Hours of Service of Drivers: Application for Exemption; National Electrical Contractors Association

Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
14 February 2018

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6680-6681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03063]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2018-0003]


Hours of Service of Drivers: Application for Exemption; National 
Electrical Contractors Association

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 the National Electrical Contractors 
Association (NECA) has applied for an exemption from the requirement to 
use an electronic logging device (ELD) to record driver hours-of-
service (HOS) on commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) used by contractors 
to install, repair, and maintain the infrastructure of electrical 
utilities. NECA believes the ELD requirement unnecessarily burdens its 
members' operations. It proposes to continue to use paper to record the 
HOS of these drivers. NECA states that CMV operations under the 
exemption would achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or greater 
than, the level that would be achieved absent the proposed exemption. 
FMCSA requests public comment on NECA's application for exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 16, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Number FMCSA-2018-0003 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,

[[Page 6681]]

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. If you submit a comment, please include the docket 
number for this notice (FMCSA-2018-0003), 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-2018-0003'' 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.

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. Request for Exemption

    The HOS rules (49 CFR part 395) prescribe the drive-time limits and 
rest requirements for interstate drivers of CMVs. The rules also 
require most drivers of CMVs in interstate commerce, and their motor 
carriers, to use ELDs--not handwritten logbooks--to document their HOS 
duty status (49 CFR 395.8(a)(1)(i)).
    NECA's 4,000 members are contractors who install, repair and 
maintain the infrastructure of electrical utilities. The contractors 
employ line workers who drive utility-service CMVs during their duty 
day. NECA states that the number of CMV drivers who would be eligible 
for this exemption is difficult to estimate; it states that the fleet 
of one ``large'' contractor consists of 13,766 CMVs.
    NECA seeks exemption from the requirement that motor carriers and 
their CMV drivers use an ELD to record driver HOS. The actual operation 
of the CMVs by the line workers is so limited that the ELD requirement 
is triggered infrequently. By this application for exemption, NECA 
seeks greater ``consistency'' in the regulatory environment in which 
its line workers operate. It states that it is ``cumbersome'' to meet 
the costs and logistical challenges of recording HOS electronically, 
and that the resulting safety benefit is negligible given the limited 
scope of the CMV operations of this industry. NECA states that if 
provided the exemption, its CMV drivers would remain fully subject to 
the HOS standards and continue to record their HOS on the customary 
paper RODS. NECA states that its operations under the exemption would 
achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level 
that would be achieved absent the proposed exemption. A copy of NECA's 
application for exemption is available for review in the docket for 
this notice.

    Issued on: February 7, 2018.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-03063 Filed 2-13-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P