Department of Transportation April 2, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FMCSA renews Greyhound Lines, Inc.'s (Greyhound) exemption which allows the placement of video event recorders at the top of the windshields on its buses, and within the swept area of the windshield wipers. Greyhound may continue to use the video event recorders to increase safety through identification and remediation of risky driving behaviors such as distracted driving and drowsiness; enhanced monitoring of passenger behavior; and enhanced collision review and analysis. The Agency has concluded that granting this exemption renewal will maintain a level of safety that is equivalent to or greater than the level of safety achieved without the exemption. However, the Agency requests comments and information on the exemption, especially from anyone who believes this standard will not be maintained.

FMCSA announces its decision to grant the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) a limited exemption from the minimum 30- minute rest break provision of the Agency's hours-of-service (HOS) regulations for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. Under the terms and conditions of this exemption, drivers operating ready-mixed concrete trucks may use 30 minutes or more of on-duty ``waiting time'' to satisfy the requirement for the 30 minute rest break, provided they do not perform any other work during the break. The exemption giving these drivers the same regulatory flexibility that 49 CFR 395.1(q) provides for drivers transporting explosives. The FMCSA has determined that granting these drivers an exemption from the 30-minute rest break requirement is likely to achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level of safety that would be obtained in the absence of the exemption.