Hours of Service; Electronic Logging Devices; Limited 90-Day Waiver; Truck Renting and Leasing Association, Inc. |
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Topics: Truck Renting and Leasing Association
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Cathy F. Gautreaux
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
19 January 2018
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2868-2869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00843]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2016-0428]
Hours of Service; Electronic Logging Devices; Limited 90-Day
Waiver; Truck Renting and Leasing Association, Inc.
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT
ACTION: Notice; grant of waiver.
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SUMMARY: FMCSA grants a limited 3-month waiver from the Federal hours-
of-service (HOS) requirements for electronic logging devices (ELDs) to
motor carriers and drivers operating property-carrying commercial motor
vehicles (CMVs) that are rented for a period not exceeding 30 days. The
Agency takes this action in response to a waiver request from the Truck
Renting and Leasing Association, Inc. (TRALA). The Agency has
determined that granting this waiver is in the public interest and will
likely achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to the level that
would be achieved absent the waiver, based on the terms and conditions
imposed.
DATES: This waiver is effective January 19, 2018, through April 19,
2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas L. Yager, Chief, Driver and
Carrier Operations Division, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and
Operations, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New
Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. Phone:
(614) 942-6477.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Legal Basis
The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) (Pub.
L. 105-178, 112 Stat. 107, sec. 4007(a) June 9, 1998) provides the
Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary) the authority to grant
waivers from any of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations issued
under Chapter 313 of Title 49 of the United States Code or 49 U.S.C.
31136, to a person(s) seeking regulatory relief (49 U.S.C. 31136(e),
31315(a)). The Secretary must make a determination that the waiver is
in the public interest and that it is likely to achieve a level of
safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety that
would be obtained in the absence of the waiver. Individual waivers may
be granted only for a specific unique, non-emergency event, for a
period up to three months. TEA-21 authorizes the Secretary to grant
waivers without prior notice or request for public comment.
The Administrator of FMCSA has been delegated authority under 49
CFR 1.87(e) to carry out the functions vested in the Secretary by 49
U.S.C. chapter 311, subchapters I and III, relating to commercial motor
vehicle programs and safety regulations.
Background
TRALA is a national trade association representing companies that
engage in commercial truck renting and leasing as well as consumer
truck rentals. Its membership encompasses major independent firms such
as Ryder System, Penske Truck Leasing, U-Haul, Budget, and Enterprise
Truck Rental, as well as small and medium-size businesses that
generally participate as members of four leasing group systems:
Idealease, NationaLease, PACCAR Leasing company, and Mack Leasing
System-Volvo Truck Leasing. In total, its nearly 500 member companies
operate more than 5,000 commercial leasing and rental locations, and
more than 20,000 consumer rental locations throughout the United
States, Mexico, and Canada. ``Renting'' is a term of art in the vehicle
leasing industry, generally meaning a transaction granting the
exclusive use of a vehicle for 30 days or less, whereas a lease
generally means a transaction granting the exclusive use of a vehicle
for more than 30 days.
In November 2016, TRALA submitted a petition requesting a 5-year
exemption on behalf of operators of property-carrying commercial motor
vehicles rented for 30 days or fewer from the requirement that motor
carriers whose drivers are required to keep records of duty status
(RODS) under the HOS rules generally must employ ELDs beginning
December 18, 2017, in lieu of paper logs, pursuant to an FMCSA rule
published December 16, 2015 (80 FR 78292). While TRALA stated that it
supported the ELD mandate, it was concerned about unintended technical
and operational consequences that would unfairly and adversely affect
short-term rental vehicles, namely, lack of interoperability between
the motor carrier's ELD technology and the rental company's platform,
potentially precluding data transfer between the two systems. TRALA
also raised concerns about data liability, particularly if the rental
companies needed to bear the burden of safeguarding data on behalf of
the motor carrier.
In accordance with 49 CFR 381.315, FMCSA sought public comment on
TRALA's exemption request (82 FR 14789 (Mar. 22, 2017)). FMCSA
evaluated TRALA's application and the public comments and granted a
limited exception, subject to specified terms and conditions, but only
for rentals not exceeding 8 days (82 FR 47306 (Oct. 11, 2017)).
Waiver Request
After FMCSA granted TRALA's exemption in part, TRALA filed a
request for a 90-day waiver from the ELD requirement for truck rentals
not exceeding 30 days. TRALA indicated that a 90-day waiver would allow
rental companies and their customers ``critical additional time to
develop compliance strategies'' to address ``unique issues relating to
the use of ELDs in short-term rental vehicles'' and allow time for
[[Page 2869]]
TRALA to consider whether to petition for reconsideration of FMCSA's
action on its exemption.
TRALA described unique challenges faced by operators of short-term
rentals, namely the lack of interoperability between ELD device
platforms, a situation that requires rental companies to address how
their customers' drivers might record their HOS using ELDs as
efficiently as possible. TRALA described several steps its members have
taken since FMCSA's October 11, 2017, decision granting a partial
exemption for rental trucks, including building cloud-based portal
systems between ELD providers and purchasers of ELDs. Nevertheless,
TRALA states that additional time is required and that a 90-day waiver
would allow its members to continue working through the issues
presented by the required technology and the need for individual
customer-based compliance strategies.
TRALA stated that the waiver would not result in any adverse impact
on safety as drivers of rental vehicles would remain subject to HOS
regulations and the requirement to keep paper records of duty status
under 49 CFR 395.3 and 395.8. Furthermore, TRALA stated that planned
enforcement activities would not be compromised, given the decision
that CMVs will not be placed out-of-service and carriers' Safety
Measurement System scores will not be impacted for failure to employ
ELDs through April 1, 2018.
Finally, TRALA explained why the waiver would not serve as a safe
harbor for carriers seeking to avoid compliance with the HOS
regulations, given the increased cost of operating under short-term
rental arrangements.
FMCSA Determination
Given the obstacles to ELD implementation unique to short-term CMV
rentals and the impact on carriers renting trucks for a period not
exceeding 30 days, FMCSA finds it is in the public interest to grant a
limited 3-month waiver from the requirement that carriers and drivers
operating rental CMVs in interstate commerce employ ELDs effective
December 18, 2017. This waiver will avoid business disruptions for
carriers required to employ short-term rentals, regardless of the
reason, and allow businesses renting CMVs to continue their work to
reconcile the ELD requirement with the needs of their individual
customers. Given the brief time frame during which the waiver will be
in effect and the terms and conditions applicable to drivers operating
under its provisions, FMCSA finds that a level of safety is likely to
be achieved that is equivalent to the level that would be obtained
absent the waiver. Because this waiver applies to all short-term truck
rentals not exceeding 30 days, during a time period both the previous
exemption and this waiver are in effect, this waiver supersedes the
exemption granted to TRALA on October 11, 2017 (82 FR 47306) to the
extent there is any inconsistency.
Terms and Conditions of the Waiver
(1) This waiver from the requirements of 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1)(i) is
effective from January 19, 2018, through April 19, 2018.
(2) This exemption covers rental of any property-carrying CMV for a
period of 30 days or less, regardless of the reason for the rental.
Evidence that a carrier has replaced one rental CMV with another on 30-
day cycles or attempted to renew a rental agreement for the same CMV
for a period beyond 30 days will be regarded as a violation of the
waiver.
(3) Carriers and drivers operating under this waiver must comply
with all other applicable requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Regulations, including the preparation of paper records of duty
status (RODS) for operations which are currently considered to be
subject to the HOS rules and the record retention requirements
associated with those RODs and supporting documents.
(4) Motor carriers operating under this waiver must have a
``satisfactory'' safety rating from FMCSA or be unrated; motor carriers
with ``conditional'' or ``unsatisfactory'' safety ratings are
prohibited from taking advantage of the waiver.
(5) Carriers operating under this waiver must ensure that their
drivers carry a copy of this Federal Register notice in the vehicle and
present it to motor carrier safety enforcement officials upon request.
(6) Crash Notification to FMCSA
Carriers operating under this waiver must notify FMCSA within 5
business days of any accident (as defined in 49 CFR 390.5), involving
any of the motor carrier's drivers operating under the terms of this
waiver. The notification must include the following information:
(a) Identity of Waiver: ``TRALA,''
(b) Date of the accident,
(c) City or town, and State, in which the accident occurred, or
closest to the accident scene,
(d) Driver's name and license number,
(e) Co-driver's name and license number (if applicable),
(f) Vehicle number and State license number,
(g) Number of individuals suffering physical injury,
(h) Number of fatalities,
(i) The police-reported cause of the accident,
(j) Whether the driver was cited for violation of any traffic laws
or motor carrier safety regulations, and
(k) The total driving time and total on-duty time period prior to
the accident.
Accident notifications must be emailed to MCPSD@dot.gov.
(7) FMCSA expects that any drivers and their employing motor
carrier operating under the terms and conditions of this waiver will
maintain their safety record. Should any safety problems be discovered,
however, FMCSA will take all steps necessary to protect the public
interest. Use of this waiver is voluntary, and FMCSA will immediately
revoke the waiver for any interstate driver or motor carrier for
failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the waiver.
Preemption of State Requirements
Consistent with 49 U.S.C. 31315(d), this waiver preempts
inconsistent State or local requirements applicable to interstate
commerce.
Issued on: January 12, 2018.
Cathy F. Gautreaux,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2018-00843 Filed 1-18-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P