Request for Information Concerning Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Detention Times During Loading and Unloading |
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Raymond P. Martinez
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
10 June 2019
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 111 (Monday, June 10, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26932-26933]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12167]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2019-0054]
Request for Information Concerning Commercial Motor Vehicle
Driver Detention Times During Loading and Unloading
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Request for information.
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SUMMARY: FMCSA requests information on existing or potential sources of
data to better understand driver detention times during the loading and
unloading of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) and the potential impact
of such delays on roadway safety. A recent study by the U.S. Department
of Transportation's (DOT) Office of Inspector General found that better
data are needed to fully understand the issues associated with driver
detention.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before September
9, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket Number FMCSA-
2019-0054 using any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Instructions: 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 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays. The online FDMS is available 24 hours
each day, 365 days each year. If you want acknowledgment that we
received your comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped
envelope or postcard or print the acknowledgement page that appears
after submitting comments on-line.
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 Ms. Nicole Michel, Research Division, Office of
Analysis, Research and Technology, FMCSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590-0001, (202) 366-4354, nicole.michel@dot.gov. If
you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket,
contact Docket Services at (202) 366-9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation and Request for Comments
Submitting Comments
If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this
notice (FMCSA-2019-0054), indicate the specific question of this
document to which each comment applies, and provide a source for your
data. 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 mailing address, an email
address, or a phone number in the body of your document so that FMCSA
can contact you if there are questions regarding your submission.
To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov,
put the docket number, FMCSA-2019-0054, in the ``Keyword'' box, and
click ``Search.'' When the new screen appears, click on the ``Comment
Now!'' button and type your comment into the text box on 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.
Confidential Business Information
Confidential Business Information (CBI) is commercial or financial
information that is customarily not made available to the general
public by the submitter. Under the Freedom of Information Act, CBI is
eligible for protection from public disclosure. If you have CBI that is
relevant or responsive to this notice, it is important that you clearly
designate the submitted comments as CBI. Accordingly, please mark each
page of your submission as ``confidential'' or ``CBI.'' Submissions
designated as CBI and meeting the definition noted above will not be
placed in the public docket of this notice. Submissions containing CBI
should be sent to Mr. Brian Dahlin, Chief, Regulatory Evaluation
Division, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001. Any commentary that FMCSA
receives which is not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in
the public docket for this notice.
Viewing Comments and Documents
To view comments, as well as any documents mentioned in this
preamble as being available in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Insert the docket number, FMCSA-2019-0054, in the
keyword box, and click ``Search.'' Next, click the ``Open Docket
Folder'' button and choose the document to review. If you do not have
access to the internet, you may view the docket by visiting the Docket
Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the West
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
II. Background
A number of studies have examined the issue of CMV driver delays in
the loading and unloading process, and what their potential impact may
be on roadway safety and the economy. For example, in 2011 the
Government Accountability Office (GAO), in its report More Could Be
Done to Determine Impact of Excessive Loading and Unloading Wait Times
on Hours of
[[Page 26933]]
Service Violations (GAO-11-198),\1\ recommended that ``FMCSA examine
the extent to which detention time contributes to hours of service
violations in its future studies on driver fatigue and detention
time.'' In response to the GAO report, FMCSA sponsored a study \2\
among a sample of carriers which generated estimates of driver delay
times. Among the sampled carriers, the study found that drivers
experienced detention time during approximately 10 percent of their
stops for an average duration of 1.4 hours beyond a commonly accepted
two-hour loading and unloading period [total driver wait time =
(legitimate loading/unloading time) + (delay times)]. Most recently, in
a 2018 report titled Estimates Show Commercial Driver Detention
Increases Crash Risks and Costs, but Current Data Limit Further
Analysis,\3\ DOT's Office of Inspector General recommended that FMCSA
collaborate with industry stakeholders to develop and implement a plan
to collect and analyze reliable, accurate, and representative data on
the frequency and severity of driver detention.
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\1\ https://www.gao.gov/assets/320/315297.pdf.
\2\ Driver Detention Times in Commercial Motor Vehicle
Operations (December 2014), https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/194/dot_194_DS1.pdf?
\3\ https://www.oig.dot.gov/library-item/36237.
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Although the above referenced studies estimated overall wait times,
they were not able to separate normal loading and unloading times
(e.g., the time it would usually take to load and unload a CMV under
typical schedules) from detention time (delays in the start of the
loading and unloading process which disrupt the driver's available
driving and/or on-duty time). This is a critical data gap in our
understanding of the detention issue.
FMCSA is interested in data sources, methodologies, and potential
technologies that could provide insight into loading and unloading
delays experienced by CMV drivers.
III. Request for Information
Specifically, FMCSA requests information that addresses the
following questions:
1. Are data currently available that can accurately record loading,
unloading, and delay times?
2. Is there technology available that could record and delineate
prompt loading and unloading times versus the extended delays sometimes
experienced by drivers?
3. How can delay times be captured and recorded in a systematic,
comparable manner?
4. Could systematic collection and publication of loading,
unloading, and delay times be useful in driver or carrier business
decisions and help to reduce loading, unloading, and delay times?
5. What should FMCSA use as an estimate of reasonable loading/
unloading time? Please provide a basis for your response.
6. How do contract arrangements between carriers and shippers
address acceptable wait times? Do these arrangements include penalties
for delays attributable to a carrier or shipper?
7. What actions by FMCSA, within its current statutory authority,
would help to reduce loading, unloading, and delay times?
Issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on: June 4,
2019.
Raymond P. Martinez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2019-12167 Filed 6-7-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P