Hours of Service of Drivers: Electronic Logging Devices; Application for Exemption; Old Dominion and Other Motor Carriers Experiencing Problems Integrating PeopleNet ELD System Updates Into Their Fleet Management Systems

Topics:  Old Dominion

Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
31 January 2018

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 21 (Wednesday, January 31, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4548-4550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01939]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2018-0002]


Hours of Service of Drivers: Electronic Logging Devices; 
Application for Exemption; Old Dominion and Other Motor Carriers 
Experiencing Problems Integrating PeopleNet ELD System Updates Into 
Their Fleet Management Systems

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 Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (Old 
Dominion) has requested an exemption from the electronic logging device 
(ELD) requirements. Old Dominion request this exemption to allow the 
company to install ELD devices running on automatic on-board recording 
device (AOBRD) software in commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) added to 
the company's fleet for up to one year from the December 18, 2017, ELD 
mandate compliance date. If granted, this modified ELD phase-in period 
will allow Old Dominion's AORBD/ELD provider, PeopleNet, to complete 
the development of the software necessary to integrate ELD data with 
the company's fleet management and safety systems to fully meet the ELD 
mandate. FMCSA considers the request to be on behalf of all motor 
carriers in similar situations concerning the integration of 
PeopleNet's ELD software into fleet management systems.

[[Page 4549]]


DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 2, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Number FMCSA-2018-0002 by any of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. See the 
Public Participation and Request for Comments section below for further 
information.
     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., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Each submission must include the Agency name and the 
docket number for this notice. Note that DOT posts all comments 
received without change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information included in a comment.
    Please see the Privacy Act heading below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or visit Room W12-140 
on the ground level of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. The on-line FDMS is available 24 hours each 
day, 365 days each year.
    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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this 
notice, contact Mr. Tom Yager, Chief, FMCSA Driver and Carrier 
Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety 
Standards; Telephone: 614-942-6477. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. If you have 
questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, contact 
Docket Services, telephone (202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    FMCSA encourages you to participate by submitting comments and 
related materials.

Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
notice (FMCSA-2018-0002), indicate the specific section of this 
document to which the comment applies, and provide a reason for 
suggestions or recommendations. You may submit your 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 comments online, go to www.regulations.gov and put 
the docket number, ``FMCSA-2018-0002'' in the ``Keyword'' box, and 
click ``Search.'' When the new screen appears, click on ``Comment 
Now!'' button and type your comment into the text box in the following 
screen. Choose whether you are submitting your comment as an individual 
or on behalf of a third party and then submit. 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 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 and material received 
during the comment period and may grant or not grant this application 
based on your comments.

II. Legal Basis

    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)).

III. Background

    Old Dominion, USDOT 90849, reports that it is an interstate motor 
carrier based in North Carolina with 228 Service Centers located 
throughout the country. Its operations cover the entire continental 
United States. The company is one of the largest less-than-truckload 
carriers in the country, operating a fleet of more than 8,500 power 
units and employing more than 10,100 CMV drivers.
    Old Dominion began equipping its vehicles with PeopleNet AOBRDs in 
2010, and by 2011 the entire fleet was equipped with devices which meet 
the requirements of 49 CFR 395.15. Data from the AOBRDs feed directly 
into the company's fleet management and safety systems, enabling its 
dispatchers to know precisely where each of its drivers is at any given 
time and how many hours he/she has available under the Federal hours-
of-service rules. This functionality is not required by the AOBRD rules 
under 49 CFR 395.15 or the ELD requirements under Subpart B of 49 CFR 
art 395.
    Currently, the PeopleNet AOBRD software allows carriers to 
configure certain specifications. If the settings were not adjustable, 
the PeopleNet AOBRD would be similar to, but not identical to the 
FMCSA's ELD technical specifications. Old Dominion has configured its 
settings in the PeopleNet AOBRDs it uses. However, certain AOBRD 
software changes must be made by PeopleNet, including:
     Disabling the ``skip feature;''
     Limiting the auto-duty status change threshold to 5 miles; 
and
     Limiting geo-fencing of yard time to 0.5 miles.
    When these changes are fully implemented, the PeopleNet system used 
by Old Dominion would meet the ELD requirements according to Old 
Dominion.

IV. Request for Exemption

    Old Dominion is requesting a one-year exemption to permit the 
company to install and use ELD hours-of-service recording devices 
(i.e., hardware) running PeopleNet's AOBRD software that meets the 
requirements of 49 CFR 395.15, rather than ELD software that meets the 
requirements of subpart B to

[[Page 4550]]

part 395, for any truck added to its fleet on or after December 18, 
2017, until the company's full transition to ELDs can be accomplished. 
Old Dominion explained that the exemption would provide the company 
time to work with its AOBRD/ELD provider, PeopleNet, to complete the 
development of the software necessary to integrate ELD data with Old 
Dominion's fleet management and safety systems. The integration of the 
hours-of-service data with the fleet management and safety systems 
would enable the company to achieve a high level of safety oversight of 
its drivers.
    FMCSA considers the request to be on behalf of all motor carriers 
in similar situations concerning the integration of PeopleNet's ELD 
software into fleet management systems.
    Old Dominion explained that all of the PeopleNet AOBRD and ELD 
hardware currently installed in Old Dominion's vehicles, and the 
systems that will be installed in the near future, would satisfy the 
ELD mandate after the company implements the transition to PeopleNet's 
December 15, 2017, release. However, the new PeopleNet release does not 
include the necessary means to integrate into Old Dominion's fleet 
management and safety software.
    A copy of Old Dominion's application for exemption is available for 
review in the docket for this notice.

    Issued on: January 23, 2018.
 Larry W. Minor,
 Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-01939 Filed 1-30-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P