Attachment D - 60-day FR

17884

Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 79 / Tuesday, April 24, 2018 / Notices

applicant states that as a solo driver,
‘‘there is no ready need for access
between the sleeper berth and the
driver’s compartment.’’ In addition, the
applicant states:
I plan to incorporate the sleeper berth into
the bed of the tow vehicle. The utilization of
this type of sleeper berth, would allow
myself (as the sole driver) to meet the hours
of [10-hour] service rest period requirements
by utilizing a sleeper berth incorporated into
the bed of the vehicle (Rear covered,
ventilated, insulated, bed with cap and full
size twin mattress) in lieu of a motel each
evening. The tow vehicle/trailer combination
would not be operating on the roadway
during my 10-hour rest period, so there is no
benefit in having the access requirements to
the driver compartment, nor any need for
communication with the driver (myself), nor
any occupant restraint requirement as the
vehicle is not moving while I am sleeping.
The sleeper berth is separate from the trailer
behind the tow vehicle, and is therefore
separate from the cargo.
The current FMCSR regulatory
requirements for sleeper berth access seem to
rely on the assumption that one driver is
driving while another driver is in the sleeper
berth, and that the truck is moving at all
times. The situation that I have as a single
driver is that when I am off duty, the vehicle
is not moving and therefore direct access to
the sleeper berth area should not be required,
and since the vehicle is not moving there is
no need for occupant restraint systems nor a
means for communication with the driver.
All other dimensional requirements,
ventilation, and protection against exhaust
and fuel leaks will be met.

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The applicant states that as a result of
mobility issues associated with a
partially fused spine, it is easier for him
to access a sleeper berth installed in the
bed of the pickup truck as opposed to
a sleeper berth that could be installed in
the back seat of the pickup truck that
meets the requirements of the FMCSRs.
The exemption would apply to
Castignoli’s sole driver and pickup
truck. Castignoli believes that the
sleeper berth installed in the bed of the
pickup truck will maintain a level of
safety that is equivalent to, or greater
than, the level of safety achieved
without the exemption.
Request for Comments
In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315
and 31136(e), FMCSA requests public
comment from all interested persons on
Castignoli’s application for an
exemption from sections (a)(3), (b)(2),
(c), (d), and (h) of 49 CFR 393.76. All
comments received before the close of
business on the comment closing date
for-hire freight, whether for a single customer or
less-than-truckload. The truck is often a 3⁄4 to 11⁄2
ton pickup outfitted with weight-distributing
gooseneck- or fifth-wheel-type connections to a
trailer.

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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.
Issued on: April 17, 2018.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018–08509 Filed 4–23–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2018–0087]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Renewal of an Approved
Information Collection: Lease and
Interchange of Vehicles
FMCSA, DOT.
Notice and request for
comments.

AGENCY:
ACTION:

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 its
review and approval and invites public
comment. This ICR will enable FMCSA
to document the burden associated with
the for-hire truck leasing regulations
codified in 49 CFR part 376, ‘‘Lease and
Interchange of Vehicles’’ and passenger
carrier regulations codified at 49 CFR
part 390, subpart F, ‘‘Lease and
Interchange of Passenger-Carrying
Commercial Motor Vehicles.’’ These
regulations require certain for-hire
motor carriers to have a formal lease
when leasing equipment. The FMCSA
requests approval to renew an ICR
titled, ‘‘Lease and Interchange of
Vehicles.’’

SUMMARY:

We must receive your comments
on or before June 25, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Docket
Number FMCSA–2018–0087 using any
of the following methods:
DATES:

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• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
• Fax: 1–202–493–2251.
• Mail: Docket Operations; U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building,
Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590–0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building,
Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
Washington, DC, 20590–0001 between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m. e.t., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the Agency name and docket
number. For detailed instructions on
submitting comments see the Public
Participation heading below. Note that
all comments received will be posted
without change to http://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. Please
see the Privacy Act heading below.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to http://
www.regulations.gov, and follow the
online instructions for accessing the
dockets, or go to the street address listed
above.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 5
U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments
from the public to better inform its
rulemaking process. DOT posts these
comments, without edit, 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 www.dot.gov/privacy.
Public Participation: The Federal
eRulemaking Portal is available 24
hours each day, 365 days each year. You
can obtain electronic submission and
retrieval help and guidelines under the
‘‘help’’ section of the Federal
eRulemaking Portal website. If you want
us to notify you that we received your
comments, please include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or
postcard, or print the acknowledgement
page that appears after submitting
comments online. Comments received
after the comment closing date will be
included in the docket and will be
considered to the extent practicable.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Crystal Frederick, Compliance Division,
Department of Transportation, Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration,
West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590. Telephone: 202–366–2904;
email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 79 / Tuesday, April 24, 2018 / Notices
Background: The Secretary of
Transportation (Secretary) is authorized
to require a motor carrier that uses
commercial motor vehicles not owned
by it to transport property under an
arrangement with another party to make
the arrangement in writing. This written
lease agreement must specify its
duration, the compensation to be paid
by the motor carrier providing
transportation subject to jurisdiction
under 49 U.S.C. 14102(a), ‘‘Leased
Motor Vehicles’’ and signed by the
parties. The Secretary has delegated
authority pertaining to leased motor
vehicles to FMCSA pursuant to 49 CFR
1.87(a)(6). The Agency’s regulations
governing leased motor vehicles are at
49 CFR part 376.
The rules were adopted to ensure that
small trucking companies were
protected when they agreed to lease
their equipment and drivers to larger
for-hire carriers. They also ensure that
the government and members of the
public can determine who is responsible
for a property-carrying commercial
motor vehicle. Prior to the regulations,
some equipment was leased without
written agreements, leading to disputes
over which party to the lease was
responsible for charges and actions and,
at times, who was legally responsible for
the vehicle. Under 49 U.S.C. 14102(a),
FMCSA ‘‘may require a motor carrier
providing for-hire transportation that
uses motor vehicles not owned by it to
transport property under an
arrangement with another party to—
(1) make the arrangement in writing
signed by the parties specifying its
duration and the compensation to be
paid by the motor carrier;
(2) carry a copy of the arrangement in
each motor vehicle to which it applies
during the period the arrangement is in
effect;
(3) inspect the motor vehicles and
obtain liability and cargo insurance on
them; and
(4) have control of and be responsible
for operating those motor vehicles in
compliance with requirements
prescribed by the Secretary on safety of
operations and equipment, and with
other applicable law as if the motor
vehicles were owned by the motor
carrier.’’
The rules specify what must be
covered in the lease, but leave open how
many responsibilities must be divided.
The parties to the lease determine
numerous details between themselves.
Part 376 applies only to certain motor
carriers in interstate commerce and only
to certain leasing situations based on
exemptions set forth in 49 CFR 376.11,
which cross references other provisions
in part 376. Section 376.11 requires that

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authorized carriers (a person or persons
authorized to engage in the
transportation of property as a motor
carrier under the provisions of 49 U.S.C.
13901 and 13902) may perform
authorized transportation using
equipment it does not own only when
the following conditions are met: (1)
There shall be a written lease granting
the use of the equipment and meeting
the requirements contained in 376.12;
and (2) Receipts, specifically identifying
the equipment to be leased and stating
the date and time of day possession is
transferred, shall be given; and (3) The
authorized carrier acquiring the use of
equipment under this section shall
identify the equipment as being in its
service.
Comments to the part 390 rulemaking
on passenger carrier leasing caused
FMCSA to reduce the regulatory and
paperwork burden on passenger carrier
vehicles in certain ways. First, vehicles
exchanged between or among
commonly owned and controlled motor
carriers will not be required to have
leases and receipts. Second, leases and
receipts will not be required when
passenger carriers party to a revenue
pooling agreement approved by the
Surface Transportation Board exchange
or interchange passenger vehicles
between or among themselves on routes
subject to the pooling agreement. A
simple statement affirming
responsibility for regulatory compliance
and marking the vehicle appropriately
will be required for these: (1) Exchanges
of passenger vehicles among commonly
owned and controlled motor carriers;
and (2) parties to revenue pooling
agreement approved by the Surface
Transportation Board.
These property and passenger carrier
provisions account for the burden in
this information collection.
This program change increase of
527,214 estimated annual burden hours
(1,136,114 proposed estimated annual
burden hours—608,900 currently
approved estimated annual burden) is
due to updated estimates of the number
of respondents and responses. Previous
estimates were based on 2014 data.
Current estimates are based on
September 26, 2017, Motor Carrier
Management Information System and
Safety Measurement System snapshots.
The data pulled for the current ICR
shows an increase in the overall number
of carriers since the data used in the
previous ICR. The increased carriers
resulted in an increase in the overall
burden hours associated with this ICR.
Title: Lease and Interchange of
Vehicles.
OMB Control Number: 2126–0056.

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17885

Type of Request: Renewal of currently
approved collection.
Respondents: Motor carriers
authorized by the Secretary to transport
property and passengers that use leased
equipment.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
5,213,193 [18,820 lessees (IC–1) +
18,820 lessors (IC–1) + 5,175,552 carrier
representatives (IC–2)].
Estimated Time per Response: Varies
from 5 to 30 minutes.
Expiration Date: August 31, 2018.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Estimated Total Annual Burden:
1,136,114 hours [18,820 master lease
(ICR Component 1 (IC–1)) + 62,236
standard statement (IC–1) + 13,478
master lease (ICR Component 2 (IC–2))
+ 862,592 negotiation (IC–2) + 143,190
documentation (IC–2) + 0 (negligible)
copying (IC–2) + 35,798 charter group
notification (IC–2)].
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. The agency will summarize
or include your comments in the request
for OMB’s clearance of this information
collection.
Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87
on: April 18, 2018.
Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of
Research and Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2018–08525 Filed 4–23–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2018–0091]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Renewal of an Approved
Information Collection: Commercial
Motor Vehicle Marking Requirements
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

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