[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 190 (Wednesday, October 1, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56663-56664]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24875]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-15025]


Notice of Request for Clearance of a New Information Collection: 
Truck Driver Fatigue Management Survey

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

ACTION: Notice.

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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 pursuant to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. On May 30, 2003, the FMCSA published a 
``Notice of Request for Clearance of a New Information Collection: 
Truck Driver Fatigue Management Survey'' in the Federal Register. 
Comments on the proposed information collection burden were solicited. 
No comments regarding the ICR were received.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before October 31, 2003.

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 goals 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 on information technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Carroll, Transportation 
Specialist, (202) 385-2388, Research Division, Office of Research and 
Technology, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 600 Virginia 
Avenue, SW., Suite 600, Washington, DC 20024. Office hours are from 
7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Truck Driver Fatigue Management Survey.
    Background: The Conference Report on the Department of 
Transportation (DOT) and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 
(Pub. L. 107-87, 115 Stat. 833, December 18, 2001) noted that the 
conferees included $400,000 to study fatigue management techniques, as 
outlined in the Senate report (H.R. Rep. No. 107-308, at 94 (2001)). 
The Senate Report on the FY 2002 DOT Appropriations Act directed FMCSA 
to perform a ``study to determine the fatigue management techniques 
used by truck drivers during overnight operations with an organization 
representing unionized motor carriers in cooperation with their labor 
organization'' (S. Rep. 107-38, at 83-84 (2001)).
    The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), on FMCSA's behalf, 
published a Pre-solicitation Notice on July 1, 2002, on the Department 
of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Business Opportunities Web site, 
describing the anticipated sole-source award to the Motor Freight 
Carriers Association (MFCA), and on September 30, 2002, FMCSA awarded 
the MFCA a contract to conduct a Truck Driver Fatigue Management Study.
    Recent research has underscored the influence of time of day on 
truck driver alertness. The same research has shown that there are 
significant individual differences in alertness during night driving, 
even when drivers have adequate sleep. Yet the trucking industry must 
operate 24 hours a day in order to meet customer demands. In addition, 
the highways are least congested between midnight and six a.m. The 
unionized less-than-truckload (LTL) segment has a long history of safe 
operations at night. Indeed, most of its over-the-road operations occur 
at night. A major reason for the safety record of MFCA companies is the 
professionalism of the drivers they employ--more than 8,000 of the 
42,000 drivers have at least one million accident-free driving miles 
with the same company. This truck driver workforce offers an untapped 
source of knowledge about techniques and lifestyle practices that are 
used to manage fatigue during night operations.
    Specifically, the study will randomly survey Teamster drivers in 
MFCA companies who regularly operate on

[[Page 56664]]

overnight runs. The survey will collect detailed information on such 
items as the nature of their job, what helps them cope, what are the 
challenges, how much and how long they sleep, their physical condition, 
the use of naps, and the impact of other road users on their alertness. 
A control group of Teamster drivers without one million accident free 
driving miles will also be surveyed. A sample of drivers will be 
studied prospectively using unobtrusive, objective wrist actigraphy 
watches to confirm the sleep-wake behaviors identified in the survey as 
being most likely to mitigate fatigue and maintain alertness during 
nighttime operations.
    Respondents: The respondents to the planned survey will include 
approximately 2,000 selected motor carrier truck drivers of CMVs.
    Average Burden Per Response: The estimated average burden per 
response is 30 minutes. This includes time needed for reading survey 
instructions, searching existing data sources, completing the survey 
instrument and returning the information by mail.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: The estimated total annual burden is 
1000 hours.
    Frequency: The survey will be conducted once.

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

    Issued on: September 23, 2003.
Warren E. Hoemann,
Deputy Administator.
[FR Doc. 03-24875 Filed 9-30-03; 8:45 am]
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