[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 215 (Tuesday, November 7, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56183-56184]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-27503]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
[FHWA Docket No. MC-89-10]


Inspection, Repair, and Maintenance; Periodic Inspection of 
Commercial Motor Vehicles

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice to motor carriers on State periodic inspection programs.

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SUMMARY: This notice adds the periodic inspection (PI) program of the 
State of Connecticut to the list of programs which are comparable to, 
or as effective as, the PI requirements contained in the Federal Motor 
Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). The FHWA has published a list of 
such programs in the Federal Register, and this list has been revised 
occasionally. Including Connecticut, there are 22 States, the Alabama 
Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board, the District of Columbia, 10 Canadian 
Provinces, and one Canadian Territory that have PI programs which the 
FHWA has determined to be comparable to, or as effective as, the 
Federal PI requirements.

DATES: This docket will remain open until further notice.

ADDRESSES: Submit written, signed comments to FHWA Docket No. MC-89-10, 
Room 4232, HCC-10, Office of the Chief Counsel, Federal Highway 
Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. All 
comments received will be available for examination at the above 
address from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. Those desiring notification of receipt of 
comments must include a self-addressed, stamped postcard.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Larry W. Minor, Office of Motor 
Carrier Standards, HCS-10, (202) 366-4009; or Mr. Charles Medalen, 
Office of the Chief Counsel, HCC-20, (202) 366-1354, 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: Section 210 of the Motor Carrier Safety Act 
of 1984 (49 U.S.C. 31142) (the Act) requires the Secretary of 
Transportation to prescribe standards for annual or more frequent 
inspection of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) unless the Secretary 
finds that another inspection system is as effective as an annual or 
more frequent inspection. On December 7, 1988, in response to the Act, 
the FHWA published a final rule amending part 396 of the Federal Motor 
Carrier Safety Regulations, entitled Inspection, Repair, and 
Maintenance (53 FR 49402). That final rule requires that CMVs operating 
in interstate commerce be inspected at least once a year. The 
inspection is to be based on Federal inspection standards, or a State 
inspection program determined by the FHWA to be comparable to, or as 
effective as, the Federal standards. Accordingly, if the FHWA 
determines that a State's PI program is comparable to, or as effective 
as, the requirements of part 396, then a motor carrier must ensure that 
any of its CMVs which are required by that State to be inspected 
through the State's inspection program are so inspected. If a State 
does not have such a program, the motor carrier is responsible for 
ensuring that its CMVs are inspected using one of the alternatives 
included in the final rule.
    On March 16, 1989, the FHWA published a notice in the Federal 
Register which requested States and other interested parties to 
identify and provide information on the CMV inspection programs in 
their States (54 FR 11020). Upon review of the information submitted, 
the FHWA published a list of State inspection programs which were 
determined to be comparable to the Federal PI requirements (54 FR 
50726, December 8, 1989). This initial list included 15 States and the 
District of Columbia. The list was revised on September 23, 1991, to 
include the inspection programs of the Alabama Liquefied Petroleum Gas 
(LPG) Board, California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Minnesota, all of the 

[[Page 56184]]
Canadian Provinces, and the Yukon Territory (56 FR 47983). On November 
27, 1992, the list was revised to include the Wisconsin bus inspection 
program (57 FR 56400). The list was most recently revised on April 14, 
1994, to include the Texas CMV inspection program (59 FR 17829).

Determination: State of Connecticut Bus Inspection Program

    On July 1, 1995, the State of Connecticut (the State) implemented a 
new inspection program for buses. The State requires buses with a 
seating capacity of more than 16 passengers (including the driver) or a 
gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 11,794 kilograms (kg) (26,001 
pounds) or more to be inspected every 6 months. State officials conduct 
the inspections during the months of December and January while 
inspections by authorized or licensed inspection stations are performed 
during the months of June and July. The State has adopted Appendix G to 
Subchapter B of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, as part of its 
inspection criteria. Certain vehicle components and systems specific to 
buses (e.g., interior lights, passenger seat anchors and upholstery, 
emergency exits, etc.) are also covered under the State's inspection 
program.
    The FHWA has determined that the Connecticut bus inspection program 
in effect as of July 1, 1995, is comparable to or as effective as the 
Federal PI requirements. Therefore, motor carriers operating buses 
which are subject to the State's program and which are subject to the 
FMCSRs must use the State's program to satisfy the Federal PI 
requirements. Motor carriers operating buses that fall below the 
passenger-carrying and/or weight threshold for the Connecticut program, 
but which meet the FHWA's definition of a CMV may continue to use 
alternative means to satisfy the Federal PI requirements (e.g., self-
inspection, the use of a commercial garage or similar facility, or 
passage of a roadside inspection that meets the requirements of 49 CFR 
396.17).
    It should be noted that in accepting the State's PI program, the 
FHWA also accepts the recordkeeping requirements associated with the 
inspection program. Both the State officials and the authorized 
inspection facilities issue decals as well as copies of the inspection 
report. The State inspection decal is considered by the FHWA as 
satisfying the Federal requirement for proof of inspection on the CMV.
    The FHWA also notes that the inspection decals issued by the State 
government inspectors differ from the decals issued by the licensed 
inspection facilities. Both decals, however, provide sufficient 
information for State officials in other jurisdictions to make 
inquiries about the validity of the decal and request copies of the 
inspection reports.

States With Equivalent Periodic Inspection Programs

    The following is a complete list of States with inspection programs 
which the FHWA has determined are comparable to, or as effective as, 
the Federal PI requirements.

Alabama (LPG Board)
Arkansas
California
Connecticut
District of Columbia
Hawaii
Illinois
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin

    In addition to the States listed above, the FHWA has determined 
that the inspection programs of the 10 Canadian Provinces and the Yukon 
Territory are comparable to, or as effective as, the Federal PI 
requirements. All other States either have no PI programs for CMVs or 
their PI programs have not been determined by the FHWA to be comparable 
to, or as effective as, the Federal PI requirements. Should any of 
these States wish to establish a program or modify their programs in 
order to make them comparable to the Federal requirements, the State 
should contact the appropriate FHWA regional office listed in 49 CFR 
part 390.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 31132, 31136, 31142, 31502, and 31504; 49 
CFR 1.48.

    Issued on: October 27, 1995.
Rodney E. Slater,
Federal Highway Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-27503 Filed 11-6-95; 8:45 am]
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