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Commercial Driver's License: State of Hawaii; Application for Exemption Publication: Federal Register Agency: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Byline: Larry W. Minor Date: 25 August 2023 Subjects: American Government  , Driver Licensing
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 164 (Friday, August 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58434-58435]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18361]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2023-0185]
Commercial Driver's License: State of Hawaii; 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 the
state of Hawaii to exempt specified portions of the CDL skills test for
drivers on the islands of Lanai and Molokai due to the lack of highway
infrastructure to allow completion of the full skills test. Regulations
require a CDL applicant to possess and demonstrate specific on-road
safe driving skills, including the ability to choose a safe gap for
changing lanes, passing other vehicles, and crossing or entering
traffic and the ability to signal appropriately when changing direction
in traffic. The state of Hawaii proposes to issue a restricted CDL to
drivers who pass a limited CDL skills test in which the driver would
not be required to demonstrate the ability to perform those on-road
skills. FMCSA requests public comment on the applicant's request for
exemption.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 25, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Number FMCSA-2023-0185 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: Dockets Operations, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building, Ground Floor,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. E.T., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: (202) 493-2251.
Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket number
(FMCSA-2023-0185) 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 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. To be sure someone is there to help you, please call (202)
366-9317 or (202) 366-9826 before visiting Dockets Operations.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b), DOT solicits
comments from the public to better inform its exemption 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
https://www.transportation.gov/privacy, the comments are searchable by
the name of the submitter.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Clemente, Driver and
Carrier Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle
Safety Standards, FMCSA, at (202) 366-2722 or richard.clemente@dot.gov.
If you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket,
contact Dockets Operations at (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-2023-0185), 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-2023-0185'' in the keyword box, and click
``Search.'' Next, sort the results by ``Posted (Newer-Older),'' choose
the first notice listed, click the ``Comment'' 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
[[Page 58435]]
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(b) to grant
exemptions from Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs).
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
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 Agency must
publish its decision 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 specify the effective period and explain the terms and
conditions of the exemption. The exemption may be renewed (49 CFR
381.300(b)).
III. Applicant's Request
The state of Hawaii seeks an exemption from the requirements in 49
CFR 383.113(c) that an applicant for a commercial driver's license
(CDL) must demonstrate safe on-road driving skills, including the
ability to choose a safe gap for changing lanes, passing other
vehicles, crossing or entering traffic, and the ability to signal
appropriately when changing direction in traffic (49 CFR 383.113(c)(2)
and (4)). The state of Hawaii maintains that the islands of Lanai and
Molokai do not have at least two miles of a straight section of urban
business street and at least two miles of an expressway or highway
section with multiple lanes going in each direction to allow the
ability to legally change lanes. The state of Hawaii proposes to
establish a new CDL restriction ``R'', limiting the CDL's validity to
the islands of Lanai and Molokai only. These restricted CDLs would also
have the ``K'' (intrastate) restriction and would be applied to drivers
who take an abbreviated CDL skills test.
A copy of the State of Hawaii's application for exemption, along
with supplemental information provided by HDOT, is available for review
in the docket for this notice.
IV. Request for Comments
In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b), FMCSA requests public
comment from all interested persons on the state of Hawaii's
application for an exemption from the CDL regulations in 49 CFR
383.113(c). All comments received before the close of business on the
comment closing date indicated at the beginning of this notice will be
considered and will be available for examination in the docket at the
location listed under the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Comments
received after the comment closing date will be filed in the public
docket and will be considered to the extent practicable. In addition to
late comments, FMCSA will also continue to file, in the public docket,
relevant information that becomes available after the comment closing
date. Interested persons should continue to examine the public docket
for new material.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2023-18361 Filed 8-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P