Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information Collection: Study of Warning Devices for Stopped Commercial Motor Vehicles, 1591-1593 [2025-00120]
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lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 5 / Wednesday, January 8, 2025 / Notices
contract service for universities, sports
teams, and other business, as well as
event-specific charter services for
weddings, conventions and other events
with service in Minnesota, Wisconsin,
and neighboring states. (Id.) According
to the application, approximately 70%
of Ready Bus’s motorcoach service is
conducted within Minnesota or
Wisconsin; most of the remaining
service is regionally concentrated in
Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana,
and the rest is spread out nationally
based on customer demand for special
event service. (Id. at 15.) Applicants
state that Ready Bus operates
approximately 59 power units and
employs approximately 56 drivers. (Id.)
Under 49 U.S.C. 14303(b), the Board
must approve and authorize a
transaction that it finds consistent with
the public interest, taking into
consideration at least (1) the effect of the
proposed transaction on the adequacy of
transportation to the public, (2) the total
fixed charges resulting from the
proposed transaction, and (3) the
interest of affected carrier employees.
Applicants have submitted the
information required by 49 CFR 1182.2,
including information demonstrating
that the proposed transaction is
consistent with the public interest
under 49 U.S.C. 14303(b), see 49 CFR
1182.2(a)(7), and a jurisdictional
statement under 49 U.S.C. 14303(g) that
the aggregate gross operating revenues
of the involved carriers exceeded $2
million during the 12-month period
immediately preceding the filing of the
application, see 49 CFR 1182.2(a)(5).
(Appl. 16.)
Applicants state that their proposed
acquisition of control of the Subject
Carriers will be consistent with the
public interest. (Id. at 17.) Applicants
assert that the adequacy of the
transportation currently provided by the
Subject Carriers will remain intact, as
they have no plans to change the nature
of the transportation services currently
provided by the Subject Carriers or to
terminate any of the student or transit
transportation contracts currently in
place. (Id. at 18.) Applicants also assert
that neither they nor Tiger Infrastructure
Fund LP (including any funds it
manages) directly or indirectly control
any other federally regulated motor
passenger carriers operating in the
United States and therefore own no
businesses that would compete with the
Subject Carriers. (Id. at 17.) Applicants
further state that the Subject Carriers
face significant competition to the
school bus services and motorcoach
services that they provide in the
geographic areas in which they operate.
(Id.) According to Applicants, they also
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17:50 Jan 07, 2025
Jkt 265001
plan to expand and modernize the fleet
in order to provide reliable service to its
current and future customers. (Id. at 18.)
Applicants also state that they plan to
retain the current management of each
of the Subject Carriers, including their
experienced safety managers at the
corporate and local levels, and that the
Seller will also retain a position in
senior management and board
representation, providing Applicants
access to Seller’s years of knowledge
and experience with respect to the
Subject Carriers and the industry more
broadly. (Id.)
With respect to fixed charges,
Applicants state that they are financing
the cost of the proposed transaction
with a combination of debt and equity
capital. (Id. at 19.) According to
Applicants, they do not expect that
these fixed charges will impact the
Subject Carriers’ ability to provide
transportation services to the public
because the debt used to finance the
transaction is a secured credit facility
based on customary terms appropriate
for the asset value of Holdings; each of
the Subject Carriers has a stable revenue
stream from contracts with school
districts, universities, and other
institutional entities, which should be
more than adequate to service existing
and anticipated future debt; and the
proposed transaction will enable the
Subject Carriers to maintain future
financial stability through access to
considerable funds from Tiger
Infrastructure Partners LP and its
affiliates. (Id.)
Applicants state that they do not
expect the proposed transaction to
adversely affect the interest of Subject
Carrier employees, as they currently
have no plans for employee layoffs or
other staffing reductions, nor do they
plan to adversely change any existing
employee benefits. (Id.)
Based on Applicants’ representations,
the Board finds that the acquisition of
control of the Subject Carriers is
consistent with the public interest and
should be tentatively approved and
authorized. If any opposing comments
are timely filed, these findings will be
deemed vacated and, unless a final
decision can be made on the record as
developed, a procedural schedule will
be adopted to reconsider the
application. See 49 CFR 1182.6. If no
opposing comments are filed by the
expiration of the comment period, this
notice will take effect automatically and
will be the final Board action in this
proceeding.
This action is categorically excluded
from environmental review under 49
CFR 1105.6(c).
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1591
Board decisions and notices are
available at www.stb.gov.
It is ordered:
1. The proposed acquisition of control
of the Subject Carriers is approved and
authorized, subject to the filing of
opposing comments.
2. If opposing comments are timely
filed, the findings made in this notice
will be deemed vacated.
3. This notice will be effective
February 25, 2025, unless opposing
comments are filed by February 24,
2025. If any comments are filed,
Applicants may file a reply by March
10, 2025.
4. A copy of this notice will be served
on: (1) the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590; (2)
the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust
Division, 10th Street & Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530;
and (3) the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Office of the General
Counsel, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590.
Decided: January 2, 2025.
By the Board, Board Members Fuchs,
Hedlund, Primus, and Schultz.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2025–00200 Filed 1–7–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2024–0255]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; New Information Collection:
Study of Warning Devices for Stopped
Commercial Motor Vehicles
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
FMCSA announces its plan to submit
the Information Collection Request (ICR)
described below to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for its
review and approval and invites public
comment. This notice invites comments
on a proposed information collection
titled ‘‘Study of Warning Devices for
Stopped Commercial Motor Vehicles.’’
It is an experimental study that requires
data collection for evaluating whether
warning devices meaningfully influence
SUMMARY:
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08JAN1
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 5 / Wednesday, January 8, 2025 / Notices
crash-relevant aspects of human
performance in the presence of a parked
or disabled commercial motor vehicle
(PDCMV), and if so, how and to what
extent. These data collection efforts are
expected to require the participation of
256 drivers.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be
received on or before March 10, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by Docket Number FMCSA–
2024–0255 using any of the following
methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments.
• Mail: Dockets Operations; U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building,
Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590–
0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: Dockets
Operations, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, West Building, Ground
Floor, Washington, DC, 20590–0001
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
To be sure someone is there to help you,
please call (202) 366–9317 or (202) 366–
9826 before visiting Dockets Operations.
• Fax: (202) 493–2251.
To avoid duplication, please use only
one of these four methods. See the
‘‘Public Participation and Request for
Comments’’ portion of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for
instructions on submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Samuel White, Research Division, DOT,
FMCSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
West Building, 6th Floor, Washington,
DC 20590; 202–366–3068;
Samuel.White@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Public Participation and Request for
Comments
If you submit a comment, please
include the docket number for this
notice (FMCSA–2024–0255), indicate
the specific section of this document to
which your comment applies, and
provide a reason for each suggestion or
recommendation. You may submit your
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:50 Jan 07, 2025
Jkt 265001
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 FMCSA can
contact you if there are questions
regarding your submission.
To submit your comment online, go to
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/
FMCSA-2024-0255/document, click on
this notice, click ‘‘Comment,’’ and type
your comment into the text box on the
following screen.
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.
Comments received after the comment
closing date will be included in the
docket and will be considered to the
extent practicable.
Privacy Act
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c),
DOT solicits comments from the public
to better inform its regulatory process.
DOT posts these comments, including
any personal information the
commenter provides, to
www.regulations.gov as described in the
system of records notice DOT/ALL 14
(Federal Docket Management System
(FDMS)), which can be reviewed at
https://www.transportation.gov/
individuals/privacy/privacy-act-systemrecords-notices. The comments are
posted without edits and are searchable
by the name of the submitter.
Background
PDCMVs on the road negatively
impact traffic operations and safety.1 To
increase the conspicuity of PDCMVs
and mitigate crash risk, FMCSA requires
specific warning devices to be carried 2
on all commercial motor vehicles
(CMVs) and, except in the case of
necessary traffic stops, be deployed 3
near the vehicle whenever it is stopped
on the road or shoulder. The Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
(FMCSRs) prescribe specific rules 4
concerning how and where the warning
devices must be placed, based on road
and traffic attributes (e.g., whether the
road is straight or curved, whether the
vehicle is stopped in a business or
residential district, whether the road is
divided or undivided, etc.) as well as
the presence of conditions affecting
visibility (e.g., time of day, physical
obstructions, etc.). These requirements
follow from the basic notion that
increasing the conspicuity of a PDCMV
makes it easier to see and recognize,
PO 00000
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thereby reducing the risk of a crash
involving passing motorists.
In addition, the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
prescribes performance and design
specifications 5 for warning devices
under 49 CFR 571.125 of the Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. For
instance, this standard establishes
minimum specifications for factors
affecting the conspicuity (including
reflectivity, color, luminance) of
warning triangles, the most commonly
utilized type of warning device (due to
their reusability, shelf life, and fire-risk
safety concerns compared to flares or
fuses). The purpose of this standard is
‘‘to assure that the warning devices can
be readily observed during daytime and
nighttime lighting conditions, have a
standardized shape for quick message
recognition, and perform properly when
deployed.’’ 6
Public interest in warning device
requirements for PDCMVs has increased
in recent years for several reasons. For
example, advances in automated driving
system (ADS) technology have raised
critical questions regarding potential
barriers to regulatory compliance with
warning device safety standards 7 and
regulations 8 which reference or require
a ‘‘driver.’’ In addition, alternative types
of warning devices developed by
industry, including those intended to
increase driver safety during device
deployment, have resulted in multiple
applications for exemption from the
corresponding safety regulations.9 10
These recent issues related to warning
device requirements also call attention
to the historically unresolved questions
of whether the use of such devices
improves traffic safety and, if so, how
and to what extent.
Past attempts by the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) 11 12 and other
researchers 13 to answer those questions
yielded generally inconclusive or
inconsistent results, which possibly
influenced NHTSA’s past decision not
to pursue conducting its own research
on the topic.14 FMCSA (previously
under FHWA) itself has never
conducted experimental research on the
impact of using warning devices. As the
only regulatory authority which still
requires CMV operators to use warning
devices, the responsibility to answer
these questions finally and definitively
is best charged to FMCSA.
Given the increasing focus on ADS,
questions surrounding the safety of
CMV drivers when deploying warning
devices, and the availability of new
technology and alternative devices since
these questions were last explored in
the 1980s, there is a need to thoroughly
evaluate the effectiveness of warning
E:\FR\FM\08JAN1.SGM
08JAN1
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 5 / Wednesday, January 8, 2025 / Notices
devices under current regulations. In
addition, advanced research
instruments unavailable or not in use at
the time of all past research on this
topic are now in common use and
would permit far more sophisticated
analyses of the effects of warning
devices on driver behavior. This
includes sensors which can precisely
measure and record the location of
vehicles (e.g., differential GPS), eyetracking devices which allow the
researcher to determine the precise
moment when a driver first glanced at
a PDCMV, and instrumented vehicles
which record accurate, high-frequency
data related to drivers’ interactions with
a vehicle’s controls.
FMCSA plans to implement these
modern tools in a controlled experiment
at a closed-course, state-of-the-art
driving research facility that will allow
the most comprehensive examination of
the effects of warning devices to date.
The results of the study may support
future rulemaking related to warning
devices and provide baseline data
necessary to inform Agency decisions
on exemption applications for
alternative warning device products.
Title: Warning Devices for Stopped
Commercial Motor Vehicles.
OMB Control Number: 2126–00XX.
Type of Request: New ICR.
Respondents: Drivers.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
256.
Estimated Time per Response: 2.0 to
2.5 hours.
Expiration Date: This is a new ICR.
Frequency of Response: Once.
Estimated Total Annual Burden:
614.40 hours.
DEFINITIONS: N/A.
Public Comments Invited: You are
asked to comment on any aspect of this
information collection, including: (1)
whether the proposed collection is
necessary for the performance of
FMCSA’s 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
ICR.
Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.
Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research
and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2025–00120 Filed 1–7–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
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17:50 Jan 07, 2025
Jkt 265001
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2024–0233]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Renewal of an Approved
Information Collection: Electronic
Logging Device (ELD) Vendor
Registration
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
FMCSA announces its plan to submit
the Information Collection Request (ICR)
described below to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for its
review and approval and invites public
comment. FMCSA requests approval to
renew an ICR titled, ‘‘Electronic Logging
Device (ELD) Vendor Registration.’’ This
ICR is necessary for ELD vendors to
register their ELDs with the Agency.
DATES: We must receive your comments
on or before March 10, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by Docket Number FMCSA–
2024–0233 using any of the following
methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments.
• Mail: Dockets Operations; U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building,
Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590–
0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building,
Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590–
0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET,
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays. To be sure someone is there to
help you, please call (202) 366–9317 or
(202) 366–9826 before visiting Dockets
Operations.
• Fax: (202) 493–2251.
To avoid duplication, please use only
one of these four methods. See the
‘‘Public Participation and Request for
Comments’’ portion of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for
instructions on submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jose
R. Cestero, Vehicle and Roadside
Operations Division, DOT, FMCSA,
West Building, 6th Floor, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590–0001; (202)366–5541;
jose.cestero@dot.gov.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
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1593
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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.
Public Participation and Request for
Comments
If you submit a comment, please
include the docket number for this
notice (FMCSA–2024–0233), indicate
the specific section of this document to
which your comment applies, and
provide a reason for each suggestion or
recommendation. 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 FMCSA can
contact you if there are questions
regarding your submission.
To submit your comment online, go to
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/
FMCSA-2024-0233/document, click on
this notice, click ‘‘Comment,’’ and type
your comment into the text box on the
following screen.
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.
Comments received after the comment
closing date will be included in the
docket and will be considered to the
extent practicable.
Privacy Act
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c),
DOT solicits comments from the public
to better inform its regulatory process.
DOT posts these comments, including
any personal information the
commenter provides, to
www.regulations.gov as described in the
system of records notice DOT/ALL 14
(Federal Docket Management System
(FDMS)), which can be reviewed at
https://www.transportation.gov/
individuals/privacy/privacy-act-systemrecords-notices. The comments are
posted without edits and are searchable
by the name of the submitter.
Background
On December 16, 2015, FMCSA
published a final rule titled ‘‘Electronic
Logging Devices and Hours of Service
E:\FR\FM\08JAN1.SGM
08JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 5 (Wednesday, January 8, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1591-1593]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00120]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2024-0255]
Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information
Collection: Study of Warning Devices for Stopped Commercial Motor
Vehicles
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR)
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its
review and approval and invites public comment. This notice invites
comments on a proposed information collection titled ``Study of Warning
Devices for Stopped Commercial Motor Vehicles.'' It is an experimental
study that requires data collection for evaluating whether warning
devices meaningfully influence
[[Page 1592]]
crash-relevant aspects of human performance in the presence of a parked
or disabled commercial motor vehicle (PDCMV), and if so, how and to
what extent. These data collection efforts are expected to require the
participation of 256 drivers.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before March 10,
2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket Number FMCSA-
2024-0255 using any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Dockets Operations; U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: Dockets Operations, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building,
Ground Floor, Washington, DC, 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. To be sure someone is
there to help you, please call (202) 366-9317 or (202) 366-9826 before
visiting Dockets Operations.
Fax: (202) 493-2251.
To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods.
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for instructions on submitting
comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samuel White, Research Division, DOT,
FMCSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, 6th Floor, Washington,
DC 20590; 202-366-3068; [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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.
Public Participation and Request for Comments
If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this
notice (FMCSA-2024-0255), indicate the specific section of this
document to which your comment applies, and provide a reason for each
suggestion or recommendation. 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 FMCSA can contact you if there are questions regarding your
submission.
To submit your comment online, go to https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FMCSA-2024-0255/document, click on this notice, click
``Comment,'' and type your comment into the text box on the following
screen.
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.
Comments received after the comment closing date will be included
in the docket and will be considered to the extent practicable.
Privacy Act
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the
public to better inform its regulatory process. DOT posts these
comments, including any personal information the commenter provides, to
www.regulations.gov as described in the system of records notice DOT/
ALL 14 (Federal Docket Management System (FDMS)), which can be reviewed
at https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/privacy/privacy-act-system-records-notices. The comments are posted without edits and are
searchable by the name of the submitter.
Background
PDCMVs on the road negatively impact traffic operations and
safety.\1\ To increase the conspicuity of PDCMVs and mitigate crash
risk, FMCSA requires specific warning devices to be carried \2\ on all
commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) and, except in the case of necessary
traffic stops, be deployed \3\ near the vehicle whenever it is stopped
on the road or shoulder. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
(FMCSRs) prescribe specific rules \4\ concerning how and where the
warning devices must be placed, based on road and traffic attributes
(e.g., whether the road is straight or curved, whether the vehicle is
stopped in a business or residential district, whether the road is
divided or undivided, etc.) as well as the presence of conditions
affecting visibility (e.g., time of day, physical obstructions, etc.).
These requirements follow from the basic notion that increasing the
conspicuity of a PDCMV makes it easier to see and recognize, thereby
reducing the risk of a crash involving passing motorists.
In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) prescribes performance and design specifications \5\ for
warning devices under 49 CFR 571.125 of the Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards. For instance, this standard establishes minimum
specifications for factors affecting the conspicuity (including
reflectivity, color, luminance) of warning triangles, the most commonly
utilized type of warning device (due to their reusability, shelf life,
and fire-risk safety concerns compared to flares or fuses). The purpose
of this standard is ``to assure that the warning devices can be readily
observed during daytime and nighttime lighting conditions, have a
standardized shape for quick message recognition, and perform properly
when deployed.'' \6\
Public interest in warning device requirements for PDCMVs has
increased in recent years for several reasons. For example, advances in
automated driving system (ADS) technology have raised critical
questions regarding potential barriers to regulatory compliance with
warning device safety standards \7\ and regulations \8\ which reference
or require a ``driver.'' In addition, alternative types of warning
devices developed by industry, including those intended to increase
driver safety during device deployment, have resulted in multiple
applications for exemption from the corresponding safety
regulations.9 10 These recent issues related to warning
device requirements also call attention to the historically unresolved
questions of whether the use of such devices improves traffic safety
and, if so, how and to what extent.
Past attempts by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
11 12 and other researchers \13\ to answer those questions
yielded generally inconclusive or inconsistent results, which possibly
influenced NHTSA's past decision not to pursue conducting its own
research on the topic.\14\ FMCSA (previously under FHWA) itself has
never conducted experimental research on the impact of using warning
devices. As the only regulatory authority which still requires CMV
operators to use warning devices, the responsibility to answer these
questions finally and definitively is best charged to FMCSA.
Given the increasing focus on ADS, questions surrounding the safety
of CMV drivers when deploying warning devices, and the availability of
new technology and alternative devices since these questions were last
explored in the 1980s, there is a need to thoroughly evaluate the
effectiveness of warning
[[Page 1593]]
devices under current regulations. In addition, advanced research
instruments unavailable or not in use at the time of all past research
on this topic are now in common use and would permit far more
sophisticated analyses of the effects of warning devices on driver
behavior. This includes sensors which can precisely measure and record
the location of vehicles (e.g., differential GPS), eye-tracking devices
which allow the researcher to determine the precise moment when a
driver first glanced at a PDCMV, and instrumented vehicles which record
accurate, high-frequency data related to drivers' interactions with a
vehicle's controls.
FMCSA plans to implement these modern tools in a controlled
experiment at a closed-course, state-of-the-art driving research
facility that will allow the most comprehensive examination of the
effects of warning devices to date. The results of the study may
support future rulemaking related to warning devices and provide
baseline data necessary to inform Agency decisions on exemption
applications for alternative warning device products.
Title: Warning Devices for Stopped Commercial Motor Vehicles.
OMB Control Number: 2126-00XX.
Type of Request: New ICR.
Respondents: Drivers.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 256.
Estimated Time per Response: 2.0 to 2.5 hours.
Expiration Date: This is a new ICR.
Frequency of Response: Once.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 614.40 hours.
DEFINITIONS: N/A.
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of
this information collection, including: (1) whether the proposed
collection is necessary for the performance of FMCSA's 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 ICR.
Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.
Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2025-00120 Filed 1-7-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P
