Attachment B - 60-day FR

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 163 / Thursday, August 24, 2023 / Notices
resulting from the piracy or
counterfeiting and a description of the
methodology used to calculate the harm.
• Whether the volume of counterfeit
or pirated goods or estimates of harm
has increased or decreased from
previous years, and an approximate
calculation of that increase or decrease
for each year.
• Whether the infringing goods or
services sold, traded, distributed, or
made available pose a risk to public
health or safety.
• Any known contractual, civil,
administrative, or criminal enforcement
activity against the market and the
outcome of that enforcement activity.
• Additional actions taken by right
holders, such as discussing concerns
with the market, sending cease and
desist letters, sending warning letters to
landlords or requests to enforce the
terms of their leases, and the outcome
of these actions.
• Additional actions taken by the
market owners or operators to remove,
limit, or discourage the availability of
counterfeit or pirated goods or services,
the effectiveness of market policies and
guidelines in addressing counterfeiting
and piracy, and the level of cooperation
with right holders and law enforcement.
• Any other additional information
relevant to the review.

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III. Submission Instructions
All submissions must be in English
and sent electronically via
Regulations.gov. To submit comments,
locate the docket (folder) by entering the
docket number USTR–2023–0009 in the
search bar on the Regulations.gov
homepage and click ‘search.’ The site
will provide a search-results page listing
all documents associated with this
docket. Locate the reference to this
notice by selecting ‘notice’ under
‘document type’ on the left side of the
search-results page, and click on the
link entitled ‘Comment’. You should
provide comments in an attached
document, and name the file according
to the following protocol, as
appropriate: Commenter Name or
Organization_2023 Notorious Markets.
Please include the following
information in the ‘type comment’ field:
2023 Review of Notorious Markets for
Counterfeiting and Piracy. USTR prefers
submissions in Microsoft Word (.docx)
or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. If the
submission is in another file format,
please indicate the name of the software
application in the ‘type comment’ field.
For further information on using
Regulations.gov, please select ‘how to
use Regulations.gov’ on the bottom of
any page.

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Please do not attach separate cover
letters to electronic submissions.
Instead, include any information that
might appear in a cover letter in the
comments themselves. Similarly, to the
extent possible, please include any
exhibits, annexes, or other attachments
in the same file as the comment itself,
rather than submitting them as separate
files.
Please include the name, email
address, and phone number of an
individual who can be contacted if there
are issues or questions with the
submission. The contact information
can be included in the submission or
sent to Jake Ewerdt, Deputy Assistant
U.S. Trade Representative for
Innovation and Intellectual Property, at
[email protected] or (202)
395–6862.
For any comment submitted
electronically that contains business
confidential information (BCI), the file
name of the business confidential
version should begin with the characters
‘BCI’. Any page containing BCI must be
clearly marked ‘BUSINESS
CONFIDENTIAL’ on the top of that page
and the submission should clearly
indicate, via brackets, highlighting, or
other means, the specific information
that is business confidential. A filer
requesting business confidential
treatment must certify that the
information is business confidential and
that they would not customarily release
it to the public. Additionally, the
submitter should type ‘Business
Confidential 2023 Review of Notorious
Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy’
in the ‘comment’ field. Filers of
comments containing BCI also must
submit a public version. Begin the file
name of the public version with the
character ‘P’. USTR will place the nonbusiness confidential version in the
docket at Regulations.gov and it will be
available for public inspection.
As noted, USTR strongly urges
submitters to file comments through
Regulations.gov. You must make any
alternative arrangements in advance of
the relevant deadline and before
transmitting a comment by contacting
Jake Ewerdt at notoriousmarkets@
ustr.eop.gov or (202) 395–6862.
USTR will post comments in the
docket for public inspection, except
properly designated BCI. You can view
comments on Regulations.gov by
entering docket number USTR–2023–

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0009 in the search field on the home
page.
Daniel Lee,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for
Innovation and Intellectual Property, Office
of the United States Trade Representative.
[FR Doc. 2023–18201 Filed 8–23–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3390–F3–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2023–0153]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Renewal of an Approved
Information Collection: Truck and Bus
Maintenance Requirements and Their
Impact on Safety
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), Department
of Transportation (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
Management and Budget (OMB) for its
review and approval and invites public
comment. FMCSA requests approval to
renew an ICR titled, ‘‘Truck and Bus
Maintenance Requirements and Their
Impact on Safety’’ will allow for a study
that focuses on vehicle maintenance and
aims to determine the impact of vehicle
maintenance requirements on overall
motor carrier safety. This information
collection supports the DOT Strategic
Goal of Safety.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be
received on or before September 1,
2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by Docket Number FMCSA–
2023–0153 using any of the following
methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments.
• Mail: Dockets Operations; U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building,
Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590–
0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: Dockets
Operations, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, West Building, Ground
Floor, Washington, DC 20590–0001
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUMMARY:

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 163 / Thursday, August 24, 2023 / Notices

To be sure someone is there to help you,
please call (202) 366–9317 or (202) 366–
9826 before visiting Dockets Operations.
• Fax: 1–202–493–2251.
To avoid duplication, please use only
one of these four methods. See the
‘‘Public Participation and Request for
Comments’’ portion of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for
instructions on submitting comments.
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) 385–238;
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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 https://www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information
provided. Please see the Privacy Act
heading below.

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Public Participation and Request for
Comments
If you submit a comment, please
include the docket number for this
notice (FMCSA–2023–0153), indicate
the specific section of this document to
which your comment applies, and
provide a reason for each suggestion or
recommendation. 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 FMCSA can
contact you if there are questions
regarding your submission. 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.
To submit your comment online, go to
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/
FMCSA-2023-0153/document, click on
this notice, click ‘‘Comment,’’ and type
your comment into the text box on the
following screen.
If you submit your comments by mail
or hand delivery, submit them in an
unbound format, no larger than 81⁄2 by
11 inches, suitable for copying and
electronic filing.
Comments received after the comment
closing date will be included in the

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docket and will be considered to the
extent practicable.
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.
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 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

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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 § 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.

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 163 / Thursday, August 24, 2023 / Notices
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-ofService (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, 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

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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 address the portion of Objective 2
regarding sufficiency of regulations and
where interventions need to be
improved to facilitate complying with
these regulations.
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 openended 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
§ 396.3(a), consists of. This term’s
ambiguous definition makes it difficult
for Federal and State inspectors to

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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.
Title: Truck and Bus Maintenance
Requirements and Their Impact on
Safety.
OMB Control Number: 2126–0069.
Type of Request: Extension 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 × (5 minutes ÷ 60 minutes)
= 48 hours; Carrier Maintenance
Manager Survey: 289 respondents × (45
minutes ÷ 60 minutes) = 217 hours].
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
ICR.
Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.
Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research
and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2023–18236 Filed 8–23–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P

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