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

G. Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
27 March 2017

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 57 (Monday, March 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15270-15271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-05975]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA 2016-0334]


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

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
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. This ICR relates to the qualification of 
drivers to operate longer combination vehicles (LCVs). On October 14, 
2016, FMCSA published a Federal Register notice announcing an increase 
in the Agency's estimate of the total information-collection (IC) 
burden of these driver training certifications and asked for public 
comment. One comment was received. The Agency's regulations have not 
changed, but the population of CMV drivers operating LCVs has increased 
since OMB approved this ICR on May 14, 2014.

DATES: Please send your comments by April 26, 2017. OMB must receive 
your comments by this date to act quickly on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2016-0334. Interested persons are 
invited to submit written comments on the proposed information 
collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget. Comments should be addressed to the attention 
of the OMB Desk Officer, DOT/FMCSA, and sent via electronic mail to 
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov, faxed to (202) 395-6974, or mailed to the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 
20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert F. Schultz, FMCSA Driver 
and Carrier Operations Division, DOT, FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-
4325. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Training Certification for Drivers of Longer Combination 
Vehicles.
    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 
x 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 x 10 minutes / 60 minutes/hour].

Background

    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 and has a gross vehicle weight greater than 80,000 
pounds (49 CFR 380.105). 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

[[Page 15271]]

for drivers of LCVs [Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act 
of 1991 (ISTEA), Pub. L. 102-240, 105 Stat. 1914, 2152, 49 USCA Sec.  
2302 NOTE]. 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.
    The LCV regulations have not changed, but the Agency is increasing 
its estimate of the IC burden to 5,565 hours because the population of 
CMV drivers receiving LCV training and the number of drivers being 
certified to operate LCVs have both increased based upon U.S. 
Department of Labor data.
    The Agency received one comment to the 60-day Federal Register 
notice of October 14, 2016. The comment did not address the paperwork 
burden; instead, it lamented the existence of the requirement that 
operators of LCVs receive specialized training. As explained above, the 
Motor Carrier Act of 1991 directed the Secretary of Transportation to 
establish these LCV training requirements.

Public Comments Invited

    FMCSA requests that you comment on any aspect of this information 
collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary 
for FMCSA to perform its 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 collected 
information.

    Issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on: March 
20, 2017.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology.
[FR Doc. 2017-05975 Filed 3-24-17; 8:45 am]
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