Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension of an Approved Information Collection: Training Certification for Drivers of Longer Combination Vehicles

AGENCY:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice; request for comments.

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 approval and invites public comment. FMCSA requests approval to renew the ICR titled “Training Certification for Drivers of Longer Combination Vehicles (LCVs).” This ICR relates to Agency requirements for drivers to be certified to operate LCVs, and that motor carriers must satisfy before permitting their drivers to operate LCVs. Motor carriers, upon inquiry by authorized Federal, State or local officials, must produce an LCV driver-training certificate for each of their LCV drivers.

DATES:

We must receive your comments on or before December 13, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket Management System Number FMCSA-2016-0334 by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
• Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
• Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments see the Public Participation heading below. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to www.regulations.gov,, including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.

Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to www.regulations.gov,, and follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets, or go to the street address listed above.

Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's Privacy Act Statement for the Federal Docket Management System published in the Federal Register on January 17, 2008 (73 FR 3316), or you may visit http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdfE8-794.pdf.

Public participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the “help” section of the Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site. If you want us to notify you that we received your comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that appears after submitting comments online. Comments received after the comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be considered to the extent practicable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Thomas Yager, Chief, Driver and Carrier Operations Division, Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-4325; email tom.yager@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background: An LCV is any combination of a truck-tractor and two or more semi-trailers or trailers that operates on the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways (according to 23 CFR 470.107) and has a gross vehicle weight greater than 80,000 pounds. To enhance the safety of LCV operations on our nation's highways, Section 4007(b) of the Motor Carrier Act of 1991 directed the Secretary of Transportation to establish Federal minimum training requirements for drivers of LCVs [Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), Pub. L. 102-240, 105 Stat. 1914, 2152]. The Secretary of Transportation delegated responsibility for establishing these requirements to FMCSA (49 CFR 1.87), and on March 30, 2004, after appropriate notice and solicitation of public comment, FMCSA established the current training requirements for operators of LCVs (69 FR 16722). The regulations bar motor carriers from permitting their drivers to operate an LCV if they have not been properly trained in accordance with the requirements of 49 CFR 380.113. Drivers receive an LCV Driver-Training Certificate upon successful completion of these training requirements. Motor carriers employing an LCV driver must verify the driver's qualifications to operate an LCV, and must maintain a copy of the LCV Driver-Training Certificate and present it to authorized Federal, State or local officials upon request.

Title: Training Certification for Drivers of LCVs.

OMB Control Number: 2126-0026.

Type of Request: Extension of a currently-approved information collection.

Respondents: Drivers who complete LCV training each year, current LCV drivers who submit their LCV Driver-Training Certificate to prospective employers, and employers (motor carriers) receiving and maintaining copies of the LCV Driver-Training certificates of their drivers.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 59,684 consisting of 2,360 newly-certified LCV drivers plus 28,662 currently-certified LCV drivers plus 28,662 motor carriers employing LCV drivers.

Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes for preparation of LCV Driver-Training Certificates for drivers who successfully complete the LCV training, and 10 minutes for activities associated with the LCV Driver-Training Certificate during the hiring process.

Expiration Date: May 31, 2017.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 5,565 hours. The total number of drivers who will be subjected to these requirements each year is 31,022, consisting of 2,360 newly-certified LCV drivers, and 28,662 currently-certified LCV drivers obtaining new employment. The total annual information collection burden is approximately 5,565 hours, consisting of 394 hours for preparation of LCV Driver-Training Certificates [2,360 drivers successfully completing LCV driver training × 10 minutes ÷ 60 minutes/hour] and 5,171 hours for requirements related to the hiring of LCV drivers [31,022 LCV drivers obtaining new employment × 10 minutes ÷ 60 minutes/hour].

Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary for FMCSA's performance; (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.