Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved Information Collection: Training Certification for Drivers of Longer Combination Vehicles Publication: Federal Register Agency: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Byline: Thomas P. Keane Date: 3 March 2023 Subjects: American Government , Trucking

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 42 (Friday, March 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13493-13494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04382]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2022-0170]


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

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 an ICR titled, ``Training Certification for Drivers of Longer 
Combination Vehicles'' OMB Control No. 2126-0026. This ICR relates to 
Agency requirements for drivers to be certified to operate longer 
combination vehicles (LCVs), and associated recordkeeping requirements 
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: Comments on this notice must be received on or before April 3, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection (IC) should be sent within 30 days of 
publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find 
this IC by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public 
Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Pearlie Robinson, FMCSA Driver and 
Carrier Operations Division, DOT, FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366-4225, 
pearlie.robinson@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Training Certification for Drivers of Longer Combination 
Vehicles (LCVs).
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0026.
    Type of Request: Renewal of an information collection request.
    Respondents: LCV training providers who train new LCV drivers; 
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: 52,082, consisting of 240 LCV 
training providers, 240 newly-certified LCV drivers seeking employment, 
25,681 currently certified LCV drivers seeking employment, and 25,921 
motor carriers employing LCV drivers.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes for training providers to 
prepare LCV Driver-Training Certificates for drivers who successfully 
complete the LCV training; 5 minutes for newly-certified drivers, as 
well as 5 minutes for currently-certified drivers, to provide LCV 
Training Certification documents to motor carriers; and 5 minutes for 
motor carriers to retain the LCV training certifications.
    Expiration Date: June 30, 2023.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 4,360 hours. The total number of 
drivers who will be subjected to these requirements each year is 
25,921, which consists of 240 newly-certified LCV drivers seeking 
employment and 25,681 currently-certified LCV drivers obtaining new 
employment. Also, there are 240 LCV training providers who will be 
required to prepare the training certificates for newly-certified 
drivers. Additionally, there are 25,921 (240 + 25,681) motor carriers 
who will hire the drivers. The total annual information collection 
burden is approximately 4,360 hours = 40 hours for preparation of LCV 
Driver-Training Certificates [240 training providers prepare 
certificates for drivers successfully completing training x 10 minutes/
60 minutes/hour] + 20 hours for newly-certified LCV drivers seeking 
employment to provide certification documents to motor carriers [240 
drivers x 5 minutes/60 minutes/hour] + 2,140 hours for currently-
certified LCV drivers seeking employment to provide certification 
documents to motor carriers [25,681 drivers x 5 minutes/60 minutes/
hour] + 2,160 hours for the 25,921 motor carriers receiving and filing 
certificates from the hiring of 240 newly-certified LCV drivers and the 
hiring of 25,681 currently-certified LCV drivers [25,921 x 5 minutes/60 
minutes/hour].

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

[[Page 13494]]

than 80,000 pounds (49 CFR 380.105(b)) (see 69 FR 16733, March 30, 
2004). 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 (Title IV of the Intermodal Surface 
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, 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, FMCSA established the current training requirements for 
operators of LCVs (69 FR 16722), codified at 49 CFR part 380. The LCV 
Driver Training Program in 49 CFR 380.201 described in Appendix F to 
part 380 lists topics of instruction required for drivers of LCVs to 
complete during training before they can obtain an LCV Driver-Training 
Certificate. Drivers receive an LCV Driver-Training Certificate that is 
substantially in accordance with the form in 49 CFR 380.401(a) upon 
successful completion of these training requirements. Section 
380.401(b) requires drivers to provide a copy of the LCV Driver-
Training Certificate to his/her employer to be filed in the Driver 
Qualification file. Section 380.113 bars motor carriers from permitting 
their drivers to operate an LCV if the drivers have not been properly 
trained in accordance with the requirements of 49 CFR 380.203 or 
380.205. 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.

Renewal of This IC

    The current burden hour estimate associated with this IC, approved 
by OMB on June 26, 2020, is 4,244 hours. The expiration date of the 
current ICR is June 30, 2023. Through this ICR renewal, the Agency 
requests an increase in the burden hours from 4,244 hours to 4,360 
hours. The increase is the result of the increase in estimated driver 
population as well as the increase in expected industry growth rate for 
drivers from 2020 to 2030.
    On October 11, 2022, FMCSA published a Federal Register notice 
allowing for a 60-day comment period on this ICR (87 FR 61428). The 
comment period closed on December 12, 2022. There were no comments 
submitted in response to that notice.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this IC, 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 the 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 
information collected. 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. 2023-04382 Filed 3-2-23; 8:45 am]
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