Hours of Service of Drivers: Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA); Application for Exemption

Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
November 24, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 226 (Monday, November 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69983-69985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-27743]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[FMCSA-2014-0420]


Hours of Service of Drivers: Specialized Carriers & Rigging 
Association (SC&RA); Application for Exemption

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

ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it has received an application from the 
Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) for an exemption 
from the 30-minute rest break provision of the Agency's hours-of-
service (HOS) regulations for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. 
The requested exemption would apply to specialized carriers and drivers 
responsible for the transportation of loads that exceed normal weight 
and dimensional limits--oversize/overweight (OS/OW) loads--and require 
a permit issued by a government authority. Due to the nature of their 
operation, SC&RA believes that compliance with the 30-minute rest break 
rule is extremely difficult, primarily due to the limited (usually 
daylight) hours in which an OS/OW load can be transported as restricted 
by State permit requirements. SC&RA therefore requests this exemption 
for all permitted loads. FMCSA requests public comment on SC&RA's 
application for exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 24, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System Number FMCSA-2014-0420 by any of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, 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., 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 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 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 get electronic 
submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the

[[Page 69984]]

``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 we will consider late comments to the extent 
practicable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Clemente, FMCSA Driver and 
Carrier Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle 
Safety Standards; Telephone: 202-366-4325. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315 to grant 
exemptions from certain parts of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Regulations (FMCSRs). FMCSA must publish a notice of each exemption 
request in the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The Agency must 
provide the public an opportunity to inspect the information relevant 
to the application, including any safety analyses that have been 
conducted. The Agency must also provide an opportunity for public 
comment on the request.
    The Agency reviews safety analyses and public comments submitted, 
and determines whether granting the exemption would likely achieve a 
level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be 
achieved by the current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). The decision of 
the Agency must be published in the Federal Register (49 CFR 
381.315(b)) with the reasons for denying or granting the application 
and, if granted, the name of the person or class of persons receiving 
the exemption, and the regulatory provision from which the exemption is 
granted. The notice must also specify the effective period and explain 
the terms and conditions of the exemption. The exemption may be renewed 
(49 CFR 381.300(b)).

Request for Exemption

    On December 27, 2011 (76 FR 81133), FMCSA published a final rule 
amending its hours-of-service (HOS) regulations for drivers of 
property-carrying CMVs. The final rule adopted several changes to the 
HOS rules, including a new provision requiring drivers to take a rest 
break during the work day under certain circumstances. Drivers may 
drive a CMV only if 8 hours or less have passed since the end of the 
driver's last off-duty or sleeper-berth period of at least 30 minutes. 
FMCSA did not specify when drivers must take the 30-minute break, but 
the rule requires that they wait no longer than 8 hours after the last 
off-duty or sleeper-berth period of that length or longer to take the 
break. This requirement took effect on July 1, 2013.
    SC&RA seeks an exemption from the 30-minute rest break provision in 
49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii). The 30-minute break uniquely affects OS/OW 
loads and has exacerbated the number of instances in which drivers have 
had to park these loads at roadside, consequently impacting the safety 
of both the general public and the driver. The requested exemption 
would apply to all specialized carriers and drivers responsible for the 
transportation of loads that exceed maximum legal weight and 
dimensional limits--OS/OW loads--that require a permit issued by a 
government authority. According to SC&RA, the hours of operation in 
which a driver may move an OS/OW load on a valid permit vary 
tremendously from State to State, and even among local jurisdictions 
within a State, differ in terms of the days of the week and hours of 
the day when transit is allowed. Because hours in which an OS/OW load 
can travel are restricted by permit requirements, often those hours 
will be in conflict with the timing of the required 30-minute rest 
break. SC&RA specifically cites four instances demonstrating this 
conflict. As less space is available for parking OS/OW trucks, 
specialized tractor/trailer combinations transporting OS/OW loads will 
increasingly be parked alongside interstate or other highways and ramp 
shoulders, further compromising their safety and the safety of the 
general public on the roadways.
    An average OS/OW load may measure approximately 15-16 feet wide and 
high and in excess of 100 feet in length. Each driver has the 
additional burden of finding a place large enough to accommodate and 
park the vehicle until passage is permitted. SC&RA cites the Federal 
Highway Administration's ``Commercial Motor Vehicle Parking Shortage'' 
study (May 2012), which documents the existing parking shortage and 
further provides evidence that locating adequate parking space for such 
over-dimensional loads is extremely challenging. A copy of this study 
is included in SC&RA's exemption request filing in the docket 
identified earlier in this notice.
    Occasionally, the safest option for drivers is to park such loads 
on the shoulders of interstates routes and other highways, and on ramps 
leading to and from those highways. This decision requires the driver 
to protect and alert the motoring public by employing traffic control 
measures such as setting up safety cones, etc. In some instances, the 
OS/OW load is so large and/or the road shoulder width is so limited, 
that the tractor trailer combination cannot be properly parked off the 
roadway and therefore takes up an entire lane of the road.
    SC&RA does not foresee any negative impact to safety from the 
requested exemption. It believes that granting the exemption would have 
a favorable impact on overall safety by reducing the frequency of 
drivers resorting to less than ideal parking options, thereby reducing 
the frequency of lanes being partially or fully obscured.
    SC&RA states that the industry has been diligent in ensuring that 
its drivers are safety compliant by identifying, deploying, analyzing 
and monitoring best practices. The effectiveness of the industry's 
efforts is substantiated through its safety record. By demand and due 
to the type and nature of the size and weight involved, these drivers 
tend to be more experienced and skilled than many drivers in the 
industry. Safety is achieved through rigorous, mandated training for 
all drivers on a daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly basis, in 
conjunction with annual safety checks, and self-imposed random safety 
audits. Furthermore, most specialized transportation carriers conduct 
weekly--or sometimes more frequent--meetings with drivers to ensure 
that they are current on information with regard to operating OS/OW 
loads in their industry. This training includes full recognition of the 
HOS regulations, and compliance with such regulations to ensure OS/OW 
drivers are not operating while fatigued. A copy of SC&RA's exemption 
application is available for review in the docket for this notice.

Request for Comments

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315(b)(4), FMCSA 
requests public comment on SC&RA's application for an exemption from 
certain provisions of the driver's HOS regulations in 49 CFR part 395. 
The Agency will consider all comments received by close of business on 
December 24, 2014. The Agency also will consider to the extent 
practicable comments received in the public docket after the closing 
date of the comment period.
    Comments will be available for examination in the docket at the 
location listed under the ADDRESSES section of this notice.


[[Page 69985]]


    Issued on: November 14, 2014.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2014-27743 Filed 11-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P