the level
that would be achieved absent the
waiver, based on the terms and
conditions imposed.
DATES: This waiver is effective January
19, 2018, through April 19, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Thomas L. Yager, Chief, Driver and
Carrier Operations Division, Office of
Bus and Truck Standards and
Operations, Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave.
SE, Washington, DC 20590. Email:
MCPSD@dot.gov. Phone: (614) 942–
6477.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Legal Basis
The Transportation Equity Act for the
21st Century (TEA–21) (Pub. L. 105–
178, 112 Stat. 107, sec. 4007(a) June 9,
1998) provides the Secretary of
Transportation (the Secretary) the
authority to grant waivers from any of
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations issued under Chapter 313 of
Title 49 of the United States Code or 49
U.S.C. 31136, to a person(s) seeking
regulatory relief (49 U.S.C. 31136(e),
31315(a)). The Secretary must make a
determination that the waiver is in the
public interest and that it is likely to
achieve a level of safety that is
equivalent to, or greater than, the level
of safety that would be obtained in the
absence of the waiver. Individual
waivers may be granted only for a
specific unique, non-emergency event,
for a period up to three months. TEA–
21 authorizes the Secretary to grant
waivers without prior notice or request
for public comment.
The Administrator of FMCSA has
been delegated authority under 49 CFR
1.87(e) to carry out the functions vested
in the Secretary by 49 U.S.C. chapter
311, subchapters I and III, relating to
commercial motor vehicle programs and
safety regulations.
Background
TRALA is a national trade association
representing companies that engage in
commercial truck renting and leasing as
well as consumer truck rentals. Its
membership encompasses major
independent firms such as Ryder
System, Penske Truck Leasing, U-Haul,
Budget, and Enterprise Truck Rental, as
PO 00000
Frm 00102
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
well as small and medium-size
businesses that generally participate as
members of four leasing group systems:
Idealease, NationaLease, PACCAR
Leasing company, and Mack Leasing
System-Volvo Truck Leasing. In total, its
nearly 500 member companies operate
more than 5,000 commercial leasing and
rental locations, and more than 20,000
consumer rental locations throughout
the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
‘‘Renting’’ is a term of art in the vehicle
leasing industry, generally meaning a
transaction granting the exclusive use of
a vehicle for 30 days or less, whereas a
lease generally means a transaction
granting the exclusive use of a vehicle
for more than 30 days.
In November 2016, TRALA submitted
a petition requesting a 5-year exemption
on behalf of operators of propertycarrying commercial motor vehicles
rented for 30 days or fewer from the
requirement that motor carriers whose
drivers are required to keep records of
duty status (RODS) under the HOS rules
generally must employ ELDs beginning
December 18, 2017, in lieu of paper
logs, pursuant to an FMCSA rule
published December 16, 2015 (80 FR
78292). While TRALA stated that it
supported the ELD mandate, it was
concerned about unintended technical
and operational consequences that
would unfairly and adversely affect
short-term rental vehicles, namely, lack
of interoperability between the motor
carrier’s ELD technology and the rental
company’s platform, potentially
precluding data transfer between the
two systems. TRALA also raised
concerns about data liability,
particularly if the rental companies
needed to bear the burden of
safeguarding data on behalf of the motor
carrier.
In accordance with 49 CFR 381.315,
FMCSA sought public comment on
TRALA’s exemption request (82 FR
14789 (Mar. 22, 2017)). FMCSA
evaluated TRALA’s application and the
public comments and granted a limited
exception, subject to specified terms
and conditions, but only for rentals not
exceeding 8 days (82 FR 47306 (Oct. 11,
2017)).
Waiver Request
After FMCSA granted TRALA’s
exemption in part, TRALA filed a
request for a 90-day waiver from the
ELD requirement for truck rentals not
exceeding 30 days. TRALA indicated
that a 90-day waiver would allow rental
companies and their customers ‘‘critical
additional time to develop compliance
strategies’’ to address ‘‘unique issues
relating to the use of ELDs in short-term
rental vehicles’’ and allow time for
E:\FR\FM\19JAN1.SGM
19JAN1
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2018 / Notices
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
TRALA to consider whether to petition
for reconsideration of FMCSA’s action
on its exemption.
TRALA described unique challenges
faced by operators of short-term rentals,
namely the lack of interoperability
between ELD device platforms, a
situation that requires rental companies
to address how their customers’ drivers
might record their HOS using ELDs as
efficiently as possible. TRALA
described several steps its members
have taken since FMCSA’s October 11,
2017, decision granting a partial
exemption for rental trucks, including
building cloud-based portal systems
between ELD providers and purchasers
of ELDs. Nevertheless, TRALA states
that additional time is required and that
a 90-day waiver would allow its
members to continue working through
the issues presented by the required
technology and the need for individual
customer-based compliance strategies.
TRALA stated that the waiver would
not result in any adverse impact on
safety as drivers of rental vehicles
would remain subject to HOS
regulations and the requirement to keep
paper records of duty status under 49
CFR 395.3 and 395.8. Furthermore,
TRALA stated that planned enforcement
activities would not be compromised,
given the decision that CMVs will not
be placed out-of-service and carriers’
Safety Measurement System scores will
not be impacted for failure to employ
ELDs through April 1, 2018.
Finally, TRALA explained why the
waiver would not serve as a safe harbor
for carriers seeking to avoid compliance
with the HOS regulations, given the
increased cost of operating under shortterm rental arrangements.
FMCSA Determination
Given the obstacles to ELD
implementation unique to short-term
CMV rentals and the impact on carriers
renting trucks for a period not exceeding
30 days, FMCSA finds it is in the public
interest to grant a limited 3-month
waiver from the requirement that
carriers and drivers operating rental
CMVs in interstate commerce employ
ELDs effective December 18, 2017. This
waiver will avoid business disruptions
for carriers required to employ shortterm rentals, regardless of the reason,
and allow businesses renting CMVs to
continue their work to reconcile the
ELD requirement with the needs of their
individual customers. Given the brief
time frame during which the waiver will
be in effect and the terms and
conditions applicable to drivers
operating under its provisions, FMCSA
finds that a level of safety is likely to be
achieved that is equivalent to the level
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:05 Jan 18, 2018
Jkt 244001
that would be obtained absent the
waiver. Because this waiver applies to
all short-term truck rentals not
exceeding 30 days, during a time period
both the previous exemption and this
waiver are in effect, this waiver
supersedes the exemption granted to
TRALA on October 11, 2017 (82 FR
47306) to the extent there is any
inconsistency.
Terms and Conditions of the Waiver
(1) This waiver from the requirements
of 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1)(i) is effective from
January 19, 2018, through April 19,
2018.
(2) This exemption covers rental of
any property-carrying CMV for a period
of 30 days or less, regardless of the
reason for the rental. Evidence that a
carrier has replaced one rental CMV
with another on 30-day cycles or
attempted to renew a rental agreement
for the same CMV for a period beyond
30 days will be regarded as a violation
of the waiver.
(3) Carriers and drivers operating
under this waiver must comply with all
other applicable requirements of the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations, including the preparation
of paper records of duty status (RODS)
for operations which are currently
considered to be subject to the HOS
rules and the record retention
requirements associated with those
RODs and supporting documents.
(4) Motor carriers operating under this
waiver must have a ‘‘satisfactory’’ safety
rating from FMCSA or be unrated; motor
carriers with ‘‘conditional’’ or
‘‘unsatisfactory’’ safety ratings are
prohibited from taking advantage of the
waiver.
(5) Carriers operating under this
waiver must ensure that their drivers
carry a copy of this Federal Register
notice in the vehicle and present it to
motor carrier safety enforcement
officials upon request.
(6) Crash Notification to FMCSA
Carriers operating under this waiver
must notify FMCSA within 5 business
days of any accident (as defined in 49
CFR 390.5), involving any of the motor
carrier’s drivers operating under the
terms of this waiver. The notification
must include the following information:
(a) Identity of Waiver: ‘‘TRALA,’’
(b) Date of the accident,
(c) City or town, and State, in which
the accident occurred, or closest to the
accident scene,
(d) Driver’s name and license number,
(e) Co-driver’s name and license
number (if applicable),
(f) Vehicle number and State license
number,
PO 00000
Frm 00103
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
2869
(g) Number of individuals suffering
physical injury,
(h) Number of fatalities,
(i) The police-reported cause of the
accident,
(j) Whether the driver was cited for
violation of any traffic laws or motor
carrier safety regulations, and
(k) The total driving time and total onduty time period prior to the accident.
Accident notifications must be
emailed to MCPSD@dot.gov.
(7) FMCSA expects that any drivers
and their employing motor carrier
operating under the terms and
conditions of this waiver will maintain
their safety record. Should any safety
problems be discovered, however,
FMCSA will take all steps necessary to
protect the public interest. Use of this
waiver is voluntary, and FMCSA will
immediately revoke the waiver for any
interstate driver or motor carrier for
failure to comply with the terms and
conditions of the waiver.
Preemption of State Requirements
Consistent with 49 U.S.C. 31315(d),
this waiver preempts inconsistent State
or local requirements applicable to
interstate commerce.
Issued on: January 12, 2018.
Cathy F. Gautreaux,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2018–00843 Filed 1–18–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2017–0298]
Hours of Service of Drivers:
Application for Exemption; Motion
Picture Association of America
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of final disposition; grant
of application for exemption.
AGENCY:
FMCSA grants the Motion
Picture Association of America (MPAA)
a five-year exemption from the
electronic logging device (ELD)
requirements for all commercial motor
vehicle (CMV) drivers providing
transportation to or from a theatrical or
television motion picture production
site. MPAA requested this exemption to
allow these drivers to complete paper
records of duty status (RODS) instead of
using an ELD device. FMCSA has
determined that the unique aspects of
these drivers’ operations, combined
with additional oversight of their paper
RODS, is equivalent to that which
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\19JAN1.SGM
19JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2868-2869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00843]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2016-0428]
Hours of Service; Electronic Logging Devices; Limited 90-Day
Waiver; Truck Renting and Leasing Association, Inc.
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT
ACTION: Notice; grant of waiver.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: FMCSA grants a limited 3-month waiver from the Federal hours-
of-service (HOS) requirements for electronic logging devices (ELDs) to
motor carriers and drivers operating property-carrying commercial motor
vehicles (CMVs) that are rented for a period not exceeding 30 days. The
Agency takes this action in response to a waiver request from the Truck
Renting and Leasing Association, Inc. (TRALA). The Agency has
determined that granting this waiver is in the public interest and will
likely achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to the level that
would be achieved absent the waiver, based on the terms and conditions
imposed.
DATES: This waiver is effective January 19, 2018, through April 19,
2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas L. Yager, Chief, Driver and
Carrier Operations Division, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and
Operations, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New
Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590. Email: [email protected]. Phone:
(614) 942-6477.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Legal Basis
The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) (Pub.
L. 105-178, 112 Stat. 107, sec. 4007(a) June 9, 1998) provides the
Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary) the authority to grant
waivers from any of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations issued
under Chapter 313 of Title 49 of the United States Code or 49 U.S.C.
31136, to a person(s) seeking regulatory relief (49 U.S.C. 31136(e),
31315(a)). The Secretary must make a determination that the waiver is
in the public interest and that it is likely to achieve a level of
safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety that
would be obtained in the absence of the waiver. Individual waivers may
be granted only for a specific unique, non-emergency event, for a
period up to three months. TEA-21 authorizes the Secretary to grant
waivers without prior notice or request for public comment.
The Administrator of FMCSA has been delegated authority under 49
CFR 1.87(e) to carry out the functions vested in the Secretary by 49
U.S.C. chapter 311, subchapters I and III, relating to commercial motor
vehicle programs and safety regulations.
Background
TRALA is a national trade association representing companies that
engage in commercial truck renting and leasing as well as consumer
truck rentals. Its membership encompasses major independent firms such
as Ryder System, Penske Truck Leasing, U-Haul, Budget, and Enterprise
Truck Rental, as well as small and medium-size businesses that
generally participate as members of four leasing group systems:
Idealease, NationaLease, PACCAR Leasing company, and Mack Leasing
System-Volvo Truck Leasing. In total, its nearly 500 member companies
operate more than 5,000 commercial leasing and rental locations, and
more than 20,000 consumer rental locations throughout the United
States, Mexico, and Canada. ``Renting'' is a term of art in the vehicle
leasing industry, generally meaning a transaction granting the
exclusive use of a vehicle for 30 days or less, whereas a lease
generally means a transaction granting the exclusive use of a vehicle
for more than 30 days.
In November 2016, TRALA submitted a petition requesting a 5-year
exemption on behalf of operators of property-carrying commercial motor
vehicles rented for 30 days or fewer from the requirement that motor
carriers whose drivers are required to keep records of duty status
(RODS) under the HOS rules generally must employ ELDs beginning
December 18, 2017, in lieu of paper logs, pursuant to an FMCSA rule
published December 16, 2015 (80 FR 78292). While TRALA stated that it
supported the ELD mandate, it was concerned about unintended technical
and operational consequences that would unfairly and adversely affect
short-term rental vehicles, namely, lack of interoperability between
the motor carrier's ELD technology and the rental company's platform,
potentially precluding data transfer between the two systems. TRALA
also raised concerns about data liability, particularly if the rental
companies needed to bear the burden of safeguarding data on behalf of
the motor carrier.
In accordance with 49 CFR 381.315, FMCSA sought public comment on
TRALA's exemption request (82 FR 14789 (Mar. 22, 2017)). FMCSA
evaluated TRALA's application and the public comments and granted a
limited exception, subject to specified terms and conditions, but only
for rentals not exceeding 8 days (82 FR 47306 (Oct. 11, 2017)).
Waiver Request
After FMCSA granted TRALA's exemption in part, TRALA filed a
request for a 90-day waiver from the ELD requirement for truck rentals
not exceeding 30 days. TRALA indicated that a 90-day waiver would allow
rental companies and their customers ``critical additional time to
develop compliance strategies'' to address ``unique issues relating to
the use of ELDs in short-term rental vehicles'' and allow time for
[[Page 2869]]
TRALA to consider whether to petition for reconsideration of FMCSA's
action on its exemption.
TRALA described unique challenges faced by operators of short-term
rentals, namely the lack of interoperability between ELD device
platforms, a situation that requires rental companies to address how
their customers' drivers might record their HOS using ELDs as
efficiently as possible. TRALA described several steps its members have
taken since FMCSA's October 11, 2017, decision granting a partial
exemption for rental trucks, including building cloud-based portal
systems between ELD providers and purchasers of ELDs. Nevertheless,
TRALA states that additional time is required and that a 90-day waiver
would allow its members to continue working through the issues
presented by the required technology and the need for individual
customer-based compliance strategies.
TRALA stated that the waiver would not result in any adverse impact
on safety as drivers of rental vehicles would remain subject to HOS
regulations and the requirement to keep paper records of duty status
under 49 CFR 395.3 and 395.8. Furthermore, TRALA stated that planned
enforcement activities would not be compromised, given the decision
that CMVs will not be placed out-of-service and carriers' Safety
Measurement System scores will not be impacted for failure to employ
ELDs through April 1, 2018.
Finally, TRALA explained why the waiver would not serve as a safe
harbor for carriers seeking to avoid compliance with the HOS
regulations, given the increased cost of operating under short-term
rental arrangements.
FMCSA Determination
Given the obstacles to ELD implementation unique to short-term CMV
rentals and the impact on carriers renting trucks for a period not
exceeding 30 days, FMCSA finds it is in the public interest to grant a
limited 3-month waiver from the requirement that carriers and drivers
operating rental CMVs in interstate commerce employ ELDs effective
December 18, 2017. This waiver will avoid business disruptions for
carriers required to employ short-term rentals, regardless of the
reason, and allow businesses renting CMVs to continue their work to
reconcile the ELD requirement with the needs of their individual
customers. Given the brief time frame during which the waiver will be
in effect and the terms and conditions applicable to drivers operating
under its provisions, FMCSA finds that a level of safety is likely to
be achieved that is equivalent to the level that would be obtained
absent the waiver. Because this waiver applies to all short-term truck
rentals not exceeding 30 days, during a time period both the previous
exemption and this waiver are in effect, this waiver supersedes the
exemption granted to TRALA on October 11, 2017 (82 FR 47306) to the
extent there is any inconsistency.
Terms and Conditions of the Waiver
(1) This waiver from the requirements of 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1)(i) is
effective from January 19, 2018, through April 19, 2018.
(2) This exemption covers rental of any property-carrying CMV for a
period of 30 days or less, regardless of the reason for the rental.
Evidence that a carrier has replaced one rental CMV with another on 30-
day cycles or attempted to renew a rental agreement for the same CMV
for a period beyond 30 days will be regarded as a violation of the
waiver.
(3) Carriers and drivers operating under this waiver must comply
with all other applicable requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Regulations, including the preparation of paper records of duty
status (RODS) for operations which are currently considered to be
subject to the HOS rules and the record retention requirements
associated with those RODs and supporting documents.
(4) Motor carriers operating under this waiver must have a
``satisfactory'' safety rating from FMCSA or be unrated; motor carriers
with ``conditional'' or ``unsatisfactory'' safety ratings are
prohibited from taking advantage of the waiver.
(5) Carriers operating under this waiver must ensure that their
drivers carry a copy of this Federal Register notice in the vehicle and
present it to motor carrier safety enforcement officials upon request.
(6) Crash Notification to FMCSA
Carriers operating under this waiver must notify FMCSA within 5
business days of any accident (as defined in 49 CFR 390.5), involving
any of the motor carrier's drivers operating under the terms of this
waiver. The notification must include the following information:
(a) Identity of Waiver: ``TRALA,''
(b) Date of the accident,
(c) City or town, and State, in which the accident occurred, or
closest to the accident scene,
(d) Driver's name and license number,
(e) Co-driver's name and license number (if applicable),
(f) Vehicle number and State license number,
(g) Number of individuals suffering physical injury,
(h) Number of fatalities,
(i) The police-reported cause of the accident,
(j) Whether the driver was cited for violation of any traffic laws
or motor carrier safety regulations, and
(k) The total driving time and total on-duty time period prior to
the accident.
Accident notifications must be emailed to [email protected].
(7) FMCSA expects that any drivers and their employing motor
carrier operating under the terms and conditions of this waiver will
maintain their safety record. Should any safety problems be discovered,
however, FMCSA will take all steps necessary to protect the public
interest. Use of this waiver is voluntary, and FMCSA will immediately
revoke the waiver for any interstate driver or motor carrier for
failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the waiver.
Preemption of State Requirements
Consistent with 49 U.S.C. 31315(d), this waiver preempts
inconsistent State or local requirements applicable to interstate
commerce.
Issued on: January 12, 2018.
Cathy F. Gautreaux,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2018-00843 Filed 1-18-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P
