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Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for OMB Approval To Renew an Information Collection Request: Truck and Bus Maintenance Requirements and Their Impact on Safety Publication: Federal Register Agency: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Byline: Thomas P. Keane Date: 15 November 2023 Subjects: American Government  , Safety
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78454-78456]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25196]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2023-0153]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for OMB
Approval To Renew an Information Collection Request: Truck and Bus
Maintenance Requirements and Their Impact on Safety
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 review
and approval. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
is authorized to study vehicle maintenance to determine the impact of
vehicle maintenance requirements on overall motor carrier safety. FMCSA
may fund research, development, and technology projects that improve
the safety and efficiency of commercial motor vehicle operations
through technological innovation and improvement.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before December
15, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this information
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Lukuc, Program Manager,
Technology Division, DOT, FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001; (202) 834-6180;
mike.lukuc@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In this study, FMCSA will collect, via two
surveys of freight motor carriers and passenger carrier maintenance
managers, qualitative and quantitative data to assess the opinions of
carrier representatives to develop an operational definition of
``systematic maintenance'' for trucks and buses, examine maintenance
differences between vehicle classes, and identify industry maintenance
norms. Survey results of those carriers with low crash and vehicle
maintenance violation rates will be combined to provide guidance on
recommended practices. Additionally, respondents from carriers with
high rates of crashes and violations may provide useful feedback on the
effect of the interventions within their maintenance programs or
activities, and an evaluation of adequacy of current regulations. The
information collected by the survey will be a critical input to the
Recommended Practices Report, which is a required final product for the
project. Three comments were received in response to the 60-day Federal
Register notice.
Title: Truck and Bus Maintenance Requirements and Their Impact on
Safety.
OMB Control Number: 2126-0069.
Type of Request: Renewal of a currently approved ICR.
Respondents: Freight motor carriers and passenger carriers.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 578 respondents [578 respondents
will complete the Online Recruitment Survey. Of those 578 respondents,
289 will also complete the Carrier Maintenance Manager Survey].
Estimated Time per Response: Varies [Online Recruitment Survey: 5
minutes. Carrier Maintenance Manager Survey: 45 minutes].
Expiration Date: November 30, 2023.
Frequency of Response: Annually.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 265 hours [Online Recruitment
Survey: 578 respondents x (5 minutes / 60 minutes) = 48 hours; Carrier
Maintenance Manager Survey: 289 respondents x (45 minutes / 60 minutes)
= 217 hours].
Background: FMCSA's core mission is to reduce crashes, injuries,
and fatalities involving large trucks and buses. To aid in
accomplishing this, the Agency uses
[[Page 78455]]
the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) enforcement program to
prioritize and target interventions of those motor carriers who are
most likely to be involved in a future crash. As part of the CSA
program, the Agency deploys the Safety Measurement System (SMS). SMS
uses inspection, crash, and investigation data captured in the Motor
Carrier Management Information System to calculate a percentile for
each motor carrier. A motor carrier's SMS percentile is based on its
past compliance with a complete range of safety-based regulations (such
as driver safety, hours of service, driver fitness, and vehicle
maintenance, among others). The survey described in this notice focuses
on the vehicle maintenance component of those safety regulations. The
study goal is to determine what improvements, ranging from better
compliance interventions to better vehicle maintenance requirements,
would enhance motor carrier safety.
In 2014, the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
conducted a study to assess the effectiveness of SMS in identifying the
highest risk motor carriers to be targeted for interventions. One
finding from the study was that motor carriers targeted for
intervention due to ``vehicle maintenance'' issues (i.e., violations)
had a 65 percent higher crash rate compared to the national average.
These violations are based on Federal and State inspections of
components critical to the safe operation of the vehicle. It is
important to recognize that proper and regular preventative maintenance
(i.e., systematic maintenance programs) among carriers--rather than
Federal and State inspections, which are by nature limited to the most
visible or obvious safety-related components--should be the primary
activity applied to ensure safe equipment operation. While these
initial findings are important, they raise additional questions. One
such question is prompted by the stipulation in 49 CFR 396.3(a), which
states that every carrier must have a program to ``systematically
inspect, repair, and maintain, or cause to be systematically inspected,
repaired, and maintained, all motor vehicles and intermodal equipment
subject to its control.'' Though this regulation provides some
direction, there is no supporting definition of the word systematic,
and because this term is subjective, it is likely to vary from one
carrier to another. The lack of specificity regarding standard
intervals for preventative maintenance makes it difficult for Federal
and State personnel to evaluate the effectiveness of and compliance
with a carrier's maintenance program. Furthermore, the lack of
specificity may make it difficult for carriers to ascertain and
therefore comply with the regulation's intent.
The current research effort, augmented by the proposed survey, is
necessary to improve FMCSA's understanding of the safety impact of
preventative vehicle maintenance and to clarify the requirements of
Sec. 396.3(a). The study objectives are as follows:
1. Develop an operational definition of systematic maintenance.
2. Evaluate whether current regulations and the intervention
process could be modified to improve compliance with vehicle
maintenance requirements. Examples of such requirements are as follows:
(i) Preventative maintenance intervals, (ii) preventative maintenance
inspections with adequately trained/equipped mechanics, and (iii)
adequacy of motor carriers' maintenance facilities. However, the
results of the survey will be used only to explore what areas of
rulemaking and/or other areas, such as policy guidance and training,
might be useful in the future; the results of the survey will not be
used for rulemaking, per se.
3. Gather information to assist in establishing minimum standards
for inspection intervals, mechanic qualifications and training, and
certification of maintenance facilities. FMCSA is authorized to conduct
this research under 49 U.S.C. 31108, Motor Carrier Research and
Technology Programs. Under section 31108(a)(3)(C), FMCSA may fund
research, development, and technology projects that improve the safety
and efficiency of commercial motor vehicle operations through
technological innovation and improvement. This information collection
supports the DOT strategic goal of Safety.
Under contract to FMCSA, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
(VTTI) at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University will
use online surveys to obtain the data required to address the study
objectives. The information collection will be administered in two
phases:
Phase I: Online Recruitment Survey. This voluntary, seven-question
survey will screen carriers and verify their eligibility for Phase II
participation. To be eligible for Phase II participation, carriers must
fall into one of two groups: (a) The Recommended Practices (RP) Group,
which includes carriers with the lowest Vehicle Maintenance and Crash
Indicator Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASIC)
percentiles (i.e., less than or equal to the 33rd percentile); or (b)
the Intervention Effects (IE) Group, which includes carriers that have
experienced Federal or State interventions in the last 24 months due to
vehicle maintenance violations. The BASICs are Unsafe Driving, Crash
Indicator, Hours-of-Service (HOS) compliance, Vehicle Maintenance,
Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Hazardous Materials (HM) Compliance, and
Driver Fitness. More information on the SMS methodology can be found at
https://csa.fmcsa.dot.gov/Documents/SMSMethodology.pdf.
Phase II: Carrier Maintenance Management Survey. This voluntary,
108-question survey will include questions about demographics;
maintenance practices, intervals, personnel, and facilities; and State
and Federal inspections, among other things. The Phase II survey will
employ branch logic; as such, carriers will be prompted to complete
different sections based on their survey group (and for one section,
carrier size). Consequently, no participating carrier will be asked to
complete all 108 questions. In the Phase II survey, carriers (of all
sizes) in the RP Group will be asked to provide additional information
about maintenance personnel and facilities (e.g., mechanic training
levels, tools required for adequate inspection, and certification of
facilities) and vehicle maintenance issues that may impact safety.
Information from the RP Group will seek to address Objective 1,
relating to development of an operational definition of systematic
maintenance, Objective 2, relating to potential regulatory changes, and
Objective 3, relating to establishment of minimum standards for
inspection intervals, mechanic qualifications and training, and
certification of maintenance facilities. Carriers in the IE Group will
be asked to complete the section on intervention effects, which
includes questions about the status of active interventions or
investigations; results of closed interventions or investigations;
interactions with State versus Federal agencies; intervention
activities experienced; the accuracy of violations leading to
interventions; actions taken in response to interventions; changes in
carrier vehicle maintenance practices as a result of an intervention;
significant benefits of interventions; and ways the intervention
process could be improved. Information provided by the IE Group will
also address the portion of Objective 2 regarding sufficiency of
regulations and where interventions need to be improved to facilitate
complying with these regulations.
[[Page 78456]]
Survey responses will be summarized and reported using plots,
tables, content analysis, and calculated summary statistics. Plots and
tables will provide a visual comparison of multiple choice and checkbox
survey responses for successful carriers (i.e., carriers in the RP
Group) and those receiving interventions in the last 24 months (i.e.,
carriers in the IE Group). These methods will also allow researchers to
summarize responses by carrier operation type (i.e., truck or bus) and
size. Bar charts will be used to plot responses to many survey
questions. Some survey responses may be summarized with tables with
rows for each of the carrier operation types (truck or bus) and each
carrier-size subgroup. To explore and summarize responses to open-ended
survey questions, researchers will use content analysis methods. An
illustration of an open-ended question in the survey is ``List examples
of critical safety-related maintenance activities for trailer vehicle
milestones.'' The goal of content analysis of open-ended questions will
be to identify common answers.
The results of this information collection will be documented in a
technical report to be delivered to and published by FMCSA. In
addition, the results will be used to create a ``recommended best
practices'' report that will outline minimum standards for inspection
intervals, mechanic qualifications and training, and certification of
maintenance facilities. Finally, VTTI is required under the contract
with FMCSA to compile and analyze the collected information and develop
a public-use data set.
If this data collection does not take place, the truck and bus
industry would continue to operate with the uncertainty of what a
``systematic maintenance'' program, as currently worded in Sec.
396.3(a), consists of. This term's ambiguous definition makes it
difficult for Federal and State inspectors to evaluate the
effectiveness of a carrier's maintenance program or its compliance with
this provision. Furthermore, this uncertainty may make it difficult for
carriers to ascertain and therefore comply with the regulation's
intent.
The 60-day notice for this collection was published on August 24,
2023 (88 FR 58057). The Agency received three comments.
The first comment was anonymous and asserted that fraud within the
industry affected the industry's ability to perform maintenance that
could enhance safety. Through the research enabled by this survey, the
Agency seeks to assess the degree to which maintenance enhances safety.
The second comment was from a maintenance trainer who stated that
49 CFR 396.17 requires that periodic inspections beyond visual
observation are required on an annual basis to certify that each
vehicle passes maintenance requirements. The Agency agrees that
periodic maintenance inspections that go beyond roadside visual
inspections are an important part of a systematic maintenance program,
and the research is taking into consideration the elements of periodic
maintenance that impact carrier preventative maintenance programs.
The third comment was from the National Waste and Recycling
Association (NWRA). NWRA suggests that the survey should recruit
carriers that operate vocational short-haul trucks (e.g., refuse
hauler) because of the differences in duty cycles that affect
maintenance. In particular, waste and recycling vehicles brake
frequently as part of their duty cycle, which may have implications for
maintenance and safety. The Agency agrees that a variety of highway and
vocational truck and bus carriers will be recruited for the survey, but
the recruitment and collection will be constrained to identifying
carriers based on the recommended practices group and intervention
effects group criteria.
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of
this information collection, 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 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 of 49 CFR 1.87.
Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2023-25196 Filed 11-14-23; 8:45 am]
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