[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 172 (Tuesday, September 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53801-53802]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-22625]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2000-7827]


Notice of Request for Comments on Renewing the Approval for Three 
Information Collections: Inspection, Repair and Maintenance; Driver 
Qualification Files; and Controlled Substances and Alcohol Use and 
Testing

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This action informs the public that FMCSA intends to request 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to renew approval for three 
information collections. The first information collection, 
``Inspection, Repair and Maintenance,'' relates to a motor carrier's 
responsibility for ensuring that employees safely maintain and operate 
its commercial motor vehicles. The second information collection, 
``Driver Qualification Files,'' relates to requirements that a motor 
carrier employ only safe drivers to operate its commercial motor 
vehicles. The third information collection, ``Controlled Substances and 
Alcohol Use and Testing,'' relates to requirements that a motor carrier 
test certain commercial motor vehicle operators for controlled 
substance use and alcohol abuse. This notice is required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act.

DATES: You must submit comments by November 6, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand deliver comments to the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, or submit electronically at http://dmses.dot.gov/submit. Be sure to include the docket number appearing in 
the heading of this document on your comment. All comments received 
will be available for examination and copying at the above address from 
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. 
If you would like to be notified when your comment is received, you 
must include a self-addressed, stamped postcard or you may print the 
acknowledgment page that appears after submitting comments 
electronically.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Valerie Height, (202) 366-0901, Office 
of Policy, Plans and Regulation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC, 20590. Office hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., e.t., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Title: Inspection, Repair and Maintenance.
    OMB Number: 2126-0003.
    Background: Motor carriers must maintain, or require maintenance 
of, records documenting the inspection, repair and maintenance 
activities performed on their owned and leased motor vehicles. There 
are no prescribed forms. The records are used by the FMCSA and its 
representatives to verify motor carriers' compliance with the 
inspection, repair, and maintenance standards in part 396 of the 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
    Respondents: Motor carriers, commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 
drivers.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 31,484,826 hours.
    2. Title: Driver Qualification Files.
    OMB Number: 2126-0004.
    Background: Motor carriers must maintain a driver qualification 
file for each CMV driver they employ. The file contains the minimum 
amount of information necessary to document that a driver is qualified 
to drive a CMV in interstate commerce.
    Motor carriers and the FMCSA primarily use the driver's 
qualification file to ensure that a person: (1) is physically qualified 
to safely operate a CMV; (2) has the experience and/or training to 
safely operate the type(s) of CMV he or she will be assigned to drive; 
(3) has the appropriate driver's license; and (4) has not been 
disqualified to operate a CMV.
    Respondents: Motor carriers and CMV drivers.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 941,856 hours.
    3. Title: Controlled Substances and Alcohol Use and Testing.
    OMB Number: 2126-0012.
    Background: Motor carriers must conduct alcohol and controlled 
substances testing on their CMV drivers who drive larger CMVs (over 
26,000 lbs.) requiring a commercial driver's license. The FMCSA uses 
the information collected to determine whether the motor carriers are 
using drivers who are alcohol-free and drug-free while driving trucks, 
buses, and other commercial motor vehicles. The reporting survey of the 
management information system (MIS) allows the agency to adjust the 
random testing rates for the industry when the industry shows 
performance improvements. The agency bases the adjustment upon the 
results of a small, statistically significant sample of motor carriers.
    The FMCSA has significantly reduced the estimated total annual 
burden for this information collection. The agency calculated burdens 
for OMB No. 2126-0012 using a uniform method jointly developed by the 
Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation (DOT) and each of 
the DOT modal administrations. Many of the paperwork burdens included 
in the old estimate for OMB No. 2126-0012 were eliminated because they 
are more appropriately accounted for under information collections 
relating to the DOT regulations for alcohol and controlled substances 
testing and Department of Health and Human Services Regulations for 
drug testing.
    Respondents: 650,000 motor carriers.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 573,490 hours.

Public Comments Invited

    We invite you to comment on any aspect of these information 
collections, including, but not limited to (1) whether the information 
collection is necessary and useful for the FMCSA to meet its goal of 
reducing truck crashes; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burdens; (3) 
ways to improve the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected 
information; and (4) ways to minimize the collection burden without 
reducing the quality of the collected information. We will summarize 
and/or include all comments submitted in response to this notice in our 
request for OMB's clearance of these information collections.

Electronic Access and Filing

    You may submit or retrieve comments online through the Docket 
Management System (DMS) at http://dmses.dot.gov/submit. Acceptable 
formats include: MS Word (versions 95 to 97), MS Word for Mac (versions 
6 to 8), Rich Text File (RTF), American Standard Code Information 
Interchange (ASCII)(TXT), Portable Document Format (PDF), and 
WordPerfect (versions 7 to 8). The DMS is available 24 hours each day, 
365 days

[[Page 53802]]

each year. Electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines are 
available under the help section of the web site.
    An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded by using a 
computer, modem and suitable communications software from the 
Government Printing Office's Electronic Bulletin Board Service at (202) 
512-1661. Internet users may reach the Office of the Federal Register's 
home page at http://www.nara.gov/fedreg and the Government Printing 
Office's web page at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara.

    Authority: 23 U.S.C. 315 and 49 CFR 1.73.


    Issued on: August 29, 2000.
Clyde J. Hart, Jr.,
Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 00-22625 Filed 9-1-00; 8:45 am]
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