Notice of Request for Renewal of an Existing Information Collection; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, Driver's Record of Duty Status

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[Docket No. FHWA-98-3393]

Notice of Request for Renewal of an Existing Information

Collection; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, Driver's Record

of Duty Status

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. 3051, 3506(c)(2)(A)), the FHWA is requesting public comment on

its intent to ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to

reapprove the soon to expire information collection that documents

information on commercial motor vehicle drivers hours of service.

DATES: Submit on or before May 11, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Signed, written comments must refer to the docket number

appearing at the top of this document and must be submitted to the

Docket Clerk, U.S. DOT Dockets, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20590-0001. All comments received will be available for

examination at the above address between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., e.t.,

Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Those desiring

notification of receipt of comments must include a self-addressed,

stamped envelope or postcard.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Deborah M. Freund or Mr. David R.

Miller, Office of Motor Carrier Research and Standards, (202) 366-4009,

Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 7:45

a.m. to 4:15 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal

holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Availability

Internet users may access all comments received by the U.S. DOT

Dockets, Room PL-401, by using the universal resource locator (URL):

http://dms.dot.gov. It is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each

year. You may download an electronic copy of this document using a

modem and suitable communications software from the Federal Register

electronic bulletin board service (telephone number: 202-512-1661).

Internet users may reach the Federal Register's home page at: http:/

[[Page 11949]]

/www.nara.gov/nara/fedreg and the Government Printing Office's

database at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su__docs.

Title: Driver's Record of Duty Status.

OMB Number: 2125-0016.

Background: For the last 60 years, the FHWA, and its predecessor,

the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), have required motor carriers

operating in interstate commerce to require their drivers to limit the

driver's hours of service. This is to ensure the drivers do not operate

CMVs while fatigued and possibly cause crashes. The principal method

used to track the driver's hours of service has been to record the

hours worked, driven, and at rest on paper Records of Duty Status,

commonly known as log books. See 49 U.S.C. 31502 and 49 CFR part 395.

The record shows how long a driver has been on duty and driving,

and how long the driver has had rest in a sleeper berth and time off

duty. This record helps motor carriers know how much longer the driver

may legally operate vehicles before the law assumes the driver is

fatigued, as determined by research done in the late 1930's and

regulations adopted at that time. The motor carriers would then know

when the drivers must stop driving to obtain rest. The regulations

require drivers to show local law enforcement officials and Federal

agents the driver's true and accurate record of the drivers' duty

activities, to the closest 15 minutes, within each 24-hour period. This

record also helps law enforcement officials determine whether the

driver may likely be operating a motor vehicle while fatigued. See 49

CFR 395.8.

The ICC and the FHWA have general statutory authority to require

such records. The records have never been expressly mandated by

statute. In 1952, the ICC adopted rules to allow motor carriers to

record some drivers' hours of service on time cards or time sheets in

place of log books. This exception was available to drivers operating

within a 50-mile radius of the driver's garage or terminal where the

driver reports for work. See 49 CFR 395.1(e). This exception was made a

separate information collection entitled ``Time Records'' and has been

assigned OMB No. 2125-0196. Within the last 20 years, there was a

change that allowed drivers/carriers to use their own forms rather than

the format prescribed by the FHWA's predecessor motor carriers

organization, the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety. In 1980, the FHWA

expanded the 50-mile radius to a 100 mile radius. In this same

rulemaking, the FHWA began to require motor carriers to maintain and

retain documents the carriers obtained or received, in the normal

course of business, supporting the validity of the record of duty

status. See 49 CFR 395.8(k)(2).

In 1982, the FHWA reduced the retention period for the log book and

the supporting documents from one year to 6 months. See 49 CFR

395.8(k)(2). For the first 51 years, the ICC and later the FHWA only

allowed motor carriers and drivers to prepare paper log books. In 1988,

the FHWA adopted rules to allow motor carriers to choose to use

automatic on-board recording devices in place of the paper log book.

Again, this was done at the FHWA's discretion and not by an express

mandate by statute. See 49 CFR 395.15.

In 1994, new information collection requirements for records of

duty status were mandated by section 113 of the Hazardous Materials

Transportation Authorization Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-311, 108 Stat.

1676). This statute requires each written or electronic document being

used as a supporting document to include either the driver's name or

vehicle number. This would require motor carriers to ensure the

driver's name or vehicle number is also on each document used to verify

driver record of duty status. The statute also requires the supporting

document must be kept for at least six months. The FHWA has not yet

published a proposal requiring the mandated information collection. The

FHWA will publish an NPRM for the mandated information related to the

driver's record of duty status documents, and will request a

modification to this information collection at that time.

In 1995, section 408 of the ICC Termination Act of 1995 (Pub. L.

104-88, 109 Stat. 803, 958) required the FHWA to issue an ANPRM

addressing the FHWA's current hours of service regulations. The FHWA

published this ANPRM on November 5, 1996 (61 FR 57252). This rulemaking

may substantially modify the information collection burdens contained

in this information collection. The FHWA expects to publish an NPRM in

this action (RIN 2125-AD93) in the winter, 1999.

Respondents: Motor carriers and drivers.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Per Record: 16,978,607 hours.

The FHWA has separated this total into the following three

subtotals:

Records of Duty Status (Paper Log Books)--15,671,303 hours

Automatic On-board Recording Devices--1,076,100 hours

100 Air-mile Radius Drivers--The FHWA proposes to append the 100

air-mile radius driver time record account, OMB No. 2125-0196, into the

OMB No. 2125-0016 account. This would add an additional 231,204 hours.

The computations on how the FHWA arrived at these numbers may be found

in the docket.

Interested parties are invited to send comments regarding any

aspect of these information collections. The FHWA considers comments by

the public on this proposed collection of information in the following

four ways: (1) Evaluating whether the proposed collection of

information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of

the FHWA, including whether the information will have a practical use;

(2) evaluating the accuracy of the FHWA's estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information, including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used; (3) enhancing the quality,

usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4)

minimizing the burden of collection of information on those who are to

respond, including through the use of appropriate automated electronic,

mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms

of information technology (e.g., permitting electronic submission of

responses).

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 31136, 31141, and 31502 and 49 CFR 1.48.

Issued on: March 4, l998.

George Moore,

Associate Administrator for Administration.

[FR Doc. 98-6219 Filed 3-10-98; 8:45 am]

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