Hours of Service of Drivers: Transco, Inc.; Application for Exemption

Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
18 October 2018

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 202 (Thursday, October 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52873-52875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22706]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION



Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration



[Docket No. FMCSA-2018-0302]




Hours of Service of Drivers: Transco, Inc.; Application for 

Exemption



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 it has received an application from 

Transco, Inc. (Transco) for an exemption from the 30-minute rest break 

provision of the Agency's hours-of-service (HOS) regulations for 

commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. Transco requests that its 

drivers be permitted to comply with the 30-minute rest break 

requirement while performing on-duty, not-driving tasks. The requested 

exemption would apply to all Transco drivers in its grocery and food 

service divisions who make wholesale deliveries to grocery and 

convenience stores. Transco believes that the exemption, if granted, 

will achieve a level of safety equivalent to the level that would be 

achieved absent the exemption. FMCSA requests public comment on 

Transco's application for exemption.



DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 19, 2018.



ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 

Management System (FDMS) Number FMCSA-2018-0302 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. 

E.T., 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



[[Page 52874]]



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: Mr. Richard Clemente, FMCSA Driver and 

Carrier Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle 

Safety Standards; Telephone: (202) 366-2722; 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-2018-0302), 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 comment online, go to www.regulations.gov and put 

the docket number, ``FMCSA-2018-0302'' 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 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. 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 (up to 5 

years) and explain the terms and conditions of the exemption. The 

exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)).



III. Request for Exemption



    Transco seeks an exemption from the 30-minute rest break provision 

in 49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii). Specifically, Transco requests an exemption 

that would allow its drivers to take a 30-minute on-duty, non-driving 

break in place of the 30-minute off-duty rest break currently required. 

McLane, Transco's parent company, is one of the nation's largest 

entities engaged in supply chain services, providing grocery and 

foodservice supply chain solutions for convenience stores, mass 

merchants, drug stores and restaurants throughout the United States. 

Approximately 3,580 Transco drivers would be eligible for the requested 

exemption. These drivers utilize approximately 1,700 CMVs in Transco's 

fleet, which consist almost exclusively of tractors equipped with 

sleeper berths, usually hauling 48 or 53-foot trailers. In most cases 

Transco's drivers operate in two-driver teams. Routes for these drivers 

include numerous, frequent stops to make deliveries of groceries to 

retailers. On these trips, Driver B goes directly into the sleeper 

berth at the beginning of the trip while Driver A conducts all pre-

departure inspection requirements and then drives to the first 

delivery. This allows Driver B to delay starting his duty period until 

a time that is less than 14 hours from the work tour completion, 

thereby ensuring compliance with the 14-hour rule. Depending on travel 

times, Driver B usually starts working sometime between the first and 

third delivery stop. When Driver B comes out of the sleeper berth, he 

or she rides in the passenger seat while Driver A drives between stops. 

The two drivers have overlapping working tours and unload together at 

most stops in the middle of the trip. Until the end of Driver A's 14-

hour duty period, the drivers may alternate driving and resting in the 

passenger seat between deliveries. Once Driver A reaches his or her 14-

hour limit, Driver A will often go into the sleeper berth, but is 

allowed to remain on duty and perform non-driving activities. 

Therefore, at some point, usually when approximately one-half of the 

driving for a work tour has been completed, Driver B will take over 

driving duties and Driver A will sit in the passenger seat between 

stops. Since Driver B did not begin his or her duty period until 

exiting the sleeper berth, Driver B will have sufficient time available 

to drive during the rest of the work tour. Similarly, because Driver A 

ceases driving when approximately one-half of the work tour has been 

completed, he or she does not drive beyond the 14 hour on-duty window 

in which driving is permitted. Total trip time averages 17.2 hours. 

However, total driving time for both drivers combined averages just 9.1 

hours. Each driver spends, on average, only 4.55 hours or 32.9% of 

their working tour engaged in driving, again much less than the 11 

hours maximum time allowed.

    Transco contends that itsoperations are characterized by several 

factors that make the driving involved low risk and less susceptible to 

the type of fatigue associated with long-haul driving for the following 

reasons:

     Transco's drivers operate largely on local roads at low 

speeds, which reduces fatigue risk. According to Transco, most 

drowsiness-related crashes occur at night in low-traffic conditions on 

rural interstates or other rural highways. By and large these 

conditions are the opposite of the conditions experienced by Transco's 

drivers, who spend most of their driving time on local roads at low 

speeds;

     Its operations are characterized by multiple short driving 

periods interrupted by breaks, which precludes



[[Page 52875]]



development of time-on-task fatigue and improves driver performance. 

Its drivers alternate between driving, unloading, and resting without 

spending significant continuous periods of time driving;

     Its drivers have regular schedules and routes and return 

home after every trip. Approximately 85% of Transco's drivers work 

fixed schedules and routes with minimal trip-to-trip variations. 

Transco's trips begin and end at the same place.

     Transco practices proactive safety management. In its 

application, Transco highlights several additional proactive safety 

management practices currently in place in connection with its grocery 

operations. These include DriveCam video monitoring; increased safety 

inspections and meetings; mandatory driver safety training; and 

manufacturer-installed collision avoidance systems on the vehicles.

    According to Transco, as a result of these operational differences, 

the 30-minute rest break requirement does not increase safety when 

applied to their drivers; instead, it claims the requirement may very 

well decrease road safety for its drivers. For the typical long-haul 

CMV driver, the 30-minute rest break serves as an opportunity to break 

the monotony of driving and relieve some of the stress of continuous 

driving, but Transco's drivers currently have breaks, which includes 

physical exercise, several times each day. Providing this exemption 

would in fact increase safety overall by reducing Transco's mileage 

exposure, and thus crash risk, by over 4 million additional miles per 

year.

    Transco believes that the requested exemption would achieve a level 

of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety 

that would be obtained by complying with the current regulation. 

Transco gives the following reasons why the Agency should approve the 

exemption request: (1) Allowing its drivers to substitute a 30-minute 

on-duty, non-driving break for a 30-minute off-duty break will not 

reduce safety; (2) No more than 50% of their logged time per working 

tour is ``on-duty driving'' time and the non-driving on-duty time is 

primarily devoted to pick-ups, deliveries and like operations; (3) They 

return to their point of origin at the end of their trip; (4) No 

driving is performed 14 hours after coming on duty; (5) Drivers do not 

drive if more than 8 hours have passed since the driver engaged in 30 

consecutive minutes of on-duty non-driving activity; and, (6) The 

drivers operate CMVs equipped with electronic logging devices compliant 

with the Agency's regulations or compliant automatic on-board recorders 

for the period allowed for the use of such devices by FMCSA 

regulations.

    A copy of Transco's application for exemptions is available for 

review in the docket for this notice.



    Issued on: October 12, 2018.

 Larry W. Minor,

Associate Administrator for Policy.

[FR Doc. 2018-22706 Filed 10-17-18; 8:45 am]

 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P