Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection Request: Accident Recordkeeping Requirements

Kelly Leone
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
December 14, 2010

[Federal Register: December 14, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 239)]
[Notices]               
[Page 77939-77940]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14de10-117]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2010-0378]

 
Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Currently 
Approved Information Collection Request: Accident Recordkeeping 
Requirements

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 (PRA), 
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. The FMCSA requests approval to revise and 
extend an ICR entitled, ``Accident Recordkeeping Requirements.'' The 
collection is necessary for FMCSA to assess the effectiveness of the 
safety management controls of motor carriers. On September 9, 2010, 
FMCSA published a Federal Register notice allowing for a 60-day comment 
period on the ICR. No comment was received.

DATES: Please send your comments by January 13, 2011. 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-2010-0378. 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 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: Mr. Thomas Yager, Chief, Driver and 
Carrier Operations Division, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and 
Operations, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Telephone: 202-366-4325. 
E-mail: MCPSD@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Accident Recordkeeping Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0009.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently-approved information 
collection.
    Respondents: Motor carriers engaged in interstate commerce.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 500,000.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 75,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 18 minutes.
    Expiration Date: February 28, 2011.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 22,500 hours.
    Improved FMCSA accident data provides a more accurate estimate of 
the total responses to this information collection each year: 75,000. 
The Agency's previous estimate was 106,800 responses. FMCSA retains its 
prior estimate that a motor carrier requires approximately 18 minutes, 
on average, to complete the tasks necessary to comply with Sec.  
390.15, i.e., collecting the required information about the accident, 
entering it into the Accident Register and maintaining it and other 
documents required by Sec.  390.15. Therefore, the annual burden hours 
for all motor carriers is 22,500 hours (rounded) (75,000 responses x 18 
minutes each divided by 60 minutes per hour).
    Background: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each IC 
they conduct, sponsor, or require through regulations. FMCSA has 
determined that it needs to revise the currently-approved estimate for 
OMB Control No. 2126-0009, ``Accident Recordkeeping Requirements.'' The 
regulation underlying this ICR is 49 CFR 390.15, ``Assistance in 
investigations and special studies.'' It requires motor carriers to 
make all records and information pertaining to specified accidents 
available to an authorized representative or special agent of the FMCSA 
upon request, or as part of an inquiry.

[[Page 77940]]

Interstate motor carriers are required to maintain an Accident Register 
consisting of specified information about each accident involving their 
commercial motor vehicles. The information for each accident must 
include, at a minimum, the following elements: Date of accident, city 
or town in which or most near where the accident occurred, the State in 
which the accident occurred, driver name, number of injuries, number of 
fatalities, and whether hazardous materials, other than fuel spilled 
from the fuel tanks of motor vehicles involved in the accident, were 
released. In addition, the register must contain copies of all accident 
reports required by State or other governmental entities or insurers. 
Motor carriers must maintain the required information in the Accident 
Register for 3 years after the date of the accident.
    This ICR strengthens FMCSA's ability to assess motor carrier safety 
performance. These assessments enable FMCSA to direct its enforcement 
resources to the motor carriers with the weakest safety records, 
helping those carriers prevent accidents and reduce their severity.
    On February 8, 2008, OMB approved FMCSA's estimate for this ICR of 
32,040 annual burden hours and established an expiration date for this 
ICR of February 28, 2011. Today, FMCSA announces its plan to request 
that OMB approve revision of this estimate to 22,500 annual burden 
hours.
    Definitions: Each of these definitions can be found at 49 CFR 
390.5: ``Motor carrier'': Any person engaged in a business affecting 
interstate commerce who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle in 
connection with that business, or assigns employees to operate it. 
``Commercial motor vehicle'': A self-propelled or towed vehicle used on 
the highways in interstate commerce to transport passengers or 
property, if the vehicle--(1) Has a gross vehicle weight rating or 
gross combination weight rating, or gross vehicle weight or gross 
combination weight of 10,001 pounds, whichever is greater; or (2) Is 
designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the 
driver) for compensation; or (3) Is designed or used to transport more 
than 15 passengers, including the driver, and is not used to transport 
passengers for compensation; or (4) Is used in transporting material 
found by the Secretary of Transportation to be hazardous under section 
5103 of title 49, United States Code, and transported in a quantity 
requiring placarding under regulations prescribed by the Secretary 
under section 5103. ``Accident'': an occurrence involving a commercial 
motor vehicle operating on a highway in interstate or intrastate 
commerce which results in: (i) A fatality; (ii) bodily injury to a 
person who, as a result of the injury, receives medical treatment away 
from the scene of the accident; or (iii) one or more motor vehicles 
incurring disabling damage as a result of the accident, requiring the 
motor vehicle(s) to be transported away from the scene by a tow truck 
or other motor vehicle. The term ``accident'' does not include: (i) An 
occurrence involving only boarding or alighting from a stationary motor 
vehicle or (ii) an occurrence involving only the loading or unloading 
of cargo.
    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 information 
collection.

    Issued on: November 30, 2010.
Kelly Leone,
Associate Administrator for Research and Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2010-31262 Filed 12-13-10; 8:45 am]
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