Hours of Service (HOS) of Drivers: Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC) Application for Exemption From ELD and Certain HOS Requirements

James W. Deck
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
16 October 2020

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 201 (Friday, October 16, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65896-65898]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22890]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2020-0097]


Hours of Service (HOS) of Drivers: Small Business in 
Transportation Coalition (SBTC) Application for Exemption From ELD and 
Certain HOS Requirements

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

ACTION: Notice of final disposition; denial of application for 
exemption.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its decision to deny the Small Business in 
Transportation Coalition's (SBTC) request for an exemption from the 
electronic logging device (ELD) requirements for commercial motor 
vehicle (CMV) drivers traveling with domestic animals in interstate 
commerce. Additionally, FMCSA denies SBTC's request for an exemption 
from the hours-of-service (HOS) requirements to allow these drivers to 
drive up to 13 hours during a work shift and to operate within a 16-
hour window within which all driving tasks would be completed. FMCSA 
has analyzed the exemption application and public comments and has 
determined that it cannot ensure that granting the requested exemptions 
would achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the 
level that would be achieved absent such exemptions.

DATES: FMCSA denies this application for exemption effective October 
16, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. La Tonya Mimms, Chief, FMCSA 
Driver and Carrier Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and 
Vehicle Safety Standards; Telephone: (202) 366-9220 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. 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).

[[Page 65897]]

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)).
    When the Agency denies a request for an exemption, the applicant 
may be allowed to resubmit the application if the applicant can 
reasonably address the basis for denial (49 U.S.C. 31315(b)(3)).

II. Background

    Generally, individuals may not drive a property-carrying CMV more 
than 11 hours during a work shift, following 10 consecutive hours off 
duty. Under the current regulations all driving must be completed 
within 14 hours of the beginning of the work shift, with certain 
alternatives for drivers who use sleeper berths. Most drivers who are 
required to prepare and maintain records of duty status (RODS) to 
document their HOS are subject to the Electronic Logging Devices (ELD) 
Rule and must use an ELD.

III. Request for Exemptions

    SBTC requests that drivers of property-carrying CMVs, when 
accompanied by any domestic animal, be exempt from the requirement to 
use an ELD for their RODS and be allowed to prepare and maintain paper 
RODS as an alternative.
    SBTC also requests that drivers of property-carrying vehicles 
accompanied by any domestic animal be granted an exemption from 49 CFR 
395.3(a)(2) and (3)(i), allowing them to drive up to 13 hours during a 
work shift, following 10 consecutive hours off-duty. The requested 
exemption would allow them a 16-hour driving window within which to use 
the 13 hours of driving time.

IV. Methodology To Ensure Safety

    To ensure a level of safety that is equivalent to or greater than 
the level that would be achieved absent such exemptions, SBTC offers 
the use of paper RODS in lieu of ELDs. SBTC asserts that paper logs 
provide the level of safety already assured by the pre-existing HOS 
rule as opposed to using an ELD. SBTC compares the two-hour extension 
of driving time to the two driving hours allotted for adverse driving 
conditions. Lastly, SBTC believes its exemption request is no different 
than the other ELD exemptions FMCSA has granted.

V. Public Comments

    On March 11, 2020, FMCSA published notice of this application and 
requested public comments (85 FR 14289). The Agency received more than 
165 comments, approximately 130 of which favored the exemption. Mr. 
Jeffrey Anderson said, ``I agree with being exempt because I also have 
a pet onboard and it should be fair for [all].'' Ms. Deborah Carly 
wrote: ``I am in favor of this exemption . . . . Pets are family. There 
needs to be consideration for their needs; and currently there is 
nothing. Pets are, sometimes, the only family drivers have. There needs 
to be rules in place to make sure their needs are met.'' Many of the 
commenters simply wrote, ``I support this exemption.'' Some comments 
focused more on the HOS rules than the exemption application; a few 
comments were not germane.
    A total of 35 commenters opposed the exemption application, 
including the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the Commercial 
Motor Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), and the Truckload Carriers 
Association (TCA). Ms. Suzanne Pehl wrote the following:

    Drivers traveling with pets should [not]be exempt from ELDs or 
any other regulation. If such an exemption is allowed, drivers will 
get a pet just to be exempt from regulations. That would create 
numerous problems for pets as well as safety problems for other 
drivers on the road. If you keep creating exemptions, there will be 
no regulations.

    ATA wrote the following:

    SBTC's application asks FMCSA to extend driver hours-of-service 
for up to 13 hours during the duty day following ten consecutive 
hours off duty, and exempt drivers traveling with domestic animals 
from the ELD mandate. FMCSA approval of this application would, in 
essence, apply an overbroad category of exempted individuals to an 
insufficiently defined class of exemption. Despite some research 
that shows how domestic animals can improve driver feelings of 
companionship, and, anecdotally, safety, SBTC's application does not 
support the agency's obligation of ensuring an equivalent or greater 
level of safety than exists under the current regulation.

    CVSA wrote the following:

    In their application, SBTC requests that drivers traveling with 
pets be exempt from the electronic logging device (ELD) requirement 
and that they be allowed to extend the 14-hour period to 16 hours 
and the maximum allowed driving time from 11 hours to 13 hours. If 
granted, the requested additional driving and on-duty time will 
expose drivers to a greater risk of fatigue, putting themselves and 
the public at risk and the ELD exemption would make adherence to the 
hours-of-service rules much more difficult to verify. The hours-of-
service framework is put in place to prevent this type of excessive 
driving that causes fatigue.

    TCA wrote as follows:

    We appreciate the immense value these beloved `family members' 
bring to those drivers, and we see individual carriers' pet policies 
as a significant way for them to differentiate themselves and 
recruit talent which may find that benefit attractive. However, 
while we are supportive of the driver's right to have a pet in the 
truck, TCA opposes both exemptions requested by SBTC.

V. Safety Analysis

    When FMCSA published the rule mandating ELDs, it relied upon 
research indicating that the rule improves CMV safety by improving 
compliance with the HOS rules. The rule also reduces the overall 
paperwork burden for both motor carriers and drivers. When the FMCSA 
established the HOS rules, it relied upon research indicating that the 
rules improve CMV safety. These regulations put limits in place for 
when and how long an individual may drive to ensure that drivers stay 
awake and alert while driving and to help reduce the possibility of 
driver fatigue. The Agency reaffirmed the ``core'' HOS provisions in 
the HOS final rule published on June 1, 2020 [85 FR 33396]. The 
revisions adopted in that rule do not allow truck drivers any 
additional driving time beyond the current 11-hour limit, and subject 
to a limited exception concerning adverse driving conditions, the 14-
hour duty day. None of the final rule provisions increases the maximum 
allowable driving time, as the available data does not support any 
additional driving time. Based on the current scientific information 
and its own experience with HOS regulations, the Agency concluded that 
the changes made by the final rule are safety- and health-neutral.

VI. FMCSA Decision

    FMCSA denies SBTC's application because it does not meet the 
regulatory standards for an exemption. SBTC failed

[[Page 65898]]

to identify an individual or motor carrier that would be responsible 
for the use or operation of CMVs under the exemptions, as required by 
49 CFR 381.310(b)(2). SBTC failed to provide an estimate of the total 
number of drivers and CMVs that would be operated under the terms and 
conditions of the exemptions, as required by section 381.310(c)(3). 
Lastly, SBTC proposed no countermeasures to ensure an equivalent or 
greater level of safety than would be achieved under compliance with 
the current rules, as required by section 381.310(c)(5).

James W. Deck,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2020-22890 Filed 10-15-20; 8:45 am]
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