Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal Information Collection Request: National Consumer Complaint Database

Thomas P. Keane
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
3 September 2021

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 169 (Friday, September 3, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49594-49595]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19079]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2021-0089]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal Information 
Collection Request: National Consumer Complaint Database

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA 
announces its plan to submit the Renewal Information Collection Request 
(ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
its review and approval and invites public comment. This renewal 
collection of information is for the National Consumer Complaint 
Database (NCCDB), which is an online interface allowing consumers, 
drivers and others to file complaints against unsafe and unscrupulous 
companies and/or their employees, including shippers, receivers and 
transportation intermediaries, depending on the type of complaint. 
These complaints cover a wide range of activities, including but not 
limited to driver harassment, coercion, movement of household goods, 
financial responsibility instruments for brokers and freight 
forwarders, Americans with Disability Act (ADA), Electronic Log Device 
(ELD), Medical Review Officer (MRO), and Substance Abuse Practitioner 
(SAP) complaints. FMCSA requests approval to renew the ICR titled 
``National Consumer Complaint Database'' covered by OMB Control Number 
2126-0067 in order to continue to collect consumer complaint 
information so FMCSA can use complaint data to take enforcement action, 
better inform FMCSA policies for safer motor carrier operations, and 
improve consumer protection.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or November 2, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2021-0089 using any of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Services; U.S. Department of Transportation, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building, Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. 
and 5 p.m. E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and 
docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see 
the Public Participation heading below. Note that all comments received 
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including 
any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading 
below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, visit http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the 
online instructions for accessing the dockets, or go to the street 
address listed above.
    Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits 
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT 
posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information 
the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the 
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.dot.gov/privacy.
    Public Participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available 
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic 
submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ``help'' section 
of the Federal eRulemaking Portal website. If you want us to notify you 
that we received your comments, please include a self-addressed, 
stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that 
appears after submitting comments online. Comments received after the 
comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be 
considered to the extent practicable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Donnice Wagoner, Department of 
Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Commercial 
Enforcement and Investigations Division/MC-ECC, West Building 6th 
Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-
366-8045. email: Donnice.Wagoner@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The FMCSA maintains online information and resources to assist 
drivers, others in the motor carrier industry, and members of the 
general public in filing safety complaints regarding household goods 
(HHG) carriers, hazardous material (HM) carriers, property carriers, 
cargo tank facilities, passenger carriers, electronic log devices 
(ELD), and Medical Review Officers (MRO) and Substance Abuse 
Professionals (SAP) reporting to the Agency's Drug and Alcohol 
Clearinghouse. There is also information pertaining to the filing of 
consumer complaints, particularly regarding HHG transportation and ADA 
compliance.\1\

[[Page 49595]]

This online interface is known as the National Consumer Complaint 
Database (NCCDB). The NCCDB has contributed to safer motor carrier 
operations on our nation's highways by identifying carriers for 
investigations and improved consumer protection by ensuring moving 
companies use fair business practices. FMCSA uses the information 
collected in the NCCDB to monitor and induce non-compliant regulated 
entities to achieve and maintain compliance.
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    \1\ The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) maintains 
reporting and other requirements for over-the-road buses (OTRBs) 
under its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations. (For a 
complete listing of the DOT's ADA regulations, see 49 CFR parts 37 
and 38.)
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    The NCCDB grew out of a telephone hotline known as the Safety 
Violation Hotline Service. Congress mandated this hotline in Section 
4017 of the ``Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century,'' Public 
Law 105-178, 112 Stat. 107, June 9, 1998. The Motor Carrier Safety 
Improvement Act of 1999, Pubic Law 106-159, 113 Stat. 1748, December 9, 
1999, created the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and 
section 213 of the Act expanded the Safety Violation Hotline Service to 
include a 24-hour operation. On August 10, 2005, Congress enacted the 
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 
Legacy for Users, (SAFETEA-LU), Public Law 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144. 
Section 4214 of SAFETEA-LU requires DOT to create a system to record 
and log aggregate complaint information regarding violations of the 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
    The NCCDB fulfills the requirements of these mandates. Complaints 
are accepted through the NCCDB in connection with other statutory 
mandates, including, but not limited to, protection of drivers against 
harassment and coercion under sections 32301(b) and 32911, 
respectively, of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, 
Public Law 112-141, 126 Stat. 405. The NCCDB also accepts complaints 
from interested parties regarding third party intermediaries (brokers 
and freight forwarders) and their associated financial responsibility 
instruments.
    Title: National Consumer Complaint Database.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0067.
    Type of Request: Information collection request renewal.
    Respondents: Consumers, Drivers, and Other Participants in the 
Motor Carrier Industry.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 18,546 respondents.
    Estimated Time per Response: 15 minutes.
    Expiration Date: February 28, 2022.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 4,638 hours [18,546 respondents x 1 
response per respondent x 15 minutes per response = 4,638]. Note that 
estimates may not match exactly due to rounding.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the agency to perform its mission; (2) the 
accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for the FMCSA to enhance the 
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) 
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of 
the collected information. The agency will summarize or include your 
comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information 
collection.

    Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.
Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2021-19079 Filed 9-2-21; 8:45 am]
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