Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration March 14, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FMCSA announces a public meeting concerning the implementation of the North American Standard for Protection Against Shifting or Falling Cargo. FMCSA's cargo securement rules are based on the North American Cargo Securement Standard Model Regulations (Model Regulations), reflecting the results of a multi-year comprehensive research program to evaluate what were then current U.S. and Canadian cargo securement regulations; the motor carrier industry's best practices; and recommendations presented during a series of public meetings involving U.S. and Canadian industry experts, Federal, State and Provincial enforcement officials, and other interested parties. Canada's Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety approved a National Safety Code Standard for cargo securement which is also based on the Model Regulations. This meeting is to discuss the process for ensuring the consistent interpretation of the harmonized cargo securement standards by FMCSA and the Canadian Provinces, and interpretation issues raised by enforcement agencies and motor carriers in the U.S. and Canada.

FMCSA has received from Cummins, Inc. (``Cummins'') an application for an exemption from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations regarding maximum driving time for drivers of passenger- carrying vehicles. The exemption would allow Cummins' drivers delivering new buses without any passengers in a driveaway operation to be governed by the hours-of-service (HOS) requirements for drivers of property-carrying vehicles. Cummins' drivers are operating these motor vehicles as test vehicles to determine the performance of various types of engines as well as components that are closely related to the design and manufacture of the described engines. Cummins states that the level of safety will be equivalent or greater than the level of safety that would be obtained by complying with the HOS regulations for drivers of passenger-carrying vehicles. FMCSA requests public comment on Cummins' application for exemption.