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Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved Information Collection: Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program Publication: Federal Register Signing Official: Thomas P. Keane Agency: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Date: 11 July 2022 
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 131 (Monday, July 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41164-41166]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14626]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2022-0081]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved
Information Collection: Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department
of Transportation (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 its
review and approval and invites public comment. FMCSA requests approval
to renew the ICR titled ``Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program.''
This ICR was previously approved under emergency procedures on January
24, 2022 and expires on July 31, 2022. The ICR is necessary for FMCSA
to conduct a pilot program to determine the safety impacts of allowing
18- to 20-year-old commercial driver's license (CDL) holders to operate
commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. The ICR will
cover data collected on drivers and carriers participating in the pilot
program.
DATES: Please send your comments by August 10, 2022. OMB must receive
your comments by this date in order to act quickly on the ICR.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Michel, Office of Analysis,
Research, and Technology, Research Division, DOT, FMCSA, West Building,
6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001. 202-
366-4354; Nicole.michel@dot.gov. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: Current regulations on driver
qualifications (49 CFR part 391.11(b)(1)) state that a driver must be
21 years of age or older to operate a CMV in interstate commerce.
Currently, drivers under the age of 21 may operate CMVs only in
intrastate commerce subject to State laws and regulations. Section
23022 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), requires
the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a commercial driver
Apprenticeship Pilot Program. An apprentice is defined as a person
under the age of 21 who holds a CDL. Under this program, these
apprentices will complete two probationary periods, during which they
may operate in interstate commerce only under the supervision of an
experienced driver in the passenger seat. An experienced
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driver is defined in section 23022 as a driver who is not younger than
26 years old, who has held a CDL and been employed for at least the
past 2 years, who has at least 5 years of interstate CMV experience,
and meets the other safety criteria defined in the IIJA.
The first probationary period must include at least 120 hours of on
duty time, of which at least 80 hours are driving time in a CMV. To
complete this probationary period, the employer must determine
competency in:
1. Interstate, city traffic, rural 2-lane, and evening driving;
2. Safety awareness;
3. Speed and space management;
4. Lane control;
5. Mirror scanning;
6. Right and left turns; and
7. Logging and complying with rules relating to hours of service.
The second probationary period must include at least 280 hours of
on-duty time, including not less than 160 hours driving time in a CMV.
To complete this probationary period, the employer must determine
competency in:
1. Backing and maneuvering in close quarters;
2. Pre-trip inspections;
3. Fueling procedures;
4. Weighing loads, weight distribution, and sliding tandems;
5. Coupling and uncoupling procedures; and
6. Trip planning, truck routes, map reading, navigation, and
permits.
After completion of the second probationary period the apprentice
may begin operating CMVs in interstate commerce unaccompanied by an
experienced driver.
In addition to data regarding successful completion of the
probationary periods, the IIJA requires collection of data relating to
any incident in which a participating apprentice is involved as well as
other data relating to the safety of apprentices. Additional data will
include crash data (incident reports, police reports, insurance
reports), inspection data, citation data, safety event data (as
recorded by all safety systems installed on vehicles, to include
advanced driver assistance systems, automatic emergency braking
systems, onboard monitoring systems, and required forward-facing and
in-cab video systems) as well as exposure data (record of duty status
logs, on-duty time, driving time, and time spent away from home
terminal). Additionally, carriers will be asked to report any
additional or remedial training being given to participating drivers.
This data will be submitted monthly by participating motor carriers.
The data collected will be used to report on the following items, as
required by section 23022:
1. The findings and conclusions on the ability of technologies or
training provided to apprentices as part of the pilot program to
successfully improve safety;
2. An analysis of the safety record of participating apprentices as
compared to other CMV drivers;
3. The number of drivers that discontinued participation in the
apprenticeship program before completion;
4. A comparison of the safety records of participating drivers
before, during, and after each probationary period; and
5. A comparison of each participating driver's average on-duty
time, driving time, and time spent away from home terminal before,
during, and after each probationary period.
FMCSA will monitor the monthly data being reported by the motor
carriers and will identify drivers or carriers that may pose a risk to
public safety. While removing unsafe drivers or carriers may bias the
dataset, it is a necessary feature for FMCSA to comply with Sec.
381.505, which requires development of a monitoring plan to ensure
adequate safeguards to protect the health and safety of pilot program
participants and the general public. Knowing that a driver or carrier
was removed from the pilot program for safety reasons will help FMCSA
minimize bias in the final data analysis.
FMCSA and the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Agency
(DOL/ETA) will be partnering in the implementation of the Safe Driver
Apprenticeship Pilot (SDAP) Program. All motor carriers who are
approved for the program by FMCSA will also be required to become
Registered Apprenticeships (RAs) under 29 CFR part 29 before they can
submit information on their experienced drivers and apprentices. The
information collection burden for the DOL/ETA RA Program can be found
in approved ICR 1205-0223.
The statutory mandate for this pilot program is contained in
section 23022 of the IIJA. FMCSA's regulatory authority for initiation
of a pilot program is found in 49 CFR 381.400. The SDAP program
supports the DOT strategic goal of economic strength while maintaining
DOT and FMCSA's commitment to safety.
Publication History: On January 7, 2022, FMCSA published a notice
in the Federal Register seeking public comment on the emergency
approval of this ICR (87 FR 1001). A total of 144 comments were
received on that notice; you may find a discussion of these comments in
the 60-day notice that published in the Federal Register (87 FR 23010).
On April 18, 2022, FMCSA published a 60-day notice in the Federal
Register, announcing its intention to request that OMB renew the
emergency information collection approval for a full 3-years. FMCSA
received 16 comments in the docket for that notice. Of these, nine were
comments on the ICR, and seven were misfiled comments on a separate
notice issued by FMCSA. Of the nine comments on the ICR, four were
submitted by individuals. The remaining three comments were filed by
Samsara Inc., the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the Shippers
Coalition, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association
(APCIA), and jointly by the Truck Safety Coalition (TSC), Citizens for
Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH), and Parents Against Tired Truckers
(PATT).
Comment Discussion: The comments received from the Shippers
Coalition, ATA, Samsara, Inc., and two of the individuals supported the
SDAP Program generally, and the information collection discussed in the
60-day notice. One of the individual commenters caveated his support by
noting that both apprentice and experienced drivers must be thoroughly
vetted for safety. The other individual questioned why the number of
apprentice participants is being capped at 3,000. ATA commended FMCSA
on clarifying the burden estimate and recommended that FMCSA re-
consider other suggestions posed in their prior comment.
Response: FMCSA appreciates the support and will be ensuring a
thorough vetting of participating motor carriers, experienced drivers,
and apprentices. As to the number of participants, the IIJA limits the
total number of apprentices in the program at any one time to 3000 (see
IIJA Sec. 23022(b)(4)). Regarding ATA's suggestion on minimizing
burden for the monthly data collection, FMCSA is committed to working
with participating carriers to ensure data is collected in a meaningful
and least-burdensome method.
The comments submitted by the remaining two individuals focused on
elements of or questions on the underlying SDAP Program and were not
specific to the ICR. One of these individuals questioned who will
insure the ``high risk young drivers.'' The other noted that he does
not think the SDAP Program will help alleviate a truck driver shortage,
stating that trucking companies will just mistreat young drivers the
way they mistreat drivers
[[Page 41166]]
over the age of 21, resulting in more drivers leaving the profession.
Response: FMCSA is not in a position to answer the question about
who will insure the apprentice drivers, but notes that any motor
carrier wishing to participate in the SDAP Program will need to provide
proof that their apprentice drivers are covered by a valid insurance
policy, or that the motor carrier is a participant in FMCSA's self-
insurance program. As to the comment regarding mistreatment of
apprentice drivers, FMCSA notes that the requirements for RA programs
under DOL regulations provide protection from the type of mistreatment
the commenter discussed. This is one reason why FMCSA partnered with
the DOL and is requiring that motor carriers participating in the SDAP
Program also become Registered Apprenticeship participants.
APCIA's comment raised questions regarding the data FMCSA will
collect and the data that FMCSA will use as comparison data. APCIA
stated that FMCSA ``must show that participating drivers are no more
likely than the current population of interstate commercial truck
drivers [to] have highway accidents.'' APCIA also noted that the
information collected should capture any additional training that
individual motor carriers may add, on top of those required by the SDAP
Program, and requested that the final public data set include detailed
statistical information on the program's safety results, to aid
insurers in making decisions in the future.
Response: While the APCIA has provided statistics on crash rates of
younger drivers, one of the key components of this pilot program is to
identify how a structured training and probationary period can enhance
the safety of younger CMV operators, which can only be determined
through conducting the pilot program. FMCSA agrees that it is important
to collect information on any remedial or additional training that
occurs and has included this information in the monthly data collection
plan. FMCSA will publish all detailed statistics collected during the
study provided no personally identifiable information is included.
Finally, TSC, CRASH, and PATT noted their opposition to the SDAP
Program, and urged that FMCSA immediately terminate it. In the
alternative, the commenters requested that FMCSA add several
requirements to the SDAP Program, including: extending requirements for
the technology that is required to be installed in a CMV past the
probationary periods to the entirety of the apprenticeship; requiring
both front- and rear-facing cameras; and requiring all participating
motor carriers to agree to a compliance review or DOT audit within 18
months of acceptance into the SDAP Program. Additionally, Samsara, Inc.
also recommended requiring both forward facing and in-cab camera views.
Response: FMCSA agrees with and accepts the requirement for both
forward facing- and rear- (in-cab) facing cameras throughout the
participation period of apprentices to be able to collect adequate
safety data. Requiring additional technology, such as speed limiters or
active braking mitigation devices past the probationary period could be
prohibitive to smaller carriers wishing to participate, and therefore
FMCSA has decided not to extend the technology requirements past what
is in the IIJA. FMCSA will note that the adoption of these technologies
is steadily increasing, and it is therefore likely that a large
percentage of apprentices, if not all, will continue to utilize these
technologies throughout their tenure in the program despite the lack of
requirement. FMCSA will collect data on a monthly basis regarding which
technologies are actively employed on the vehicles which apprentices
are driving. FMCSA requiring a compliance review or DOT audit of up to
1,000 carriers participating in the program would detract resources
from carriers who have been flagged for a compliance review or DOT
audit due to safety-related reasons. This requirement is not feasible
for FMCSA to implement at this time.
Title: Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program.
OMB Control Number: 2126-0075.
Type of Request: Renewal of an information collection previously
approved under emergency authority.
Respondents: Motor carriers; drivers.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 14,830 total (1,600 motor carriers
and 13,230 CMV drivers); 5,410 annually (1,000 carriers and 4,410 CMV
drivers).
Estimated Time per Response: Application (motor carrier, apprentice
driver, and experienced driver): 20 Minutes; safety benchmark
certifications: 15 Minutes; monthly driving and safety data: 60
Minutes; miscellaneous data submission: 90 Minutes.
Expiration Date: July 31, 2022.
Frequency of Response: Application (motor carrier, apprentice
driver, and experienced driver): Once; safety benchmark certifications:
Twice for each apprentice driver; monthly driving and safety data:
Monthly; miscellaneous data submissions: Monthly.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 169,344 hours total, or 56,448 hours
annually (motor carriers: 164,934 hours total, or 54,978 hours
annually, which includes a one-time application, two safety benchmark
certifications for each participating apprentice, and monthly driving
and safety data on all participating apprentices as well as
miscellaneous data submissions; drivers: 13,797 hours total, or 4,599
hours annually which includes a one-time application for experienced
and apprentice drivers).
Definitions: N/A.
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 performance of FMCSA's functions; (2)
the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for 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. The Agency will summarize or include your
comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this ICR.
Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.
Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2022-14626 Filed 7-8-22; 8:45 am]
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