Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension of a Currently-Approved Information Collection Request: Training Certification for Entry-Level Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators

G. Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
September 3, 2015

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 171 (Thursday, September 3, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53385-53387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21894]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA 2015-0146]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension of a 
Currently-Approved Information Collection Request: Training 
Certification for Entry-Level Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators

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

[[Page 53386]]


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 Agency is asking 
OMB to renew without change FMCSA's estimate of the paperwork burden 
imposed by its regulations pertaining to the training of certain entry-
level drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). Since 2004, FMCSA 
regulations have prohibited the operation of certain CMVs by 
individuals with less than 1 year of CMV-driving experience until they 
obtain this training. On May 28, 2015, FMCSA published a Federal 
Register notice allowing for a 60-day comment period on this ICR. The 
agency received no comments in response to that notice.

DATES: Please send your comments to this notice by October 5, 2015 OMB 
must receive your comments by this date to act quickly on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2015-0146. Interested persons are 
invited to submit written comments on the proposed information 
collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget. Comments should be addressed to the attention 
of the Desk Officer, Department of Transportation/Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration, and sent via electronic mail to 
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov, faxed to (202) 395-6974, or mailed to the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 
20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Thomas Yager, Chief, FMCSA Driver 
and Carrier Operations Division, Department of Transportation, FMCSA, 
West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 
20590. Telephone: 202-366-4325. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Training Certification for Entry-Level Commercial Motor 
Vehicle Operators.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0028.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently-approved ICR.
    Respondents: Entry-level CDL drivers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 397,500.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.
    Expiration Date: January 31, 2016.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 66,250 hours. FMCSA estimates that 
an entry-level driver requires approximately 10 minutes to complete the 
tasks necessary to comply with the regulation. Those tasks are 
photocopying the training certificate, giving the photocopy to the 
motor carrier employer, and retaining the original of the certificate. 
Therefore, the annual burden for all entry-level drivers is 66,250 
hours [397,500 drivers x 10/60 minutes to respond = 66,250 hours].

Background

    The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (CMVSA) (49 U.S.C. 
31301 et seq.) established the commercial driver's license (CDL) 
program and directed the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), FMCSA's 
predecessor agency, to establish minimum qualifications for issuance of 
a CDL. After public notice and an opportunity for comment, the FHWA 
established standards for the knowledge and skills that a CDL applicant 
must satisfy.
    In 1985, the FHWA published the ``Model Curriculum for Training 
Tractor-Trailer Drivers.'' The FHWA did not mandate driver training at 
that time. It believed the cost of developing a comprehensive driver-
training program was too high in terms of agency resources. This was 
especially so, FHWA believed, in light of its reasonable expectation 
that the level of safety of entry level drivers would soon be elevated 
because (1) the deadline for States to adopt the new mandatory CDL-
licensing standards for driver knowledge and skills was still in the 
future, and (2) many truck driving schools had updated their curricula 
in light of the new model curriculum (``Truck Safety: Information on 
Driver Training,'' Report of the U.S. General Accounting Office, GAO/
RCED-89-163, August 1989, pages 4 and 5).
    In 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 
1991 (ISTEA) (Pub. L. 102-240, December 18, 1991) directed the FHWA to 
``commence a rulemaking proceeding on the need to require training of 
all entry-level drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs)'' (Section 
4007(a)(2)). On June 21, 1993, the FHWA issued an advance notice of 
proposed rulemaking entitled, ``Commercial Motor Vehicles: Training for 
All Entry Level Drivers'' (58 FR 33874). The Agency also began a study 
of the effectiveness of the driver training currently being received by 
entry-level CMV drivers. The results of the study were published in 
1997 under the title ``Adequacy of Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver 
Training.'' The study is available under FMCSA Docket 1997-2199 at the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal (www.regulations.gov) described above. The 
study found that three segments of the trucking industry were not 
receiving adequate entry-level training: Heavy truck, motor coach, and 
school bus.
    On August 15, 2003, FMCSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking 
(NPRM) entitled, ``Minimum Training Requirements for Entry-Level 
Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators'' (68 FR 48863). The Agency proposed 
mandatory training for operators of CMVs on four topics: Driver 
qualifications, hours-of-service of drivers, driver wellness and 
whistle-blower protection. On May 21, 2004, FMCSA by final rule 
prohibited a motor carrier from allowing an entry-level driver to 
operate a CMV until it received a written certificate indicating that 
the driver had received training in the four subject areas (69 FR 
29384). The rule became effective on July 20, 2004. Training providers 
were required to provide a certificate to each driver trainee receiving 
the requisite training.
    The Agency is asking OMB to renew without change FMCSA's estimate 
of the paperwork burden imposed by its regulations. (The Agency is 
currently conducting a negotiated rulemaking to develop a notice of 
proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for training of entry-level CMV operators, 
and is currently preparing a NPRM based on the consensus 
recommendations of the Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee; 
if the NPRM proposes amending driver-training requirements, the Agency 
will submit an estimate of the revised ICR burden of the requirements 
for OMB approval).
    Definitions: (1) ``Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations'' 
(FMCSRs) are parts 350-399 of volume 49 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations. (2) ``Commercial motor vehicle'' (CMV) means a motor 
vehicle or combination of motor vehicles used in commerce to transport 
passengers or property if the motor vehicle--(a) has a gross 
combination weight rating of 11,794 kilograms or more (26,001 pounds or 
more) inclusive of a towed unit(s) with a gross vehicle weight rating 
(GVWR) of more than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds); or (b) has a GVWR 
of 11,794 or more kilograms (26,001 pounds or more); or (c) is designed 
to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver; or (d) is of 
any size and is used in the transportation of hazardous materials as

[[Page 53387]]

defined in 49 CFR 383.5 (49 CFR 383.5). The definition of CMV found at 
49 CFR 390.5 of the FMCSRs is not applicable to this notice. (3) 
``Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Driver'' means the operator of a 
CMV because such operators must possess a valid commercial driver's 
license (CDL) (Section 383.23(a)(2)). (4) ``Entry-level CDL Driver'' 
means a driver with less than one year of experience operating a CMV 
with a CDL in interstate commerce (49 CFR 380.502(b)).

Public Comments Invited

    FMCSA requests that you comment on any aspect of this information 
collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary 
for FMCSA to perform its functions, (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 delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on: August 
25, 2015.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2015-21894 Filed 9-2-15; 8:45 am]
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