Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration June 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 for its review and approval and invites public comment. The FMCSA requests to renew an ICR titled, ``Commercial Driver's License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.'' The Agency's final rule, published December 5, 2016, titled ``Commercial Driver's License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse'' (81 FR 87686) (Clearinghouse) established the regulatory requirements for the Clearinghouse. The compliance date of the final rule is January 6, 2020. Since the original ICR was approved, no data has yet been collected. With the upcoming compliance date, this ICR is needed to ensure that querying and reporting requirements are met to diminish the problem of Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and Commercial Learner's Permit (CLP) holders who test positive for drugs or alcohol and then continue to perform safety sensitive functions, including driving a commercial motor vehicle (CMV), without participating in the required return-to-duty process.

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. The FMCSA requests approval to renew an ICR titled, ``Hours of Service (HOS) of Drivers Regulations.'' With some exceptions, the HOS regulations require a motor carrier to install and require each of its drivers subject to the record of duty status (RODS) rule to use an electronic logging device (ELD) to report the driver's RODS. The RODS is critical to FMCSA's safety mission because it helps enforcement officials determine if CMV drivers are complying with the HOS rules limiting driver on-duty and driving time and requiring periodic off-duty time.

FMCSA announces that Navistar, Inc. (Navistar) has requested an exemption from the Federal requirement to hold a U.S. commercial driver's license (CDL) for two commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers, Mr. Thomas Nickels, Senior Vice President, Engineering Optimization with MAN Truck & Bus SE in Munich, Germany (MAN), and Mr. Lukas Walter, Senior Vice President, Engineering Powertrain for MAN, both of whom hold a valid German commercial license. MAN is partnering with Navistar to develop technological advancements in fuel economy and emissions reductions. Mr. Nickels and Mr. Walter need to test drive Navistar vehicles on U.S. roads to better understand product requirements in ``real world'' environments and verify results. Navistar believes that the requirements for a German commercial license ensure that operations under the exemption would likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level that would be obtained in the absence of the exemption. FMCSA requests public comments on Navistar's application for exemption.

FMCSA announces its decision to exempt nine individuals from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce. They are unable to meet the vision requirement in one eye for various reasons. The exemptions enable these individuals to operate CMVs in interstate commerce without meeting the vision requirement in one eye.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew exemptions for nine individuals from the requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) that interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers have ``no established medical history or clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition which is likely to cause loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to control a CMV.'' The exemptions enable these individuals who have had one or more seizures and are taking anti-seizure medication to continue to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 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 revise and renew an ICR titled ``Driver Qualification Files,'' OMB Control Number 2126-0004. The ICR estimates the burden commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers and motor carriers incur to comply with the reporting and recordkeeping tasks required for motor carriers to maintain driver qualification (DQ) files. The Agency's regulations pertaining to maintaining DQ files are unchanged and impose no increased information collection (IC) burden on individual drivers and motor carriers. However, the Agency increases its estimate of the total IC burden of these regulations primarily because both the number of CMV drivers and the frequency of their hiring have increased since the Agency's 2016 estimate of this burden.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew exemptions for 74 individuals from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) for interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. The exemptions enable these individuals to continue to operate CMVs in interstate commerce without meeting the vision requirement in one eye.

FMCSA announces receipt of applications from four individuals for an exemption from the prohibition in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) against persons with a clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition that is likely to cause a loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to control a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) to drive in interstate commerce. If granted, the exemptions would enable these individuals who have had one or more seizures and are taking anti-seizure medication to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew exemptions for twenty four 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.