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

G. Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
29 November 2016

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 229 (Tuesday, November 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 86068-86069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28745]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2016-0407]


Agency Information Collection Activities; New 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 Information Collection Request (ICR) 
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its 
review and approval and invites public comment. This new 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, and 
Americans with Disability Act (ADA) complaints.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before January 30, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2016-0407 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, 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: 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 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: Mr. James Dubose, Department of

[[Page 86069]]

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: 
215-656-7251, email: james.dubose@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, and passenger carriers. There is also 
information pertaining to the filing of consumer complaints, 
particularly regarding HHG transportation and ADA compliance.\1\ This 
online interface is known as the National Consumer Complaint Database 
(NCCDB). When effectively applied, the NCCDB can contribute to safer 
motor carrier operations on our nation's highways and improved consumer 
protection.
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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, Public 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 
will be 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 will also accept 
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: 2126-00XX.
    Type of Request: New information collection request.
    Respondents: Consumers, Drivers, and Other Participants in the 
Motor Carrier Industry.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,299.
    Estimated Time per Response: 15 minutes.
    Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new ICR.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1,075.

ADA/Bus--Service
    60.5 burden hours (242 responses x 15 minutes to complete complaint 
= 60.5)
Truck/Drivers
    305 burden hours (1,219 responses x 15 minutes to complete 
complaint = 305)
Consumers
    709.5 burden hours (2,838 responses x 15 minutes to complete 
complaint = 709.5)

    There is no complaint history for the recently added coercion and 
harassment complaint categories, or for complaints regarding financial 
responsibility instruments for brokers and/or freight forwarders. This 
data will be collected and included in future renewals for the NCCDB.
    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 on: November 22, 2016.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology.
[FR Doc. 2016-28745 Filed 11-28-16; 8:45 am]
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