Department of Transportation November 17, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FMCSA announces its decision to renew exemptions for 14 individuals from the hearing requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) for interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. The exemptions enable these hard of hearing and deaf individuals to continue to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

In accordance with the requirements of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to reinstate previously approved OMB Number 2139-0010 for the following information collection: Confidential Close Call Transit Data for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA or the Authority), which includes but is not limited to the collection of data from Rail, Bus, Information Technology, and Command Center personnel. This data collection effort supports a multi-year program focused on improving the Authority, in its entirety by collecting and analyzing data and information on close calls and other unsafe occurrences within WMATA. The program is co- sponsored by WMATA and labor leadership including: The President/ Business Agent of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 922 and Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 2. The Close Call program is designed to identify safety issues and propose preventive actions based on voluntary reports of a close call submitted confidentially to BTS, an Agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. This information collection is necessary for systematically analyzing data to identify root causes of potentially unsafe events.

FMCSA grants the petition submitted by the Washington Trucking Associations (WTA) requesting a determination that the State of Washington's Meal and Rest Break rules (MRB rules) are preempted as applied to property-carrying commercial motor vehicle drivers subject to FMCSA's hours of service (HOS) regulations. Federal law provides for preemption of State laws on commercial motor vehicle safety that are additional to or more stringent than Federal regulations if they (1) have no safety benefit; (2) are incompatible with Federal regulations; or (3) would cause an unreasonable burden on interstate commerce. FMCSA has determined that Washington's MRB rules are laws on commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety, that they are more stringent than the Agency's HOS regulations, that they have no safety benefits that extend beyond those that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) already provide, that they are incompatible with the Federal HOS regulations, and that they cause an unreasonable burden on interstate commerce. The Washington MRB rules, therefore, are preempted.