Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration March 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces FMCSA's plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The ICR is related to the current arbitration dispute resolution procedures used to settle loss and damage claims by shippers who have contracted with household goods (HHGs) carriers for interstate transport of their household goods shipments. On October 24, 2005, the agency published a Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period to solicit the public's views on the information collection pertaining to this subject. One comment was received.

This document announces the availability of Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) grant funding as authorized by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). MCSAP is a Federal grant program that provides financial assistance to States to reduce the number and severity of crashes and hazardous materials incidents involving commercial motor vehicles (CMV). The goal of MCSAP is to reduce CMV- involved crashes, fatalities, and injuries through consistent, uniform, and effective CMV safety programs.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) final rule revising 49 CFR part 386, ``Rules of Practice for Motor Carrier, Broker, Freight Forwarder, and Hazardous Materials Proceedings'' (Rules of Practice), published on May 18, 2005, became effective on November 14, 2005. As revised, the Rules of Practice permit a respondent in a civil penalty proceeding to request an informal hearing as an alternative to either a request for a formal hearing or a request to submit written evidence without a hearing. The Rules of Practice, however, do not prescribe specific procedures for conducting informal hearings. As the informal hearing process is a new alternative for motor carriers, FMCSA will implement this alternative in two phases. This approach allows FMCSA to carefully evaluate and refine, as necessary, how the informal hearing process is conducted. During the first phase of implementation, FMCSA will only consider requests for an informal hearing from respondents with a principal place of business within the FMCSA Midwest Service Center's geographical area. The Midwest Service Center's geographical area encompasses the States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin. The second phase, nationwide implementation, will begin within one year of the effective date of the Rules of Practice. FMCSA will publish a notice of its nationwide implementation in the Federal Register. FMCSA will consider any request for an informal hearing received by FMCSA before the publication date of this notice during the first phase of implementation, regardless of the location of respondent's principal place of business. When an informal hearing request is granted, the hearing officer will provide written information to each respondent about the procedures that will govern the hearing.

FMCSA announces its decision to exempt 17 individuals from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR). The exemptions will enable these individuals to qualify as drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce without meeting the vision standard prescribed in 49 CFR 391.41 (b)(10).