[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 28, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45361-45362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21719]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2000-8210]


Agency Information Collection Activities Under OMB Review: OMB 
Control No. 2126-0011 (Commercial Driver Licensing and Test Standards)

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The FMCSA announces that the Information Collection Request 
(ICR) described in this notice is being sent to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The FMCSA is 
requesting OMB's continued approval of the information that is required 
for Commercial Driver Licensing and Test Standards. The ICR describes 
the information collection and its expected burden. We are required to 
send ICRs to OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The FMCSA published 
the required Federal Register notice offering a 60-day comment period 
on this information collection on May 7, 2001 (66 FR 23082). No 
comments were received during this comment period. However, one comment 
was received after the docket closed. Because of the tardiness of the 
comment, an evident misunderstanding of the proper procedure to use for 
calculation of burden hours, and several remarks addressed to the CDL 
program in general rather than the information collection burden, FMCSA 
will respond directly to the submitter rather than discuss the comment 
in this notice. A copy of FMCSA's response to this comment will be 
provided to Docket No. FMCSA-2000-8210.

DATES: Please submit comments by August 27, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 Seventeenth Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503, Attention: DOT Desk Officer. We particularly 
request your comments on whether the collection of information is 
necessary for the FMCSA to meet its goal of reducing truck crashes, 
including whether the information is useful to this goal; the accuracy 
of the estimate of the burden of the information collection; ways to 
enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collected; 
and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology. OMB wants to receive comments 
within 30 days of publication of this notice in order to act on the ICR 
quickly.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Larry Slade (202) 366-5721, Office 
of Safety Programs, State Programs Division (MC-ESS), Federal Motor 
Carrier Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 
20590. Office hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., e.t., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Commercial Driver Licensing and Test Standards.
    OMB Approval Number: 2126-0011.
    Background: In 1986, Congress enacted the Commercial Motor Vehicle 
Safety Act (CMVSA), Public Law 99-570, Title XII, among other things, 
to establish minimum standards for testing and licensing persons who 
want to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) by weight or use 
category, and requiring drivers to have a single commercial driver's 
license (CDL) and driving history record. Under 49 CFR 383.5, a CMV is 
defined as a motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles which: (a) 
has a gross combination weight rating of 11,794 or more kilograms (kg) 
(26,001 or more pounds (lbs)) inclusive of a towed unit with a gross 
vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of more than 4,536 kg (10,000 lbs); (b) 
has a GVWR of 11,794 kg or more (26,001 or more lbs); (c) is designed 
to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver; or (d) is of 
any size and is used to transport hazardous materials which require the 
motor vehicle to be placarded under the Hazardous Materials 
Regulations, 49 CFR part 172, subpart F.
    The CMVSA requires a driver to notify both their employer and the 
licensing official in the driver's State of licensure of all violations 
of any State or local laws relating to traffic control (except parking 
violations). A person whose CDL is suspended, revoked, or canceled by a 
State, or who is disqualified from operating a CMV for any period, also 
must notify their employer of such actions. A person applying for 
employment as a CMV driver also must notify prospective employers of 
their employment history as a CMV driver for the previous ten years.
    Under section 31309, Title 49, U.S.C. (49 U.S.C. 31309), the 
Secretary of Transportation must maintain an information clearinghouse 
and depository of information about the licensing, identification, and 
disqualification of CMV operators, in conjunction with 49 U.S.C. 31106. 
The Secretary must consult with the States in carrying out this 
section. States must certify that they are in compliance with the CDL 
program. If a State does not substantially comply with these 
requirements, the FMCSA may penalize the State until compliance is 
achieved. The information collected by the States will be used to 
determine whether the States are in substantial compliance with these 
requirements.
    This request for renewed approval includes additional burdens for 
recordkeeping requirements under 49 CFR 384.231(d) concerning retention 
and updating of driver records on the Commercial Driver's License 
Information System (CDLIS).
    Respondents: Motor carriers, CMV drivers, and State governments.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: Total burden hours of 620,802 for 
all respondents include the following three components:
    (1) Notification of convictions: Estimated number of annual 
responses = 3,333,333 (10 million CDL drivers/3 = 3,333,333). It takes 
approximately 10 minutes to notify a motor carrier concerning 
convictions. Each driver averages approximately 1 conviction every 3 
years. The notification requirement has an estimated annual burden of 
555,556 burden hours. (10 million /3  x  \10/60\ = 555,556 hours);
    (2) State compliance and certification: There are 51 responses to 
this requirement (50 States and the District of Columbia). The 
compliance and certification requirement has an estimated annual burden 
of 1,632 hours (51  x  32 hours = 1,632 hours); and
    (3) CDLIS Recordkeeping: 50 States and the District of Columbia are 
required to enter data into CDLIS and to perform record checks before 
issuing, renewing or upgrading a CDL or allowing a CDL transfer. We 
estimate that the average amount of time for each CDLIS inquiry is 2 
minutes. The total burden hours is 63,614 for these combined 
activities: 21,522 hours for all States to create a new driver; 7,120 
hours for all States to change the State of record; and 34,972 hours 
for all States to change data.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended; and 49 CFR 1.73.


[[Page 45362]]


    Issued on: August 22, 2001.
Brian M. McLaughlin,
Associate Administrator for Policy and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 01-21719 Filed 8-27-01; 8:45 am]
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