Carrier Safety Fitness Determination |
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Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
8 March 2016
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12062-12064]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05151]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
49 CFR Parts 350, 365, 385, 386, 387, and 395
[Docket No. FMCSA-2015-0001]
RIN 2126-AB11
Carrier Safety Fitness Determination
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice; extension of comment period and technical correction.
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SUMMARY: FMCSA extends the public comment period for the Agency's
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that published on January 21,
2016. This NPRM concerns the proposals to the current methodology for
issuance of safety fitness determinations (SFD) for motor carriers. The
Agency extends the deadline for the submission of initial comments to
May 23, 2016. Reply comments will be due on or before June 23, 2016. In
addition, FMCSA corrects the title and date of an American
Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) study report that the NPRM
cited about the Agency's Safety Measurement System (SMS).
DATES: FMCSA is extending the initial comment period for the proposed
rulemaking published on January 21, 2016 (81 FR 3562). You must submit
comments by May 23, 2016, and reply comments on or before June 23,
2016.
[[Page 12063]]
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (initial and reply) identified by
the docket number FMCSA-2015-0001 using any of the following methods:
Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on the Federal electronic docket
site.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Services, U.S. Department of Transportation,
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room W12-140, DOT Building,
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods.
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below for instructions on
submitting comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Yessen, (609) 275-2606,
David.Yessen@dot.gov. FMCSA office hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. If you have questions
on viewing or submitting material to the docket, call Docket Services,
telephone 202-366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation and Request for Comments
FMCSA encourages you to participate in this rulemaking by
submitting comments, reply comments, and related materials. All
comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any personal information you
provide.
A. Submitting Comments
Initial comments may address any issue raised in the NPRM and the
background documents in the docket (e.g., Regulatory Evaluation,
studies). Initial comments will be made available promptly online on
http://www.regulations.gov and for public inspection in room W12-140,
DOT Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. In
order to allow sufficient opportunity for interested parties to prepare
and submit any reply comments, late-filed initial comments will not be
considered. Reply comments must address only matters raised in initial
comments and must not be used to present new arguments, contentions, or
factual material that is not responsive to the initial comments.
If you submit a comment or a reply comment, please include the
docket number for this rulemaking (FMCSA-2015-0001), indicate the
specific section of this document to which each comment or reply
comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or
recommendation. You may submit your comments, reply comments and
material online or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only
one of these means. FMCSA recommends that you include your name and a
mailing address, an email address, or a phone number in the body of
your document so the Agency can contact you if it has questions
regarding your submission.
To submit your comment or reply comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov and insert ``FMCSA-2015-0001'' in the ``Search''
box, and then click the ``Search'' button to the right of the white
box. Click on the top ``Comment Now'' box which appears next to the
document. Fill in your contact information, as desired and your comment
or reply comment, uploading documents if appropriate. If you submit
your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound
format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and
electronic filing. If you submit comments or reply comments by mail and
would like to know that they reached the facility, please enclose a
stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope.
FMCSA will consider all comments, reply comments and material
received during the comment period and may change this proposed rule
based on your comments.
B. Viewing Comments and Documents
To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble
as being available in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov and
insert ``FMCSA-2015-0001'' in the ``Search'' box and then click on
``Search.'' Click on the ``Open Docket Folder'' link and all the
information for the document, and the list of comments will appear with
a link to each one. Click on the comment you would like to read. If you
do not have access to the Internet, you may view the docket online by
visiting the Docket Services in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the
Department of Transportation West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
C. 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.
II. Background
On January 21, 2016 (81 FR 3562), FMCSA published an NPRM to amend
the current methodology for issuance of SFDs for motor carriers. From
February 3 to 5, 2016, the American Moving and Storage Association
(AMSA), Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), and the
Transportation & Logistics Council, Inc. (TL Council) petitioned the
Agency for a 60-day extension of the comment period. On February 16,
2016, the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA)
petitioned the Agency for a 90-day extension of the comment period. A
copy of the AMSA, TIA, TL Council, and OOIDA petitions are included in
the docket referenced at the beginning of this document. After
reviewing the requests, FMCSA has decided to grant a 60-day extension
(to May 23, 2016, for initial comments and to June 23, 2016 for reply
comments) to provide all interested parties adequate time to submit
comments on proposals in this rulemaking.
In addition, Rebecca M. Brewster, President and Chief Operating
Officer of the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI),
informed FMCSA that the NPRM incorrectly cited an ATRI study (81 FR
3562, at 3567, third column) on the Agency's Behavioral Analysis and
Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs) and their relationship to crash
risk. The study erroneously cited by FMCSA was a qualitative study of
motor carrier, driver, law enforcement and shipper survey data. The
ATRI study on the BASICs was released in October 2012 and is titled
``Compliance, Safety, Accountability: Analyzing the Relationship of
Scores to Crash Risk.'' It involved an analysis of carriers assessed by
BASICs. The results confirmed that FMCSA's Safety Measurement System
(SMS) is better at targeting carriers and identifying safety problems
than the current SafeStat, the Agency's previous intervention
prioritization system. In addition, the ATRI study indicated that the
number of ``alerts'' a carrier has is the best indicator of future
crashes.
FMCSA has included the correct report in the docket for the
public's consideration of the Carrier Safety Fitness Determination
NPRM.
[[Page 12064]]
Issued on: March 1, 2016.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2016-05151 Filed 3-7-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P