Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of a Currently-Approved Collection: Driver Qualification Files, 26933-26934 [2019-12169]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 111 / Monday, June 10, 2019 / Notices Service Violations (GAO–11–198),1 recommended that ‘‘FMCSA examine the extent to which detention time contributes to hours of service violations in its future studies on driver fatigue and detention time.’’ In response to the GAO report, FMCSA sponsored a study 2 among a sample of carriers which generated estimates of driver delay times. Among the sampled carriers, the study found that drivers experienced detention time during approximately 10 percent of their stops for an average duration of 1.4 hours beyond a commonly accepted two-hour loading and unloading period [total driver wait time = (legitimate loading/ unloading time) + (delay times)]. Most recently, in a 2018 report titled Estimates Show Commercial Driver Detention Increases Crash Risks and Costs, but Current Data Limit Further Analysis,3 DOT’s Office of Inspector General recommended that FMCSA collaborate with industry stakeholders to develop and implement a plan to collect and analyze reliable, accurate, and representative data on the frequency and severity of driver detention. Although the above referenced studies estimated overall wait times, they were not able to separate normal loading and unloading times (e.g., the time it would usually take to load and unload a CMV under typical schedules) from detention time (delays in the start of the loading and unloading process which disrupt the driver’s available driving and/or onduty time). This is a critical data gap in our understanding of the detention issue. FMCSA is interested in data sources, methodologies, and potential technologies that could provide insight into loading and unloading delays experienced by CMV drivers. khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES III. Request for Information Specifically, FMCSA requests information that addresses the following questions: 1. Are data currently available that can accurately record loading, unloading, and delay times? 2. Is there technology available that could record and delineate prompt loading and unloading times versus the extended delays sometimes experienced by drivers? 3. How can delay times be captured and recorded in a systematic, comparable manner? 1 https://www.gao.gov/assets/320/315297.pdf. 2 Driver Detention Times in Commercial Motor Vehicle Operations (December 2014), https:// rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/194/dot_194_DS1.pdf? 3 https://www.oig.dot.gov/library-item/36237. VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:45 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 247001 4. Could systematic collection and publication of loading, unloading, and delay times be useful in driver or carrier business decisions and help to reduce loading, unloading, and delay times? 5. What should FMCSA use as an estimate of reasonable loading/ unloading time? Please provide a basis for your response. 6. How do contract arrangements between carriers and shippers address acceptable wait times? Do these arrangements include penalties for delays attributable to a carrier or shipper? 7. What actions by FMCSA, within its current statutory authority, would help to reduce loading, unloading, and delay times? Issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on: June 4, 2019. Raymond P. Martinez, Administrator. [FR Doc. 2019–12167 Filed 6–7–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [Docket No. FMCSA–2019–0102] Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of a CurrentlyApproved Collection: Driver Qualification Files Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT. ACTION: Notice and request for comments. AGENCY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), FMCSA announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and approval and invites public comment. FMCSA requests approval to revise and renew an ICR titled ‘‘Driver Qualification Files,’’ OMB Control Number 2126– 0004. The ICR estimates the burden commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers and motor carriers incur to comply with the reporting and recordkeeping tasks required for motor carriers to maintain driver qualification (DQ) files. The Agency’s regulations pertaining to maintaining DQ files are unchanged and impose no increased information collection (IC) burden on individual drivers and motor carriers. However, the Agency increases its estimate of the total IC burden of these regulations primarily because both the number of CMV drivers and the SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00125 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 26933 frequency of their hiring have increased since the Agency’s 2016 estimate of this burden. DATES: FMCSA must receive your comments to this notice on or before August 9, 2019. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket Management System Number FMCSA– 2019–0102 using any of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • Fax: 1–202–493–2251. • Mail: Docket 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: Same as mail address above between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. • Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see the Public Participation heading below. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to https:// www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading below. • Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to https:// www.regulations.gov, and follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets, or go to the street address listed above. • Privacy Act: 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.transportation.gov/ privacy. • Public Participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ‘‘help’’ section of the Federal eRulemaking Portal website. If you want us to notify you that we received your comments, please include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that appears after submitting comments online. Comments received after the comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be considered to the extent practicable. E:\FR\FM\10JNN1.SGM 10JNN1 26934 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 111 / Monday, June 10, 2019 / Notices Ms. Pearlie Robinson, Driver and Carrier Operations Division, DOT, FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202–366–4325. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: The Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98–554, Title II, 98 Stat. 2834 (October 30, 1984)) requires the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations pertaining to commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety. Part 391 of volume 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contains the minimum qualifications of drivers of CMVs in interstate commerce. Motor carriers may not require or permit an unqualified driver to operate a CMV. The foremost proof of driver qualification is the information that part 391 requires be collected and maintained in the driver qualification file (DQ file) (49 CFR 391.51). Motor carriers must obtain this information from sources specified in the regulations, such as the driver, previous employers of the driver, and officials of the State of driver licensure. Motor carriers are not required to forward DQ information to FMCSA, but must maintain the information in a DQ file and make it available to State and Federal safety investigators on demand. Through this ICR, FMCSA is asking OMB’s approval to renew and revisee its estimate of the paperwork burden imposed by its DQ file regulations. The regulations have not been amended; the IC burden imposed on individual drivers and motor carriers by the regulations is unchanged. The current IC burden estimate approved by OMB is 10.21 million hours. The Agency has increased its estimate of the total IC burden from 10.21 million hours to 12.26 million hours. The increase in burden hours is primarily the result of a larger driver population and a higher driver turnover rate, both of which affect the volume of documents produced and filed in DQ files. This revised ICR removes the medical examiner’s certificate recordkeeping requirement from the estimate of burden hours and cost to eliminate double counting. Although the currently approved ICR did not monetize driver and motor carrier burden hours, the revised ICR monetizes such burden. The draft supporting statement for this ICR is available in the docket. Title: Driver Qualification Files. OMB Control Number: 2126–0004. Type of Request: Renewal and revision of a currently-approved information collection. khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:45 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 247001 Respondents: CMV motor carriers and drivers. Estimated Number of Respondents: 6.89 million (6.35 million drivers + 0.54 million motor carriers). Expiration Date: January 31, 2020. Frequency of Response: The information on some DQ documents is only provided one time, such as that furnished at the time the individual applies for employment as a driver. Other information must be obtained by the motor carrier within 30 days of the date the driver begins to drive a CMV for the employer. Other information, such as the driver’s motor vehicle record, is only updated once a year. Estimated Total Annual Burden: 12.26 million hours. Public Comments Invited: FMCSA requests that you comment on any aspect of this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary for FMCSA to perform its functions; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for 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. The Agency will summarize or include your comments in the request for OMB’s clearance of this information collection. Issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on: June 4, 2019. Kelly Regal, Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information Technology. [FR Doc. 2019–12169 Filed 6–7–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Railroad Administration [Docket Number FRA–2019–0042] Petition for Waiver of Compliance Under part 211 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), this document provides the public notice that on May 29, 2019, the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad, Inc. (BPRR), petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for a waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Federal railroad safety regulations contained at 49 CFR part 240, Qualification and Certification of Locomotive Engineers, and part 242, Qualification and Certification of Conductors. FRA assigned the petition Docket Number FRA–2019–0042. The relief is requested as part of BPRR’s proposed implementation of and participation in FRA’s Confidential PO 00000 Frm 00126 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) Program. BPRR seeks to shield reporting employees and the railroad from mandatory punitive sanctions that would otherwise arise as provided in 49 CFR 240.117(e)(1)–(4); 240.305(a)(l)–(4) and (a)(6); 240.307; 242.403(b), (c), (e)(l)–(4), (e)(6)–(11), and (f)(l)–(2). The C3RS Program encourages certified operating crew members to report close calls and protect the employees and the railroad from discipline or sanctions arising from the incidents reported per the C3RS Implementing Memorandum of Understanding. A copy of the petition, as well as any written communications concerning the petition, is available for review online at www.regulations.gov and in person at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Docket Operations Facility, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, W12–140, Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Operations Facility is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings by submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate scheduling a public hearing in connection with these proceedings since the facts do not appear to warrant a hearing. If any interested parties desire an opportunity for oral comment and a public hearing, they should notify FRA, in writing, before the end of the comment period and specify the basis for their request. All communications concerning these proceedings should identify the appropriate docket number and may be submitted by any of the following methods: • Website: https:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • Fax: 202–493–2251. • Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, W12–140, Washington, DC 20590. • Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room W12–140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. Communications received by July 25, 2019 will be considered by FRA before final action is taken. Comments received after that date will be considered if practicable. Anyone can search the electronic form of any written communications and comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the document, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). E:\FR\FM\10JNN1.SGM 10JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 111 (Monday, June 10, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26933-26934]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12169]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2019-0102]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of a Currently-
Approved Collection: Driver Qualification Files

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
FMCSA announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request 
(ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
its review and approval and invites public comment. FMCSA requests 
approval to revise and renew an ICR titled ``Driver Qualification 
Files,'' OMB Control Number 2126-0004. The ICR estimates the burden 
commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers and motor carriers incur to 
comply with the reporting and recordkeeping tasks required for motor 
carriers to maintain driver qualification (DQ) files. The Agency's 
regulations pertaining to maintaining DQ files are unchanged and impose 
no increased information collection (IC) burden on individual drivers 
and motor carriers. However, the Agency increases its estimate of the 
total IC burden of these regulations primarily because both the number 
of CMV drivers and the frequency of their hiring have increased since 
the Agency's 2016 estimate of this burden.

DATES: FMCSA must receive your comments to this notice on or before 
August 9, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System Number FMCSA-2019-0102 using any of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket 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: Same as mail address above 
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.
     Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name 
and docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments, 
see the Public Participation heading below. Note that all comments 
received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act 
heading below.
     Docket: For access to the docket to read background 
documents or comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov, and 
follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets, or go to the 
street address listed above.
     Privacy Act: 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.transportation.gov/privacy.
     Public Participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is 
available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain 
electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the 
``help'' section of the Federal eRulemaking Portal website. If you want 
us to notify you that we received your comments, please include a self-
addressed, stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgement 
page that appears after submitting comments online. Comments received 
after the comment closing date will be included in the docket and will 
be considered to the extent practicable.

[[Page 26934]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Pearlie Robinson, Driver and 
Carrier Operations Division, DOT, FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-4325. 
Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background: The Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-554, 
Title II, 98 Stat. 2834 (October 30, 1984)) requires the Secretary of 
Transportation to issue regulations pertaining to commercial motor 
vehicle (CMV) safety. Part 391 of volume 49 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR) contains the minimum qualifications of drivers of 
CMVs in interstate commerce.
    Motor carriers may not require or permit an unqualified driver to 
operate a CMV. The foremost proof of driver qualification is the 
information that part 391 requires be collected and maintained in the 
driver qualification file (DQ file) (49 CFR 391.51). Motor carriers 
must obtain this information from sources specified in the regulations, 
such as the driver, previous employers of the driver, and officials of 
the State of driver licensure. Motor carriers are not required to 
forward DQ information to FMCSA, but must maintain the information in a 
DQ file and make it available to State and Federal safety investigators 
on demand.
    Through this ICR, FMCSA is asking OMB's approval to renew and 
revisee its estimate of the paperwork burden imposed by its DQ file 
regulations. The regulations have not been amended; the IC burden 
imposed on individual drivers and motor carriers by the regulations is 
unchanged. The current IC burden estimate approved by OMB is 10.21 
million hours. The Agency has increased its estimate of the total IC 
burden from 10.21 million hours to 12.26 million hours. The increase in 
burden hours is primarily the result of a larger driver population and 
a higher driver turnover rate, both of which affect the volume of 
documents produced and filed in DQ files. This revised ICR removes the 
medical examiner's certificate recordkeeping requirement from the 
estimate of burden hours and cost to eliminate double counting. 
Although the currently approved ICR did not monetize driver and motor 
carrier burden hours, the revised ICR monetizes such burden. The draft 
supporting statement for this ICR is available in the docket.
    Title: Driver Qualification Files.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0004.
    Type of Request: Renewal and revision of a currently-approved 
information collection.
    Respondents: CMV motor carriers and drivers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 6.89 million (6.35 million drivers 
+ 0.54 million motor carriers).
    Expiration Date: January 31, 2020.
    Frequency of Response: The information on some DQ documents is only 
provided one time, such as that furnished at the time the individual 
applies for employment as a driver. Other information must be obtained 
by the motor carrier within 30 days of the date the driver begins to 
drive a CMV for the employer. Other information, such as the driver's 
motor vehicle record, is only updated once a year.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 12.26 million hours.
    Public Comments Invited: FMCSA requests that you comment on any 
aspect of this information collection, including: (1) Whether the 
proposed collection is necessary for FMCSA to perform its functions; 
(2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for 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. The Agency will summarize or 
include your comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this 
information collection.

    Issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on: June 4, 
2019.
Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology.
[FR Doc. 2019-12169 Filed 6-7-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P
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