Agency Information Collection Activities; Approval of a New Information Collection Request: Flexible Sleeper Berth Pilot Program

G. Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
27 October 2017

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 207 (Friday, October 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49924-49926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23350]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2016-0394]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Approval of a New 
Information Collection Request: Flexible Sleeper Berth Pilot Program

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 review 
and approval. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 30 days of 
public comment.
    FMCSA proposes a pilot program to allow temporary regulatory relief 
from the Agency's sleeper berth regulation for a limited number of 
commercial drivers who have a valid commercial driver's license (CDL), 
and who regularly use a sleeper berth to accumulate their required 10 
hours of non-duty work status. During the pilot program, participating 
drivers would have the option to split their sleeper berth time within 
parameters specified by FMCSA. Driver metrics would be collected for 
the duration of the study, and participants' safety performance and 
fatigue levels would be analyzed. This pilot program seeks to produce 
statistically reliable evidence on the question as to whether split 
sleeper berth time affects driver safety performance and fatigue 
levels.

DATES: Please send your comments by November 27, 2017. OMB must receive 
your comments by this date in order to act quickly on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2016-0394. Interested persons are 
invited to submit written comments on the proposed information 
collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget. Comments should be addressed to the attention 
of the Desk Officer, Department of

[[Page 49925]]

Transportation/Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and sent 
via electronic mail to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov, or faxed to (202) 
395-6974, or mailed to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Docket Library, Room 10102, 
725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Michel, Research Division, 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001, by email at nicole.michel@dot.gov, or 
by telephone at (202) 366-4354. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Flexible Sleeper Berth Pilot Program.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-00XX.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Respondents: Large, medium, and small motor carriers; independent 
owner-operators; and commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers who 
regularly use a sleeper berth.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 10 motor carrier responses; 1,000 
CMV driver applications, with 240 drivers being accepted for 
participation in the pilot program.
    Estimated Time per Response: Motor carriers: 1 hour (one-time 
response). Drivers: Online application--15 minutes (one-time response); 
background questionnaire and tax form--30 minutes (one-time response); 
daily field study data collection--30 minutes (daily, for a maximum of 
90 days); weekly phone briefings--10 minutes (once weekly, for a 
maximum of 13 weeks); debriefing questionnaire--15 minutes (one-time 
response).
    Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new information collection.
    Frequency of Response: Motor carriers: One-time response. Drivers: 
One-time application; during the study, data collection occurs 3 to 4 
times per day for a maximum of 90 days (see ``Estimated Time per 
Response'' for more details).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 4,423 hours (7 hours for carrier 
tasks and 4,416 hours for driver tasks). The total annual number of 
carrier responses is seven. Reviewing the study materials and granting 
permission for drivers to participate is estimated to take 1 hour per 
carrier. Participating driver burden is associated with completing the 
online application, background questionnaire, daily data collection 
during the field study period, weekly phone briefings, and debriefing 
questionnaire. The online application is estimated to take 15 minutes, 
the background questionnaire and tax form (completed together) is 
estimated to take 30 minutes, and the debriefing questionnaire is 
estimated to take 15 minutes. Daily data collection during the field 
study is estimated to take 30 minutes per day, for up to 90 days. 
Weekly phone briefings are estimated to take 10 minutes per week. It is 
estimated that 40 drivers will participate for 14 days, 75 drivers will 
participate for 30 days, 75 drivers will participate for 60 days, and 
50 drivers will participate for the maximum 90 days.

Background

I. Project Summary

    As described in 49 CFR 395.1(g)(1), a driver who operates a 
property-carrying CMV equipped with a sleeper berth \1\ and who uses 
the sleeper berth provision must take at least 8 consecutive hours in 
the sleeper berth, plus a separate 2 consecutive hours either in the 
sleeper berth, off duty, or any combination of the two, before 
returning to on-duty status.
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    \1\ A ``sleeper berth'' is a sleeping compartment installed on a 
CMV that complies with the specifications in 49 CFR 393.76.
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    During listening sessions for the hours-of-service (HOS) 
rulemaking, the Agency heard from many drivers that they would like 
some regulatory flexibility to be able to sleep when they get tired or 
as a countermeasure to traffic congestion (i.e., an exemption from the 
requirement for consolidated sleeper berth time). FMCSA has reviewed 
the literature and conducted its own laboratory studies on the subject. 
The majority of sleep studies to date demonstrate that well-timed split 
sleep has either a positive or no effect on subsequent neurobehavioral 
performance. To determine whether split sleeper berth time affects 
driver safety performance and fatigue levels, FMCSA is introducing a 
pilot program to allow temporary regulatory relief from 49 CFR 
395.1(g)(1) (the sleeper berth provision) for a limited number of 
commercial drivers who have valid commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) 
and who regularly use sleeper berths.
    The Flexible Sleeper Berth Pilot Program requires that 
participating drivers be provided relief from Part 395 concerning 
consolidated sleeper berth time requirements. Participating drivers 
will be asked if they have completed the Driver Education Module of the 
North American Fatigue Management Program (NAFMP) prior to study 
enrollment. If drivers have not completed the program, they will be 
given information on the program and encouraged, but not required, to 
complete these modules prior to participation in the study. During the 
pilot program, participating drivers will have the option to split 
their sleeper berth time, within parameters specified by FMCSA (i.e., 
participants will have exemption from the requirement for consolidated 
sleeper berth time). Driver metrics will be collected for the duration 
of the study, as discussed in Section III of this notice. Upon 
completion of the program, participants' safety performance and fatigue 
levels will be analyzed, according to provision use, using a ``within-
subject and between-subject'' study design. In this analysis, drivers 
will be compared among themselves and against other participating 
drivers. This pilot program seeks to produce statistically reliable 
evidence of the relationship between the degree of HOS flexibility and 
safety outcomes.

II. Data Collection Plan

    Details of the data collection plan for this pilot program are 
subject to change based on comments to the docket and further review by 
analysts. Participating drivers will drive an instrumented vehicle for 
up to 3 consecutive months. At a minimum, FMCSA will gather the 
following data during the study:
     Electronic logging device (ELD) data, to evaluate duty 
hours and timing, driving hours and timing, rest breaks, off-duty time, 
and restart breaks.
     Onboard monitoring system (OBMS) data, to evaluate driving 
behaviors, safety-critical events (or SCEs, which include crashes, 
near-crashes, and other safety-related events), reaction time, fatigue, 
lane deviations, and traffic density, road curvature, and speed 
variability.
     Roadside violation data (from carriers and drivers), 
including vehicle, duty status, hazardous materials, and cargo-related 
violations (contingent upon inspections).
     Wrist actigraphy data,\2\ to evaluate total sleep time, 
time of day sleep was taken, sleep latency, and intermittent 
wakefulness.
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    \2\ Participants will wear wrist actigraphy devices (similar to 
commercially available smart fitness watches) throughout their time 
in the study. Actigraphy is a minimally obtrusive, validated 
approach to assessing sleep/wake patterns.
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     Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) \3\ data, to evaluate 
drivers' behavioral alertness based on reaction times.
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    \3\ For this study, drivers will be required to complete daily 
iterations of a brief PVT, a 3-minute behavioral alertness test 
which measures drivers' alertness levels by timing their reactions 
to visual stimuli.

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[[Page 49926]]

     Subjective sleepiness ratings, using the Karolinska 
Sleepiness Scale (KSS),\4\ to measure drivers' perceptions of their 
fatigue levels.
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    \4\ The KSS is a 9-point Likert-type scale ranging from 
``extremely alert'' to ``extremely sleepy'' and has been widely used 
in the literature as a subjective assessment of alertness.
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     Sleep logs, in which drivers will document when they are 
going to sleep, when they wake up, and whether they are using the 
sleeper berth. For split-sleep days, drivers will record how and why 
they chose to split their sleep.
    Other information that may be needed, such as vehicle miles 
traveled (VMT), will also be collected through the participating 
carrier. Every effort will be made to reduce the burden on the carrier 
in collecting and reporting this data.

III. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) 
prohibits agencies from conducting information collection (IC) 
activities until they analyze the need for the collection of 
information and how the collected data will be managed. Agencies must 
also analyze whether technology could be used to reduce the burden 
imposed on those providing the data. The Agency must estimate the time 
burden required to respond to the IC requirements, such as the time 
required to complete a particular form. The Agency submits its IC 
analysis and burden estimate to OMB as a formal ICR; the Agency cannot 
conduct the information collection until OMB approves the ICR.

IV. Summary of Public Comments Received

    On June 27, 2017, FMCSA published a notice in the Federal Register 
(82 FR 29145) with a 60-day public comment period to announce this 
proposed information collection. As of the closing date of August 28, 
2017, the agency received five comments in response to this notice.
    One comment questioned the need for a pilot program given that the 
proposal is similar to the HOS rules prior to 2003. This commenter 
expressed an opinion that the HOS rules should just be reverted to the 
prior to 2003 HOS rules. While FMCSA understands the commenter's 
frustration with the process, our commitment to public safety requires 
us to conduct a pilot program to collect scientific data and achieve 
statistically significant findings before considering any revision to 
our current regulations.
    Another commenter expressed a similar opinion regarding the HOS 
rules, which he felt should never have been changed in 2003. He felt 
that the HOS needed to be changed and re-evaluated for every different 
division of CMVs, but did express support of flexibility in sleeper 
berth times. FMCSA appreciates this commenter taking the time to 
provide feedback on the HOS rules, but felt that this comment went 
beyond the scope of this pilot program; however, the Agency appreciates 
his support of allowing a flexible sleeper berth pilot program to move 
forward.
    The remaining three commenters were supportive of the proposed 
Pilot Program and proposed information collection, and expressed an 
opinion that this would make the roads safer and allow drivers to 
manage their duty hours more efficiently and use common sense to not 
drive when tired. FMCSA appreciates this support for the program, and 
has not made any changes or revisions to the design of the study based 
on these comments.
    Additionally, a Federal Register notice announcing the Pilot 
Program was published on June 6, 2017, to allow for 60-days of public 
comment regarding the proposed program. The comment period closed on 
August 7, 2017, and has received 232 unique (233 total, one duplicate) 
public comments to date. The vast majority (over 175) of these comments 
were positive in nature. Several commenters expressed a desire to 
participate in the study, and several wanted the study expanded to 
incorporate other exemptions. While FMCSA understands the desire from 
drivers to re-open the HOS rules, specifically the 14-hour rule, the 
Pilot Program is designed to look at only Flexible Sleeper Berth times 
in order to achieve statistically significant results without the 
potential for introducing confounding variables into the study.
    Approximately 40 commenters responded in a negative manner to the 
14-hour rule, or having too many regulations in place, but were not 
specific to the Flexible Sleeper Berth Program. The majority of 
commenters who responded agreed that the NAFMP should be recommended, 
not mandatory. One commenter felt the NAFMP should be mandatory; 
however, FMCSA felt that the majority of commenters agreeing with the 
current study design showed that we should move forward without 
changing the design. One commenter felt that the cameras in the vehicle 
were too burdensome, however, several others expressed that the data 
collection was reasonable for the scope of the study.
    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 FMCSA to perform its functions; (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.

    Issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on October 
20, 2017.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology.
[FR Doc. 2017-23350 Filed 10-26-17; 8:45 am]
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