Hours of Service of Drivers: RJR Transportation, Inc.; Application for Exemption, 52875-52876 [2018-22702]

Download as PDF khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 202 / Thursday, October 18, 2018 / Notices development of time-on-task fatigue and improves driver performance. Its drivers alternate between driving, unloading, and resting without spending significant continuous periods of time driving; • Its drivers have regular schedules and routes and return home after every trip. Approximately 85% of Transco’s drivers work fixed schedules and routes with minimal trip-to-trip variations. Transco’s trips begin and end at the same place. • Transco practices proactive safety management. In its application, Transco highlights several additional proactive safety management practices currently in place in connection with its grocery operations. These include DriveCam video monitoring; increased safety inspections and meetings; mandatory driver safety training; and manufacturerinstalled collision avoidance systems on the vehicles. According to Transco, as a result of these operational differences, the 30minute rest break requirement does not increase safety when applied to their drivers; instead, it claims the requirement may very well decrease road safety for its drivers. For the typical long-haul CMV driver, the 30minute rest break serves as an opportunity to break the monotony of driving and relieve some of the stress of continuous driving, but Transco’s drivers currently have breaks, which includes physical exercise, several times each day. Providing this exemption would in fact increase safety overall by reducing Transco’s mileage exposure, and thus crash risk, by over 4 million additional miles per year. Transco believes that the requested exemption would achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety that would be obtained by complying with the current regulation. Transco gives the following reasons why the Agency should approve the exemption request: (1) Allowing its drivers to substitute a 30-minute onduty, non-driving break for a 30-minute off-duty break will not reduce safety; (2) No more than 50% of their logged time per working tour is ‘‘on-duty driving’’ time and the non-driving on-duty time is primarily devoted to pick-ups, deliveries and like operations; (3) They return to their point of origin at the end of their trip; (4) No driving is performed 14 hours after coming on duty; (5) Drivers do not drive if more than 8 hours have passed since the driver engaged in 30 consecutive minutes of on-duty non-driving activity; and, (6) The drivers operate CMVs equipped with electronic logging devices compliant with the Agency’s regulations or compliant automatic on-board VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:28 Oct 17, 2018 Jkt 247001 recorders for the period allowed for the use of such devices by FMCSA regulations. A copy of Transco’s application for exemptions is available for review in the docket for this notice. Issued on: October 12, 2018. Larry W. Minor, Associate Administrator for Policy. [FR Doc. 2018–22706 Filed 10–17–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [Docket No. FMCSA–2018–0271] Hours of Service of Drivers: RJR Transportation, Inc.; 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 RJR Transportation, Inc. (RJR) requesting an exemption to increase the 100 air-mile radius in ‘‘short-haul operations’’ to 150 air-miles for its drivers. This would enable the drivers not exceeding the 150 air-mile radius to utilize time records instead of a complete record of duty status (RODS) for that day. RJR believes that the exemption, if granted, will achieve a level of safety equivalent to the level that would be achieved absent the exemption. FMCSA requests public comment on RJR’s application for exemption. SUMMARY: Comments must be received on or before November 19, 2018. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket Management System Number FMCSA– 2018–0271 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. E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. • Fax: 1–202–493–2251. Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket number for DATES: PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 52875 this notice. Note that DOT posts all comments received without change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal information included in a comment. Please see the Privacy Act heading below. Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments, go to 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: Mr. Richard Clemente, FMCSA Driver and Carrier Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety Standards; Telephone: (202) 366–2722; 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: I. 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–2018–0271), 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–2018–0271’’ 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 E:\FR\FM\18OCN1.SGM 18OCN1 52876 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 202 / Thursday, October 18, 2018 / Notices 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 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. II. Legal Basis khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315 to grant exemptions from certain Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. 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 VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:28 Oct 17, 2018 Jkt 247001 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)). III. Request for Exemption RJR Transportation, Inc. (RJR), USDOT 629200, is requesting an exemption to increase the 100 air-mile radius in 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1) to 150 airmiles for its drivers. This would enable the drivers not exceeding the 150 airmile radius to utilize time records instead of a complete record of duty status (RODS) for that day. RJR is a local trucking operation based in Northern California operating on dedicated routes, with more than 98 percent of its trips within the 100 airmile radius, short-haul exception. RJR primarily operates commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) over 55,000 pounds. Most of RJR’s drivers qualify for and operate under the 100 air-mile radius exemption in 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1); on a weekly or monthly basis, fewer than 5 percent of its drivers may exceed the 100 air-mile radius but not a 150 airmile radius. Specifically, RJR services three areas outside the 100 air-mile radius which are all between 100 to 140 air-miles from the normal work reporting location. RJR states that it will be forced to make a substantial investment in updating its vehicle fleet to include electronic logging devices (ELDs) for just this short extension of the 100 air-mile radius. PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 9990 Currently, RJR has five drivers who maintain paper RODS, but all of its 60 CMVs need to be equipped with ELDs in order to give the company the flexibility to put any driver in any vehicle, as it does now. Local pickup and delivery services operate under significantly different circumstances than interstate or long-haul over-theroad truck drivers. This not only presents a substantial and ongoing financial commitment in updating its fleet, but it also creates an additional regulatory requirement that will have to be managed on a daily basis. RJR states in its application that in order to insure an equivalent level of safety, it will continue to require its drivers to attend and participate in monthly safety meetings, including the promotion of safety through the company’s Safety Incentive Program rewarding drivers for driving records free from accidents and moving violations. RJR will further continue to utilize continuous automatic event recorders, which capture among other things, speed, global positioning system location, hard braking events, and sudden turns. RJR believes that granting the exemption will achieve a level of safety equivalent to the level that would be achieved absent the proposed exemption. A copy of RJR’s application for exemptions is available for review in the docket for this notice. Issued on: October 12, 2018. Larry W. Minor, Associate Administrator for Policy. [FR Doc. 2018–22702 Filed 10–17–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P E:\FR\FM\18OCN1.SGM 18OCN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 202 (Thursday, October 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52875-52876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22702]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION



Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration



[Docket No. FMCSA-2018-0271]




Hours of Service of Drivers: RJR Transportation, Inc.; 

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 RJR 

Transportation, Inc. (RJR) requesting an exemption to increase the 100 

air-mile radius in ``short-haul operations'' to 150 air-miles for its 

drivers. This would enable the drivers not exceeding the 150 air-mile 

radius to utilize time records instead of a complete record of duty 

status (RODS) for that day. RJR believes that the exemption, if 

granted, will achieve a level of safety equivalent to the level that 

would be achieved absent the exemption. FMCSA requests public comment 

on RJR's application for exemption.



DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 19, 2018.



ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 

Management System Number FMCSA-2018-0271 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. 

E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.

    Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket number 

for this notice. Note that DOT posts all comments received without 

change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 

included in a comment. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.

    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 

comments, go to 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: Mr. Richard Clemente, FMCSA Driver and 

Carrier Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle 

Safety Standards; Telephone: (202) 366-2722; Email: [email protected]. If 

you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, 

contact Docket Services, telephone (202) 366-9826.



SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 



I. 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-2018-0271), 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-2018-0271'' 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



[[Page 52876]]



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.



II. Legal Basis



    FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315 to grant 

exemptions from certain Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. 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)).



III. Request for Exemption



    RJR Transportation, Inc. (RJR), USDOT 629200, is requesting an 

exemption to increase the 100 air-mile radius in 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1) to 

150 air-miles for its drivers. This would enable the drivers not 

exceeding the 150 air-mile radius to utilize time records instead of a 

complete record of duty status (RODS) for that day.

    RJR is a local trucking operation based in Northern California 

operating on dedicated routes, with more than 98 percent of its trips 

within the 100 air-mile radius, short-haul exception. RJR primarily 

operates commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) with a gross vehicle weight 

rating (GVWR) over 55,000 pounds.

    Most of RJR's drivers qualify for and operate under the 100 air-

mile radius exemption in 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1); on a weekly or monthly 

basis, fewer than 5 percent of its drivers may exceed the 100 air-mile 

radius but not a 150 air-mile radius. Specifically, RJR services three 

areas outside the 100 air-mile radius which are all between 100 to 140 

air-miles from the normal work reporting location. RJR states that it 

will be forced to make a substantial investment in updating its vehicle 

fleet to include electronic logging devices (ELDs) for just this short 

extension of the 100 air-mile radius.

    Currently, RJR has five drivers who maintain paper RODS, but all of 

its 60 CMVs need to be equipped with ELDs in order to give the company 

the flexibility to put any driver in any vehicle, as it does now. Local 

pickup and delivery services operate under significantly different 

circumstances than interstate or long-haul over-the-road truck drivers. 

This not only presents a substantial and ongoing financial commitment 

in updating its fleet, but it also creates an additional regulatory 

requirement that will have to be managed on a daily basis.

    RJR states in its application that in order to insure an equivalent 

level of safety, it will continue to require its drivers to attend and 

participate in monthly safety meetings, including the promotion of 

safety through the company's Safety Incentive Program rewarding drivers 

for driving records free from accidents and moving violations. RJR will 

further continue to utilize continuous automatic event recorders, which 

capture among other things, speed, global positioning system location, 

hard braking events, and sudden turns. RJR believes that granting the 

exemption will achieve a level of safety equivalent to the level that 

would be achieved absent the proposed exemption. A copy of RJR's 

application for exemptions is available for review in the docket for 

this notice.



    Issued on: October 12, 2018.

Larry W. Minor,

Associate Administrator for Policy.

[FR Doc. 2018-22702 Filed 10-17-18; 8:45 am]

 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P

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