Hours of Service of Drivers: Electronic Logging Devices; Application for Exemption; Truck Renting and Leasing Association, Inc.

Topics:  Truck Renting and Leasing Association

Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
13 March 2018

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10946-10948]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05001]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2016-0428]


Hours of Service of Drivers: Electronic Logging Devices; 
Application for Exemption; Truck Renting and Leasing Association, Inc.

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

[[Page 10947]]


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

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that the Truck Renting and Leasing Association 
Inc. (TRALA) has requested an exemption until December 31, 2018, from 
the electronic logging device (ELD) requirements for all drivers of 
property-carrying commercial motor vehicles rented for 30 days or 
fewer. A waiver for the same purpose and group of drivers was issued to 
TRALA on January 19, 2018, and expires on April 19, 2018. TRALA states 
that the waiver period, which is limited to 90 days, is not sufficient 
to address the ELD problems that they and their short-term lessors are 
encountering. This request, if granted, would provide rental-vehicle 
owners, carriers, and drivers with additional time to develop 
compliance strategies for dealing with the unique issues relating to 
the use of ELDs in short-term rental vehicles. TRALA believes that the 
exemption, if granted, would not have any adverse impacts on 
operational safety, as drivers would continue to remain subject to the 
hours-of-service regulations as well as the requirements to maintain a 
paper record of duty status. FMCSA requests public comment on TRALA's 
application for exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 12, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Number FMCSA-2016-0428 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: (202) 366-4325. 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-2016-0428), 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-2016-0428'' 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

    TRALA is a national trade association of companies whose members 
rent and lease vehicles. TRALA's membership encompasses the full 
spectrum of the industry, including major independent firms such as 
Budget, Enterprise Truck Rental, Penske Truck Leasing, Ryder System, 
and U Haul, as well as small and medium size businesses that generally 
participate as members of four leasing group systems, three of which 
are affiliated with a major manufacturer. TRALA states that it has 
nearly 500 members whose vehicles account for between 25-30% of all 
commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) on the highways today.
    TRALA advised that operators of short-term CMV rentals face 
challenges in complying with the ELD requirements that no other segment 
of the industry faces. Businesses renting CMVs to customers must offer 
ELD compliance options for a variety of technical platforms. Motor 
carrier fleets use rental vehicles to meet seasonal

[[Page 10948]]

demand, surges in other demands, or to replace breakdowns; these fleets 
will already have an ELD platform that in many cases will be different 
from the one installed on a rental truck.
    TRALA states that FMCSA has recognized the unique compliance 
concerns of the short-term CMV rental vehicle market by granting a 
partial exemption from the ELD requirements for vehicles rented for no 
longer than 8 days (82 FR 47306, October 11, 2017). In addition, FMCSA 
has granted an ELD waiver to TRALA until April 19, 2018, for CMVs 
rented for no longer than 30 days (83 FR 2868, January 19, 2018).
    TRALA states that since FMCSA's October 11, 2017, decision granting 
an exemption of only 8 days for rental trucks, TRALA members have taken 
several steps to resolve the ELD issues. These include meeting with 
customers, building cloud-based portal systems between ELD providers, 
and purchasing thousands of ELDs for rental trucks. Nevertheless, TRALA 
members and their customers state that they need additional time to 
come into full compliance with ELD requirements.

IV. Request for Exemption

    TRALA is requesting an exemption until December 31, 2018, from the 
ELD requirements in 49 CFR part 395, as applied to drivers of property-
carrying CMVs rented for any reason for no longer than 30 days. Lessors 
of short-term CMV rentals are struggling to meet the current April 19, 
2018, waiver expiration deadline. TRALA states that its members 
continue to work diligently with their customers, developing systems 
that will allow renters to record and report their hours seamlessly, 
and partnering with ELD providers to give the most options available to 
rental customers.
    According to TRALA, every customer's needs are unique. An 
additional period through the end of this year to prepare for this 
transition would allow their members to continue resolving the issues 
presented by new technology and the need for individual customer-based 
compliance strategies. It would also allow lessors to meet seasonal 
demand for short-term rental vehicles through the holiday season in 
November and December of this year without disruptions.
    TRALA states that allowing short-term CMV rental truck drivers to 
not comply with ELD requirements until December 31, 2018, will not have 
any impact on safety, nor will it provide a safe harbor for drivers who 
may try to avoid compliance with the hours-of-service (HOS) regulations 
in general. Nearly half the States now impose daily rental fees which 
are a significant disincentive to rent solely for the purpose of 
avoiding the ELD regulations.
    TRALA also states that, if the exemption is granted, law 
enforcement officers would be better able to identify short-term rental 
vehicles. Under 49 CFR 390.21(e), a CMV rented for a period not to 
exceed 30 days is not required to be marked with the name and USDOT 
number of the operating motor carrier if the vehicle otherwise is 
marked with the lessor's name and USDOT number, and a copy of the 
rental agreement is carried in the vehicle in accordance with that 
provision. Enforcement officials inspecting such a vehicle would 
examine the short-term rental agreement to determine that the ELD 
requirement does not apply to that vehicle. The official would then 
check the driver's paper record of duty status for compliance with the 
HOS regulations.
    According to TRALA, their members represent about 25-30% of CMVs on 
the road and are a key component of the trucking industry. Allowing a 
further exemption through December 31, 2018, to continue the transition 
efforts ongoing since the final rule was published will give all 
businesses that use rental trucks comfort that systems can be deployed 
to better address the difficulties confronted by the rental truck 
market.
    A copy of TRALA's application for exemption is available for review 
in the docket for this notice.

    Issued on: March 5, 2018.
 Larry W. Minor,
 Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-05001 Filed 3-12-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P