Hours of Service of Drivers: Transco, Inc.; Application for Exemption

Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
28 September 2016

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 28, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66734-66736]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-23364]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2016-0244]


Hours of Service of Drivers: Transco, Inc.; Application for 
Exemption

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

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

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it has received an application from 
Transco, Inc. (Transco) for an exemption from the 30-minute rest break 
provision of the Agency's hours-of-service (HOS) regulations for 
commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. Transco requests that its 
drivers be permitted to comply with the 30-minute rest break 
requirement while performing on-duty, not-driving tasks. The requested 
exemption would apply to all Transco drivers in its grocery and 
foodservice divisions who provide driving and delivery services to 
their customers. Due to the nature of their operation, Transco believes 
that compliance with the 30-minute rest break rule negatively impacts 
the overall safety and general health of its CMV drivers, and therefore 
requests this exemption for all of its company drivers. FMCSA requests 
public comment on Transco's application for exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 28, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System Number FMCSA-2016-0244 by any of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. See the 
Public Participation and Request for Comments section below for further 
information.
     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.
     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 on-line FDMS is available 24 hours each 
day, 365 days each year
    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: For information concerning this 
notice, contact Mr. Thomas Yager, Chief, FMCSA Driver and Carrier 
Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety 
Standards; Telephone: (614) 942-6477. 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:

I. Public Participation and Request for Comments

    FMCSA encourages you to participate by submitting comments and 
related materials.

Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
notice (FMCSA-2016-0244), indicate

[[Page 66735]]

the specific section of this document to which the comment applies, and 
provide a reason for suggestions or recommendations. You may submit 
your comments and material online or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, 
but please use only one of these means. FMCSA recommends that you 
include your name and a mailing address, an email address, or a phone 
number in the body of your document so the Agency can contact you if it 
has questions regarding your submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to www.regulations.gov and put 
the docket number, ``FMCSA-2016-0244'' in the ``Keyword'' box, and 
click ``Search.'' When the new screen appears, click on ``Comment 
Now!'' button and type your comment into the text box in the following 
screen. Choose whether you are submitting your comment as an individual 
or on behalf of a third party and then submit. If you submit your 
comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no 
larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic 
filing. If you submit comments by mail and would like to know that they 
reached the facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard 
or envelope. FMCSA will consider all comments and material received 
during the comment period and may grant or not grant this application 
based on your comments.

II. Legal Basis

    FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315 to grant 
exemptions from certain Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations 
(FMCSRs). 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)).

III. Request for Exemption

    On December 27, 2011 (76 FR 81133), FMCSA published a final rule 
amending its hours-of-service (HOS) regulations for drivers of 
property-carrying CMVs. The final rule adopted several changes to the 
HOS rules, including a new provision requiring drivers to take a rest 
break during the work day under certain circumstances. Drivers may 
drive a CMV only if 8 hours or less have passed since the end of the 
driver's last off-duty or sleeper-berth period of at least 30 minutes. 
FMCSA did not specify when drivers must take the 30-minute break, but 
the rule requires that they wait no longer than 8 hours after the last 
off-duty or sleeper-berth period of that length or longer to take the 
break if they want to drive.
    Transco seeks an exemption from the 30-minute rest break provision 
in 49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii). Transco operates through McLane Company, 
Inc., its commonly-owned affiliate, which delivers food products and 
other goods to various grocery stores and restaurants throughout the 
United States. McLane's Grocery and Foodservice divisions maintain 
distribution centers throughout the country, each employing between 100 
and 300 drivers. McLane's drivers provide just-in-time food delivery 
services to its customers, which include convenience stores, mass 
merchants, and various dining establishments. Transco contends that its 
drivers/operations differ greatly from the average long-haul CMV driver 
for the following reasons:
     Multi-stop daily deliveries: Its drivers typically make 
daily multi-stop deliveries to Transco's customers, returning to their 
originating distribution center at the end of each load, which takes an 
average of 19 hours. On average, each Transco driver makes nine stops 
per day;
     Significant physical activity: Each delivery requires the 
driver to get in and out of the CMV on multiple occasions to unload 
grocery, fresh food, and other products for delivery. Specifically, 
deliveries to smaller customers, which comprise the majority of each 
driver's deliveries, include parking the CMV close the customer's 
store, lowering a ramp from the rear of the CMV to the ground, and off-
loading freight using a two-wheeled cart into the store. For larger 
customers, the driver delivers the freight at the customer's loading 
dock; and
     Breaks in the driving routine: Each delivery effectively 
breaks up the otherwise uninterrupted driving routine. The physical 
activities that Transco drivers engage in on a daily basis differs 
significantly from those of long-haul truck drivers who often do not 
engage in vigorous physical activity.
    According to Transco, as a result of these operational differences, 
the 30-minute rest break requirement does not increase safety when 
applied to its drivers; instead, the applicant claims the requirement 
may very well decrease road safety for its drivers. For the typical 
long-haul CMV driver, the 30-minute rest break serves as an opportunity 
to break the monotony of driving and relieve some of the stress of 
continuous driving, but for Transco's drivers, by the nature of the 
work they currently have breaks--which includes physical exercise--
several times each day.
    Additionally, Transco states that the 30-minute rest break 
requirement causes its drivers to travel over 8.2 million additional 
miles each year on more than 18,000 additional loads. This increase in 
miles traveled results in eight additional reportable accidents per 
year, and also requires Transco CMVs to use over 1.3 million more 
gallons of fuel each year. This influx of CMVs on public highways also 
increases congestion, and wear on critical infrastructure. The 30-
minute rest-break requirement also degrades the health of Transco's 
drivers as leading clinical studies reveal sedentary activities 
substantially increase the risk of cardiovascular disease among adults. 
By insisting that the rest-break requirement be performed off-duty, it 
essentially forces Transco's drivers to stop physical activity and 
become sedentary.
    Transco believes that the granting of this exemption would offer 
two benefits--(1) the exemption would reduce the number of motor 
vehicle accidents and congestion on public roads by reducing the 
overall miles travelled to serve its customers; and (2) the exemption 
would increase the health of their drivers by increasing their physical 
activity through the course of their deliveries and substantially 
reducing any sedentary periods. Transco contends that under the 
exemption, its operations would maintain a level of safety equivalent 
to, if not greater than, that achieved by complying with the 
regulation. In its application, Transco lists a number of on-going 
company safety activities already in place to provide continuous 
training to drivers about both safety policy violations and driving 
behaviors that increase risk. These activities include on-board visual 
monitoring systems, Automatic On-Board Recording Devices, driver 
training, weekly safety

[[Page 66736]]

inspections, full compliance assessments, and periodic safety committee 
meetings, which Transco contends would ensure an equivalent level of 
safety if the requested exemption is granted.
    A copy of the Transco's application for exemption is available for 
review in the docket for this notice.

    Issued on: September 15, 2016.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2016-23364 Filed 9-27-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P