[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 5 (Friday, January 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1001-1003]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00063]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2022-0002]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Emergency Approval of a 
New Information Collection Request: Apprenticeship Pilot Program

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

ACTION: Notice of request for emergency OMB approval.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
this notice announces that the new Information Collection Request (ICR) 
discussed below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and emergency approval. FMCSA requests that OMB 
approve this collection by January 13, 2021.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 12, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within by January 12, 2022 to 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. All comments received are part of 
the public record. Comments will generally

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be posted without change. Upon receiving the requested emergency 
approval by OMB, FMCSA will follow the normal PRA procedures to renew 
the information collection at its expiration date.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Michel, Mathematical 
Statistician, Research Division, Department of Transportation, FMCSA, 
West Building, 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 
20590-0001; 202-366-4354; Nicole.michel@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Apprenticeship Pilot Program.
    OMB Control Number: N/A; this is a new ICR.
    Type of Request: Request for emergency approval of a new 
information collection.
    Respondents: Motor carriers; drivers.
    Estimated Total Respondents: 44,945 total (4,500 motor carriers and 
40,445 commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers); 16,482 annually (3,000 
carriers and 13,482 CMV drivers).
    Estimated Total Responses: Applications: 44,945 total, or 14,982 
annually; Data collection for participating carriers: 486,000 total, or 
162,000 annually.
    Estimated Burden Hours: 571,047 total, or 190,349 annually (Motor 
carriers: 557,250 hours total, or 185,750 hours annually; Drivers: 
13,797 hours total, or 4,599 hours annually).
    Estimated Burden per Response: 20 minutes per response for carrier, 
apprentice, and experienced driver application forms; 15 minutes per 
response for safety benchmark certifications; 60 minutes per month per 
driver for monthly driving and safety data; 90 minutes per month for 
miscellaneous data submission.
    Frequency: Once for carrier, apprentice, and experienced driver 
application forms; twice for safety benchmark certifications; monthly 
per number of participating drivers for driving and safety data; and 
monthly for miscellaneous monthly data.
    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 commercial driver's license (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 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, and 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 data collection for 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 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). 
This data will be submitted monthly through 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 49 CFR 
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 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 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. FMCSA's 
regulatory authority for initiation of a pilot program is 49 CFR 
381.400. The Apprentice Pilot Program supports the USDOT strategic goal 
of economic strength while maintaining USDOT and FMCSA's commitment to 
safety.
    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 to perform its

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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.

    Issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87.
Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2022-00063 Filed 1-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P