Attachment J - 60-day FR notice (85 FR 69678)

69678

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 213 / Tuesday, November 3, 2020 / Notices

the system of records notice (DOT/ALL–
14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
www.transportation.gov/privacy.
II. Background
On September 23, 2020, FMCSA
published a notice announcing receipt
of applications from 21 individuals
requesting an exemption from the
hearing requirement in 49 CFR
391.41(b)(11) to operate a CMV in
interstate commerce and requested
comments from the public (85 FR
59851). The public comment period
ended on October 23, 2020, and no
comments were received.
FMCSA has evaluated the eligibility
of these applicants and determined that
granting exemptions to these
individuals would achieve a level of
safety equivalent to, or greater than, the
level that would be achieved by
complying with § 391.41(b)(11).
The physical qualification standard
for drivers regarding hearing found in
§ 391.41(b)(11) states that a person is
physically qualified to drive a CMV if
that person first perceives a forced
whispered voice in the better ear at not
less than 5 feet with or without the use
of a hearing aid or, if tested by use of
an audiometric device, does not have an
average hearing loss in the better ear
greater than 40 decibels at 500 Hz, 1,000
Hz, and 2,000 Hz with or without a
hearing aid when the audiometric
device is calibrated to American
National Standard (formerly ASA
Standard) Z24.5—1951.
This standard was adopted in 1970
and was revised in 1971 to allow drivers
to be qualified under this standard
while wearing a hearing aid, 35 FR
6458, 6463 (April 22, 1970) and 36 FR
12857 (July 3, 1971).

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III. Discussion of Comments
FMCSA received no comments in this
proceeding.
IV. Basis for Exemption Determination
Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and
31315(b), FMCSA may grant an
exemption from the FMCSRs for no
longer than a 5-year period if it finds
such exemption would likely achieve a
level of safety that is equivalent to, or
greater than, the level that would be
achieved absent such exemption. The
statute also allows the Agency to renew
exemptions at the end of the 5-year
period. FMCSA grants medical
exemptions from the FMCSRs for a 2year period to align with the maximum
duration of a driver’s medical
certification.
The Agency’s decision regarding these
exemption applications is based on
current medical information and

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literature, and the 2008 Evidence
Report, ‘‘Executive Summary on
Hearing, Vestibular Function and
Commercial Motor Driving Safety.’’ The
evidence report reached two
conclusions regarding the matter of
hearing loss and CMV driver safety: (1)
No studies that examined the
relationship between hearing loss and
crash risk exclusively among CMV
drivers were identified; and (2) evidence
from studies of the private driver’s
license holder population does not
support the contention that individuals
with hearing impairment are at an
increased risk for a crash. In addition,
the Agency reviewed each applicant’s
driving record found in the Commercial
Driver’s License Information System, for
commercial driver’s license (CDL)
holders, and inspections recorded in the
Motor Carrier Management Information
System. For non-CDL holders, the
Agency reviewed the driving records
from the State Driver’s Licensing
Agency. Each applicant’s record
demonstrated a safe driving history.
Based on an individual assessment of
each applicant that focused on whether
an equal or greater level of safety is
likely to be achieved by permitting each
of these drivers to drive in interstate
commerce as opposed to restricting him
or her to driving in intrastate commerce,
the Agency believes the drivers granted
this exemption have demonstrated that
they do not pose a risk to public safety.
Consequently, FMCSA finds that in
each case exempting these applicants
from the hearing standard in
§ 391.41(b)(11) is likely to achieve a
level of safety equal to that existing
without the exemption.
V. Conditions and Requirements
The terms and conditions of the
exemption are provided to the
applicants in the exemption document
and includes the following: (1) Each
driver must report any crashes or
accidents as defined in § 390.5; (2) each
driver must report all citations and
convictions for disqualifying offenses
under 49 CFR 383 and 49 CFR 391 to
FMCSA; and (3) each driver is
prohibited from operating a motorcoach
or bus with passengers in interstate
commerce. The driver must also have a
copy of the exemption when driving, for
presentation to a duly authorized
Federal, State, or local enforcement
official. In addition, the exemption does
not exempt the individual from meeting
the applicable CDL testing
requirements.
VI. Preemption
During the period the exemption is in
effect, no State shall enforce any law or

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regulation that conflicts with this
exemption with respect to a person
operating under the exemption.
VII. Conclusion
Based upon its evaluation of the 21
exemption applications, FMCSA
exempts the following drivers from the
hearing standard, § 391.41(b)(11),
subject to the requirements cited above:
Joel Alfaro (FL)
Adrian Almanza (IL)
Jimmy Benavides (TX)
James Bryan (AR)
Richard Clark (ID)
Jules Garcia (IL)
Calvin Gousby (NV)
Nicholas Gramarossa (IN)
William Heath (NC)
Ryan King (NC)
Alexander Lowe (WA)
Kenneth Morrison (NY)
Darren Norton (MO)
Raphael Pittenger (WA)
Marty Posey (IN)
David Sanders (IL)
Muhammad Shafi (IL)
Nolen Soler (NE)
Donald Taylor (NC)
Anthony Vasquez (TX)
Daniel Zeolla (PA)
In accordance with 49 U.S.C.
31315(b), each exemption will be valid
for 2 years from the effective date unless
revoked earlier by FMCSA. The
exemption will be revoked if the
following occurs: (1) The person fails to
comply with the terms and conditions
of the exemption; (2) the exemption has
resulted in a lower level of safety than
was maintained prior to being granted;
or (3) continuation of the exemption
would not be consistent with the goals
and objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and
31315(b).
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2020–24278 Filed 11–2–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2020–0203]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; New Information Collection
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Federal Motor Carrier Safety

SUMMARY:

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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 213 / Tuesday, November 3, 2020 / Notices
Administration (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 notice invites comment on a
proposed information collection project
titled Trucking Fleet Concept of
Operations (CONOPS) for Managing
Mixed Fleets. It is a survey study that
will assess the self-reports of
approximately 2,000 survey
respondents, including commercial
motor vehicle (CMV) fleet managers,
CMV sales personnel, State and Federal
government personnel, industry
engineers, researchers, and CMV
drivers. The questionnaire is designed
to collect baseline opinions of
automated driving systems (ADS) before
and after hands-on demonstrations with
ADS technologies.
DATES: We must receive your comments
on or before January 4, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Docket
Number FMCSA–2020–0203 using any
of the following methods:
• 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.
Dockets: 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

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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:

Thomas Kelly, Technology Division,
Department of Transportation, FMCSA,
West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590. Telephone: 202–480–5240; email
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: Although ADS-equipped
trucks hold the promise of increased
safety, productivity, and efficiency, it is
not clear how these vehicles should be
integrated into fleet operations with
conventional trucks for mixed-fleet
operations. Reflecting this issue is a
question frequently asked by trucking
executives: How can I integrate ADS
into my fleet operations? FMCSA needs
information from truck industry
representatives regarding their opinions
and perception of ADS.
The introduction of ADS technology
on heavy trucks (Class 8 vehicles) will
profoundly affect all commerce in the
U.S., as the U.S. moves more than 70%
of all goods by truck. However, existing
stakeholders in the road freight
ecosystem (primarily for-hire and
private truck fleets, but also shippers,
brokers, truck manufacturers, and
service and maintenance providers) do
not have a clear picture of how they will
implement ADS in their daily
operations. At present, technical
progress in this nascent but promising
technology is outstripping the ability of
truck fleets to keep up and plan for ADS
deployment. This may adversely affect
adoption by truck fleets and associated
industries, resulting in the delayed
achievement of safety, productivity, and
efficiency benefits of ADS-equipped
trucks. If ADS technology is to gain
traction in the U.S. trucking industry,
current stakeholders and new entrants
need a rigorous, data driven CONOPS.

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69679

This project focuses on the
development and demonstration of a
CONOPS for ADS-equipped trucks,
which will ensure the results translate
directly to real-world settings that are of
practical importance to the trucking
industry, regulators, and the public at
large. Part of the development of
CONOPS includes a series of outreach
events where the public, with a focus on
truck drivers and truck fleet managers,
will have the opportunity to meet ADS
technology developers and original
equipment manufacturers. The outreach
will also provide opportunities to
participate in hands-on technology
demonstrations, such as in-vehicle
demonstrations and closed-course
scenarios. Lessons learned from this
demonstration will influence all three
phases of the research to ensure the
CONOPS developed is true to real-life
fleet operations. Thus, the purpose of
the hands-on demonstrations: (1)
Expose truck fleet managers and other
personnel, truck drivers, government
officials, insurance and inspection
personnel, and the general public to
ADS; (2) collect valuable qualitative
data on participants’ opinions and
perceptions regarding ADS; and (3) use
the data to ensure the CONOPS covers
major industry concerns.
Data will be collected from CMV
drivers, CMV fleet managers, industry
engineers, CMV sales personnel,
researchers, and State and Federal
government personnel at four
roadshows. The roadshows will
coincide with large conferences, such as
the Technology Maintenance Council
(TMC) Annual Meeting, North American
Commercial Vehicle Show, SAE
COMVEC, and Automated Vehicle
Symposium. The questionnaire data
collected in Phase I of the study (preroadshow) will allow us to gather
baseline opinions regarding ADS
technologies. Once they participate in
the hands-on demonstrations at the
roadshow, we will see if their opinions
on the technologies have changed
(Phase 2 or post-roadshow).
The research team will use cell
phones to collect participant data
(adhering to cleaning procedures
between each participant). The pre- and
post-study questionnaires will be loaded
onto a cell phone which will be
distributed to participants at the
beginning (and end) of the roadshow.
Each questionnaire will be loaded in an
app format. Once the participants
submit their answers, the data will be
stored on the phone and will not be
accessible until researchers download
the data to a computer.
FMCSA conducted a pilot test with
some of the proposed end-users. This

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69680

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 213 / Tuesday, November 3, 2020 / Notices

pilot test included six end users, two
researchers, one government employee,
one commercial/motor vehicle fleet
representative, and two commercial
driver’s license holders. Participants
completed the Pre-Roadshow
Questionnaire and Post-Roadshow
Questionnaire, timing completion of
each and reviewing for content and/or
comprehension issues. Based on this
pilot test, FMCSA revised the PreRoadshow Questionnaire and PostRoadshow Questionnaire. Pilot test
participants indicated mean completion
times of 3.5 minutes and 4.4 minutes for

the Pre-Roadshow Questionnaire and
Post Roadshow Questionnaire,
respectively.
Title: Trucking Fleet Concept of
Operations (CONOPS) for Managing
Mixed Fleets.
OMB Control Number: 2126–00XX.
Type of Request: New collection.
Respondents: CMV fleet managers,
CMV sales personnel, State and Federal
government personnel, industry
engineers, researchers, and CMV
drivers.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
2,000 total respondents (675 CMV fleet

managers, 150 CMV sales personnel,
600 Industry Engineers, 100 CMV
Drivers, 325 State and Federal
government, and 150 Researchers).
Estimated Time per Response: 3.5
minutes for the Pre-Roadshow
Questionnaire and 4.4 minutes for the
Post-Roadshow Questionnaire.
Expiration Date: This is a new ICR.
Frequency of Response: On occasion
(if attending one of four roadshows).
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 175
hours.

ESTIMATED ANNUALIZED BURDEN HOURS
Task

Responses
per
respondent

Respondents

Annualized
total
responses

Burden per
response
(minutes)

Annualized
total burden
hours *

Pre-roadshow Questionnaire: CMV Fleet Managers ...........
Post-roadshow Questionnaire: CMV Fleet Managers .........
Pre-roadshow Questionnaire: Industry Engineers ...............
Post-roadshow Questionnaire: Industry Engineers .............
Pre-roadshow Questionnaire: CMV Sales Personnel .........
Post-roadshow Questionnaire: CMV Sales Personnel ........
Pre-roadshow Questionnaire: CMV Drivers ........................
Post-roadshow Questionnaire: CMV Drivers .......................
Pre-roadshow Questionnaire: State and Federal Personnel
Post-roadshow Questionnaire: State and Federal Personnel ...............................................................................
Pre-roadshow Questionnaire: Researchers .........................
Post-roadshow Questionnaire: Researchers .......................

675
675
600
600
150
150
100
100
325

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

455.5
455.5
396
396
99
99
66
66
214.5

3.5
4.4
3.5
4.4
3.5
4.4
3.5
4.4
3.5

26.6
33.4
23.1
29
5.8
7.3
3.9
4.8
12.5

325
150
150

1
1
1

214.5
99
99

4.4
3.5
4.4

15.7
5.8
7.3

Annualized Total * .........................................................

........................

........................

2,660

........................

175

Study Total ** .........................................................

........................

........................

3,990

........................

263

* Total may not equal the sum of previous items due to rounding.
** The research team plans to collect data from a maximum of 2,000 respondents over 18 months.

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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.
Tom Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research,
Technology and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2020–24247 Filed 11–2–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade
Bureau
[Docket No. TTB–2020–0001]

Proposed Information Collections;
Comment Request (No. 81)
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and
Trade Bureau (TTB); Treasury.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:

As part of our continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden, and as required by
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
we invite comments on the proposed or
continuing information collections
listed below in this notice.
DATES: We must receive your written
comments on or before January 4, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may send comments on
the information collections described in
this document using one of the two
methods described below—
SUMMARY:

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• Internet: To submit comments
electronically, use the comment form for
this document posted on the
‘‘Regulations.gov’’ e-rulemaking website
at https://www.regulations.gov within
Docket No. TTB–2019–0001.
• Mail: Send comments to the
Paperwork Reduction Act Officer,
Regulations and Rulings Division,
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade
Bureau, 1310 G Street NW, Box 12,
Washington, DC 20005.
Please submit separate comments for
each specific information collection
described in this document. You must
reference the information collection’s
title, form or recordkeeping requirement
number, and OMB control number (if
any) in your comment.
You may view copies of this
document, the listed TTB forms, and all
comments received at https://
www.regulations.gov within Docket No.
TTB–2019–0001. TTB has posted a link
to that docket on its website at https://
www.ttb.gov/forms/comment-onform.shtml. You also may obtain paper
copies of this document, the listed

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