[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 91-93]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-32311]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

49 CFR Parts 390, 391, 392, and 396

[FHWA Docket No. MC-89-5]
RIN 2125-AC27


Weight Threshold Adjustment for Commercial Motor Vehicles

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Withdrawal of advance notice of proposed rulemaking; closing of 
public docket.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA is withdrawing its advance notice of proposed 
rulemaking (ANPRM) addressing the commercial motor vehicle weight 
threshold for the applicability of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Regulations (FMCSRs). The comments received in response to the ANPRM 
provided no significant evidence to support amending the current 
regulations. The definition of ``commercial motor vehicle'' will remain 
unchanged.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jeffrey J. Van Ness, Office of 
Motor Carrier Standards, (202) 366-2981, or Mr. David Sett, Office of 
the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-0834, Federal Highway Administration, 
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, D.C. 
20590. Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., e.t., Monday 
through Friday, except legal Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 17, 1989, the FHWA published an 
ANPRM in which comments were requested on whether the FHWA should 
continue to use its current gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) 
criterion in the definition of ``commercial motor vehicle'' found in 49 
CFR 390.5 of the FMCSRs. 54 FR 7224. The FMCSRs apply to vehicles in 
interstate commerce having a GVWR or a gross combination weight rating 
(GCWR) of greater than 10,000 pounds (as well as certain vehicles 
transporting passengers and hazardous materials not addressed in the 
ANPRM). Comment was also sought on weight thresholds under State law. 
The ANPRM was issued expressly in response to a petition from the 
Delaware Department of Public Safety asking that State laws and 
regulations which apply only to commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) having 
a GVWR or a GCWR in excess of 26,000 pounds be considered compatible 
with the FMCSRs for purposes of the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance 
Program (MCSAP). Federal grant funds under MCSAP may be withheld from 
States with incompatible laws affecting either interstate or intrastate 
commerce.
    The FHWA posed various questions in the ANPRM in regard to changing 
the weight criterion, including whether the threshold should be raised 
and whether factors other than the GVWR should be included in the 
definition of commercial motor vehicles as found in 49 CFR 390.5. 
Noting the higher accident rate for vehicles with a GVWR above 26,000 
pounds than for those below, the FHWA further stated it was 
particularly interested in receiving accident and enforcement data from 
the various States and local governments, some of which apply the 
higher threshold. The FHWA also requested that commenters submit any 
other information available concerning the [[Page 92]] safety 
ramifications of a change in the weight threshold.
    In the time since the ANPRM was published, the FHWA published a 
separate rulemaking which settled the weight threshold issue for 
purposes of intrastate commerce. 57 FR 40946 (codified at 49 CFR Part 
350 appendix C). State motor carrier safety laws which apply in 
intrastate commerce only to vehicles with a GVWR or GCWR greater than 
26,000 pounds are deemed compatible with the FMCSRs. States with such 
laws may remain eligible participants in the MCSAP.
    The weight threshold issue as it applies to interstate commerce, 
and the rulemaking docket on this issue, however, have remained open. 
The FHWA received 164 comments to the ANPRM. Eight additional comments 
on the issue were received in response to a notice published on 
February 7, 1992, requesting comments on Department regulations which 
impede economic growth, or are obsolete, redundant, or burdensome. 57 
FR 4744, FHWA Docket No. 93-32. Of the 172 comments received, 158 
supported raising the weight threshold to 26,001 pounds. Fourteen 
commenters opposed changing the definition of CMV as contained in the 
FMCSRs. Virtually none of the commenters provided substantive responses 
to the questions posed in the ANPRM. Except in the most general terms, 
there were no discussions of potential impacts on highway safety which 
could result from increasing the weight threshold.
    For example, many commenters stated, without empirical evidence, 
that the threshold should be higher because the lower threshold imposes 
an undue economic burden with a minimal safety benefit. Two commenters 
did state that vehicles with a GVWR of 26,000 pounds or less are 
involved in less than one-sixth of the highway fatalities involving 
CMVs. Beyond this, the comments contained very little of the type of 
accident and enforcement data sought in the ANPRM. Some commenters 
noted anecdotally that smaller vehicle operations are usually 
relatively limited and secondary to another commercial purpose.
    The FHWA believes that the data submitted to FHWA Docket No. MC-89-
5 are insufficient at this time to support a change in the weight 
threshold criterion in the definition of CMV. Therefore, a CMV will 
continue to be defined in the FMCSRs as a vehicle with a GVWR or a GCWR 
of greater than 10,000 pounds. Though no rulemaking action is 
contemplated at this time in regard to the weight threshold, the FHWA 
will nevertheless incorporate the comments to the February 17, 1989, 
ANPRM in the agency's comprehensive zero-base research effort, intended 
to develop a performance-based regulatory system that will best enhance 
commercial motor vehicle safety.
    In a related notice published elsewhere in today's Federal 
Register, the FHWA grants the States three years to adopt and enforce 
motor carrier safety laws and regulations having the same effect as the 
FMCSRs, at the 10,001 pound threshold for vehicles in interstate 
commerce, or be subject to the loss of MCSAP funding.

Rulemaking Analyses and Notices

Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) and DOT 
Regulatory Policies and Procedures

    The issues raised in the 1989 ANPRM were identified as significant 
under the DOT regulatory policies and procedures in the Department's 
semiannual regulatory agenda because of their potential impact on the 
motor carrier industry. This notice withdrawing the ANPRM has been 
reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 
12866.
    In withdrawing the ANPRM, the FHWA has concluded that the benefits 
of complying with the current definition of ``commercial motor 
vehicle'' found in 49 CFR 390.5 continue to outweigh the costs of 
compliance, so the weight threshold in this definition remains 
unchanged. Therefore, this action will have little, if any, economic 
impact on the motor carrier industry because it does not alter any 
existing regulations. As a result, a full regulatory evaluation has not 
been prepared.
    The FHWA recognizes, however, that one consequence of retaining the 
current weight threshold is that the FMCSRs are applicable to more 
motor carriers than if the FHWA had gone forward with a rulemaking to 
raise the weight threshold in the definition of CMV found in 49 CFR 
390.5. Currently, a number of States do not regulate commercial motor 
vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 26,001 
pounds. These States must therefore enact legislation or adopt 
regulations necessary to ensure that their rules are compatible with 
the FMCSRs in order to remain in compliance with the requirements of 
MCSAP. Therefore, in a notice published elsewhere in today's Federal 
Register, the FHWA provides States three years in which to adopt and 
enforce motor carrier safety regulations that have the same effect as 
the FMCSRs and that apply to all CMVs used in interstate commerce with 
a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 or more pounds.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    In compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-
612), the agency evaluated the effects of this action on small 
entities. The result of withdrawing the 1989 ANPRM is that the CMV 
weight threshold provision, included in the FMCSRs since 1988, remains 
unchanged; thus the scope of the FMCSRs is unchanged by this action. 
The FHWA estimates that interstate motor carrier laws in eight States 
remain incompatible with this Federal weight threshold definition. 
Therefore, these eight States risk the loss of funding under the Motor 
Carrier Safety Assistance Program. States, however, are not included 
within the definition of ``small entity'' set forth in 5 U.S.C. 601. 
Therefore, under the criteria of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the 
FHWA certifies that this action will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Executive Order 12612 (Federalism Assessment)

    This action has been analyzed in accordance with the principles and 
criteria contained in Executive Order 12612, and it has been determined 
that this withdrawal of the ANPRM does not have sufficient federalism 
implications to warrant the preparation of a separate Federalism 
Assessment.
    Nothing in this document preempts any State law or regulation, and 
no new regulatory requirements are imposed by this action. Thus, this 
withdrawal raises no additional federalism issues.

Executive Order 12372 (Intergovernmental Review)

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 20.217, Motor 
Carrier Safety. The regulations implementing Executive Order 12372 
regarding intergovernmental consultation on Federal programs and 
activities apply to this program.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This action does not contain a collection of information 
requirement for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980. 44 
U.S.C. 3501-3520.

National Environmental Policy Act

    The agency has analyzed this document for the purpose of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 
has determined that this action would not [[Page 93]] have any effect 
on the quality of the environment.

Regulation Identification Number

    A regulation identification number (RIN) is assigned to each 
regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations. 
The Regulatory Information Service Center publishes the Unified Agenda 
in April and October of each year. The RIN contained in the heading of 
this document can be used to cross reference this action with the 
Unified Agenda.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Parts 390, 391, 392, and 396

    Highway Safety, Highways and Roads, Motor carriers, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

(49 U.S.C. app. 2505; 49 U.S.C. 3102; 23 U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48)

    Issued on: December 22, 1994.
Rodney E. Slater,
Federal Highway Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-32311 Filed 12-30-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P