Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information Collection Request: The Impact of Driver Compensation on Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety

G. Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
August 29, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 168 (Friday, August 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51638-51639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20639]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2014-0325]


Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information 
Collection Request: The Impact of Driver Compensation on Commercial 
Motor Vehicle Safety

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 Information Collection Request (ICR) 
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its 
review and approval and invites public comment. The primary mission of 
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is to reduce 
crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. 
Toward that end, FMCSA initiated The Impact of Driver Compensation on 
Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Survey.
    The primary purpose of the study will be to analyze the possible 
unintended safety consequences of the various methods by which 
Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) drivers in the sample are compensated. 
Should the study show that there is a relationship between the methods 
drivers are paid and the methods' effect on safe driving performance, a 
potential benefit of the study will be to provide CMV carrier companies 
with information that will help them make more informed decisions about 
safe operations.
    In addition to the primary purpose of the study, a number of other 
potentially potential confounding variables will be assessed. These 
variables include the following:

 Type of commercial motor vehicle operation (long-haul, short-
haul, or line-haul) by size of carrier (very small, small, medium or 
large)
 Whether for-hire, private, or owner operated and whether the 
carrier can be characterized as a truckload, less-than-truckload, 
regional, tanker, or other type of carrier
 Number of power units
 Average length of haul
 Primary commodities carried
 Number of regular, full-time drivers the carrier employs
 Average driving experience, in years, of drivers working for 
the companies included in the sample

This data will be used to demonstrate possible relationships of 
variables as well as determine if the variables may contribute to 
unintended safety consequences. Unintended safety consequences include 
driver out-of-service rates, vehicle out-of-service rates, and crash 
rates. For the purposes of this study, ``commercial motor vehicle 
(CMV)'' will refer only to trucks and not include passenger vehicles 
such as buses.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before October 28, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket

[[Page 51639]]

Number FMCSA-2014-0325 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, 
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 and 
additional information on the exemption process, 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, go to http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the 
online instructions for accessing the dockets, or go to the street 
address listed above.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement for the Federal Docket Management System 
published in the Federal Register on January 17, 2008 (73 FR 3316), or 
you may visit http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdfE8-794.pdf.
    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 Web site. 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. Theresa Hallquist, Analysis, 
Research and Technology Division, Department of Transportation, FMCSA, 
West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 
20590. Telephone: 202-366-1064; email: theresa.hallquist@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: The study will evaluate the relationship between 
property carrying motor carriers compensation methods and incidences of 
unsafe driving. In particular, the research team will determine if 
there is a potential relationship between method of driver compensation 
and safe driving behavior. This study will be conducted using an online 
questionnaire. Randomly selected non-passenger motor carriers will be 
notified by letter from the FMCSA that explains the study and elicits 
their participation. Participants will receive an email directing them 
to a Web site to complete the online questionnaire. This study will 
assist motor carriers and other stakeholders engaged in commercial 
vehicle safety by enabling them to make informed decisions regarding 
driver compensation as it relates to safe driving performance. The 
results of the study will be available to the public in 2015 and will 
be published on the FMCSA publications and reports Web site, 
www.fmcsa.dot.gov. No risks to individuals are anticipated as a result 
of the study.
    Title: Evaluating the Relationship Between Commercial Motor Vehicle 
Drivers Compensation Methods and Incidences of Unsafe Driving.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-00XX.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Respondents: Safety managers, operations managers or owner 
operators of commercial motor carriers companies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2184.
    Estimated Time per Response: Minimum response = 0.27 hour; maximum 
response = 1.02 hours.
    Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new information collection.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1,354 hours [(1,164 very small and 
small carriers for Group 1 respondents x 0.27 hours = 314 hours) + 
(1,020 medium and large carriers for Group 2 respondents x 1.02 hours = 
1,040 hours) = 1,354].
    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 performance of FMCSA's functions; (2) 
the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for 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 on: August 25, 2014.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology and Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-20639 Filed 8-28-14; 8:45 am]
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