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Commercial Driver's License: Application for Exemption; National School Transportation Association Publication: Federal Register Agency: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Byline: Larry W. Minor Date: 30 May 2024 Subjects: American Government  , Buses, Driver Licensing
Topic: National School Transportation Association |
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 105 (Thursday, May 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46986-46987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11869]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2022-0148]
Commercial Driver's License: Application for Exemption; National
School Transportation Association
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of application for renewal of exemption; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it has received an application from the
National School Transportation Association (NSTA) to renew its
exemption that permits all commercial driver's license (CDL) applicants
seeking a school bus endorsement to forgo the engine compartment
portion of the pre-trip vehicle inspection skills testing requirement,
known informally as the ``under-the-hood'' testing requirement. Drivers
issued CDLs pursuant to the requested exemption are restricted to
intrastate operation of school buses only. The current exemption is
effective from November 28, 2022, through November 28, 2024, and NSTA
has requested a three-year extension of the exemption. FMCSA requests
public comment on NSTA's request for exemption.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 1, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA-2022-0148 using 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 Operations, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building, Ground Floor,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: (202) 493-2251.
Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket number
for this notice (FMCSA-2022-0148). 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: If you do not have access to the internet, you may view the
docket by visiting Docket Operations on the ground floor of the DOT
West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. To
be sure someone is there to help you, please call (202) 366-9317 or
(202) 366-9826 before visiting Dockets Operations.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b), DOT solicits
comments from the public to better inform its exemption process. DOT
posts these comments, 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 https://www.transportation.gov/privacy. The comments are posted without edit
and are searchable by the name of the submitter.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Clemente, FMCSA Driver and
Carrier Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle
Safety Standards; 202-366-2722; richard.clemente@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-2022-0148), indicate the specific section of this
document to which the comment applies, and provide a reason for your
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-2022-0148'' in the ``Keyword'' box, and click
``Search.'' When the new screen appears, click on the ``Comment''
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.
Confidential Business Information (CBI)
CBI is commercial or financial information that is both customarily
and actually treated as private by its owner. Under the Freedom of
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public disclosure.
If your comments responsive to the notice contain commercial or
financial information that is customarily treated as private, that you
actually treat as private, and that is relevant or responsive to the
notice, it is important that you clearly
[[Page 46987]]
designate the submitted comments as CBI. Please mark each page of your
submission that constitutes CBI as ``PROPIN'' to indicate it contains
proprietary information. FMCSA will treat such marked submissions as
confidential under the Freedom of Information Act, and they will not be
placed in the public docket of the notice. Submissions containing CBI
should be sent to Brian Dahlin, Chief, Regulatory Evaluation Division,
Office of Policy, FMCSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590-0001 or via email at brian.g.dahlin@dot.gov. At this time, you
need not send a duplicate hardcopy of your electronic CBI submissions
to FMCSA headquarters. Any comments FMCSA receives not specifically
designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this notice.
II. Legal Basis
FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315(b) to grant
exemptions from 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 the applicant's safety analyses. The Agency must 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(a)). The Agency must
publish its decision in the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(b)). If
granted, the notice will identify the regulatory provision(s) from
which the applicant will be exempt, the effective period, and all terms
and conditions of the exemption (49 CFR 381.315(c)(1)). If the
exemption is denied, the notice will explain the reason for the denial
(49 CFR 381.315(c)(2)). The exemption may be renewed (49 CFR
381.300(b)).
III. Background
Current Regulatory Requirements
FMCSA's CDL regulations in 49 CFR 383.113(a) require that
applicants for a CDL possess basic pre-trip vehicle inspection skills
for the vehicle class that they operate or expect to operate.
Applicants must be able to identify each safety-related part on the
test vehicle and explain what needs to be inspected to ensure a safe
operating condition of each part.
On January 3, 2022, in response to a request from NSTA, FMCSA
issued a three-month waiver from 49 CFR 383.113(a)(1)(i), which
requires CDL applicants to demonstrate familiarity with the engine
compartment, the so-called ``under-the-hood'' requirement. The waiver
responded to the unique circumstances resulting from the school bus
driver shortage, which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. FMCSA
issued two subsequent three-month waivers, on March 28, 2022, and June
30, 2022.
FMCSA published notice of NSTA's application for a longer-term
exemption from the ``under-the-hood'' skills testing requirement on
August 11, 2022 (87 FR 49646). The Agency analyzed the application and
public comments and determined that granting it was likely to achieve a
level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level of safety that
would be achieved in the absence of the exemption. On October 27, 2022,
FMCSA granted a two-year ``under-the-hood'' exemption which will expire
on November 27, 2024 (87 FR 65114). The exemption applies to CDL
applicants seeking the school bus (S) and passenger (P) endorsements
and the intrastate only (K) restriction. Consequently, drivers issued a
CDL pursuant to the exemption are restricted to the intrastate
operation of school buses only.
IV. Applicant's Request
NSTA applied for renewal of the exemption on February 28, 2024.
NSTA is a membership organization for school bus contract-operators
engaged primarily in transporting students to and from school and
school-related activities. Its members range from small family
businesses serving one school district, to large corporations operating
tens of thousands of buses across multiple states all with a stated
commitment to the safe, efficient, and economical transportation of
students. According to NSTA, private school bus contractors account for
38 percent of the nation's pupil transportation services and employ
more than 250,000 individuals as bus drivers, mechanics, maintenance
workers, dispatch workers, and office workers. School transportation
represents the largest form of mass transportation in the United
States, and daily almost 26 million K-12 students are transported by an
estimated 480,000 yellow school buses.
NSTA requests renewal of the exemption for a three-year period
because NSTA claims it has aided in the successful recruitment of
school bus drivers who otherwise may not have obtained a CDL. According
to NSTA, the industry's CDL training resources are limited, and the
exemption helps ensure that the limited resources are used to train
school bus drivers, rather than operators of other kinds of CMVs. NSTA
indicates that the current exemption has had a demonstrably positive
impact on student transportation thus far, and notably with no negative
impact on safety.
V. Request for Comments
In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b), FMCSA requests public
comment from all interested persons on NSTA's application for the
renewal of the exemption from the requirement in 49 CFR
383.133(a)(1)(i) that requires CDL applicants seeking a school bus
endorsement, to perform the engine compartment portion of the pre-trip
vehicle inspection skills testing requirement. All comments received
before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated at
the beginning of this notice will be considered and will be available
for examination in the docket at the location listed under the
Addresses section of this notice. Comments received after the comment
closing date will be filed in the public docket and will be considered
to the extent practicable. In addition to late comments, FMCSA will
also continue to file, in the public docket, relevant information that
becomes available after the comment closing date. Interested persons
should continue to examine the public docket for new material.
Larry Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2024-11869 Filed 5-29-24; 8:45 am]
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