Hours of Service of Drivers: R&R Transportation Group; Application for Exemption

Topics:  R&R Trucking

Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
July 13, 2015

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 133 (Monday, July 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40120-40122]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-17019]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2015-0197]


Hours of Service of Drivers: R&R Transportation Group; 
Application for Exemption

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

ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it has received an application from the 
R&R Transportation Group (R&R) for an exemption from the minimum 30-
minute rest break requirement of the Agency's hours-of-service (HOS) 
regulations for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. The exemption 
would be available to R&R's drivers engaged in the transportation of 
materials that by their nature must be attended, such as radioactive 
materials, pharmaceuticals, and ammunition. The exemption would provide 
qualified drivers the same regulatory flexibility that the HOS 
regulations allow drivers transporting explosives, i.e. to use 30 
minutes or more of attendance time to meet the HOS rest break 
requirements, provided they do not perform any other work during the 
break. FMCSA requests

[[Page 40121]]

public comment on R&R's application for exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 12, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA-2015-0197 using any of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     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., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 
5 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket number 
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 Room W12-140 
on 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. The online FDMS is available 24 hours each 
day, 365 days each year. If you want acknowledgment that we received 
your comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or 
postcard or print the acknowledgment page that appears after submitting 
comments on-line.
    Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits 
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking 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 
www.dot.gov/privacy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Schultz, Driver and Carrier 
Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety 
Standards, FMCSA; Telephone: 202-366-4325. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. If you 
have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, contact 
Docket Services, telephone (202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315 to grant 
exemptions from certain parts of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Regulations. 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 also 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 decision of 
the Agency must be published 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 also specify the effective period and explain 
the terms and conditions of the exemption. The exemption may be renewed 
(49 CFR 381.300(b)), but only after the public is provided the 
opportunity to comment on the renewal.
    On December 27, 2011 (76 FR 81133), FMCSA published a final rule 
amending the HOS regulations (49 CFR part 395) for drivers of CMVs. The 
final rule included a new provision requiring certain drivers to take a 
rest break during their duty day. Specifically, the rule states that 
``driving is not permitted if more than 8 hours have passed since the 
end of the driver's last off-duty or sleeper-berth period of at least 
30 minutes'' [49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii)]. This provision took effect on 
July 1, 2013.
    Under the HOS rules, a driver is on duty if he or she is 
``performing any other work in the capacity, employ, or service of a 
motor carrier'' (Sec.  395.2). A driver is off duty when relieved of 
all duty and responsibility for the care and custody of the vehicle, 
its accessories, and any cargo it may be carrying. However, the Agency 
has recognized that under certain circumstances it is unsafe for CMVs 
to be left unattended so that the driver can take 30 minutes off duty. 
By regulation, FMCSA allows operators of CMVs transporting certain 
explosives to satisfy the rest-break requirement by using 30 minutes or 
more of attendance time providing they perform no other work during the 
break [49 CFR 395.1(q)]. Drivers employing this provision are required 
to annotate their duty-status record to indicate that they have used 
the exception.
    The Agency has granted requests for exemption from the 30-minute 
break requirement to drivers transporting security-sensitive 
radioactive materials (78 FR 32700, May 31, 2013) and weapons, 
munitions, and sensitive/classified cargo (80 FR 20556, April 16, 
2015). FMCSA has extended Sec.  49 CFR 395.1(q) to these drivers under 
certain terms and conditions.

Request for Exemption

    R&R operates three for-hire motor carriers that transport property 
in interstate commerce: R & R Trucking, Inc., USDOT 382936; TNI USA 
Inc. NC dba AATCO, USDOT 513601, and NEI Transport, LLC, USDOT 676270 . 
R&R's application for exemption states that the goods it transports are 
of such a nature or value that its drivers must keep the CMV under 
constant observation to prevent theft or an adverse security incident. 
The application provides examples of the goods transported by R&R CMVs: 
weapons, ammunition, night-vision goggles, pharmaceuticals, and 
radioactive material. R&R maintains constant attendance of such loads 
in order to protect the public from a major security or hazardous 
material event. R&R states that Federal contracts often require CMV 
drivers to maintain constant surveillance of the vehicle, and may 
require the driver of an escort CMV to maintain constant surveillance 
as well. In addition, R&R states that the U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security may require surveillance as part of a security alert posted in 
the National Terrorism Advisory System, and that some Federal agencies, 
in response to a threat, establish a security threat zone, or geo-
fence, restricting or barring further movement of an R&R CMV.
    R&R requests an exemption from the HOS regulation pertaining to 
rest breaks [49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii)] to allow R&R drivers providing 
surveillance services to be treated the same as CMV drivers attending 
explosives under Sec.  395.1(q). R&R believes that transportation under 
the requested exemption would achieve a level of safety and security 
that is at least equivalent to what would be obtained by following the 
normal break requirements in Sec.  395.3(a)(3)(ii). R&R states that if 
the exemption were granted, it would restrict its drivers of such CMVs 
from performing any other on-duty functions while satisfying the 30-
minute break requirement. R&R states that it will require its drivers 
to record their rest breaks as on-duty time in accordance with Sec.  
395.1(q), and to annotate such entries to indicate the

[[Page 40122]]

specific on-duty periods used to satisfy the rest-break requirement. 
R&R states that the Department of Defense provides documentation to CMV 
drivers to alert roadside inspectors of surveillance requirements.
    R&R indicates that its three entities operate 255 power units and 
that 290 drivers would be covered by the exemption. The proposed 
exemption would be effective for 2 years, the maximum period allowed by 
Sec.  381.300.
    The processing of R&R's exemption request had been held in abeyance 
until it could be determined whether another exemption request 
[American Trucking Associations, Inc. (ATA), announced May 1, 2015 (80 
FR 25004)] would make the R&R exemption unnecessary if approved. As 
requested, the ATA exemption was limited to transporters of certain 
hazardous materials and did not include some of the materials that R&R 
has requested to be covered by the exemption. Thus, R&R's request is 
now being considered independent of other requests.

Request for Comments

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315(b)(4), FMCSA 
requests public comment on R&R's application for an exemption from 
certain provisions of 49 CFR part 395. The Agency will consider all 
comments received by close of businesson August 12, 2015. Comments will 
be available for examination in the docket at the location listed under 
the ADDRESSES section of this notice. The Agency will consider to the 
extent practicable comments received in the public docket after the 
closing date of the comment period.

    Issued on: July 7, 2015.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2015-17019 Filed 7-10-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P