[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 142 (Tuesday, July 25, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42170-42171]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-11766]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[FMCSA Docket No. FMCSA-2006-25290]


Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Standards; Isuzu Motors 
America, Inc.'s Exemption Application

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

ACTION: Notice of application for exemption from CDL standards; request 
for comments.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that Isuzu Motors America, Inc. (Isuzu) has 
applied for an exemption for 76 of its commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 
drivers to enable them to test-drive Isuzu CMVs in the United States 
without a U.S. CDL. The Isuzu CMVs are prototypes which require testing 
under U.S. climatic conditions prior to being placed on the U.S. 
market. Each of these drivers holds a CDL issued in Japan, but lack the 
U.S. residency necessary to obtain a CDL in the United States. Isuzu 
asks that they be exempt from the Federal requirement that drivers of 
such CMVs hold a CDL issued by one of the States of the United States.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 24, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments to the DOT Docket Management System 
(DMS), referencing Docket Number FMCSA-2006-25290, using any of the 
following methods:
     Web site: http://dmses.dot.gov. Follow the instructions 
for submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the 
Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and 
docket numbers for this notice. Note that all comments received will be 
posted without change to http://dms.dot.gov, including any personal 
information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading for further 
information.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or Room PL-401 
on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. The DMS is available 24 hours each day, 365 
days each year. If you want us to notify you that we received your 
comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or postcard 
or print the acknowledgment page that appears after submitting comments 
on-line.
    Privacy Act: Anyone may search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or of the person signing the comment, if 
submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
You may review the Department of Transportation's complete Privacy Act 
Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 
19477; Apr. 11, 2000). This information is also available at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Thomas Yager, Chief, Driver and 
Carrier Operations Division, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and 
Operations, MC-PSD, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 400 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Telephone: 202-366-
4009. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 42171]]

Background

    Section 4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century 
(Pub. L. 105-178, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 107) amended 49 U.S.C. 31315 
and 31136(e) to provide authority to grant exemptions from the motor 
carrier safety regulations. On August 20, 2004, FMCSA published a final 
rule (69 FR 51589) on section 4007. Under the regulations, FMCSA must 
publish a notice of each exemption request in the Federal Register (49 
CFR 381.315(a)). FMCSA must provide the public with an opportunity to 
inspect the information relevant to the application, including any 
safety analyses that have been conducted, and it must provide an 
opportunity for public comment on the request.
    FMCSA reviews the safety analyses and the public comments and 
determines whether granting the exemption would achieve a level of 
safety equivalent to or greater than the level that would be achieved 
by the current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). FMCSA's decision must be 
published in the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(b)). If FMCSA denies 
the request, it must state the reason for doing so. If FMCSA grants the 
exemption, the notice must specify the person or class of persons 
receiving the exemption and the regulatory provision or provisions from 
which exemption is being granted. The notice must also specify the 
effective period of the exemption (up to 2 years) and explain the terms 
and conditions of the exemption. The exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 
381.300(b)).

Application for Exemption

    Isuzu has applied for an exemption from the FMCSR provision 
requiring that drivers of certain CMVs in interstate or intrastate 
commerce obtain a CDL from a State (49 CFR 383.23). Isuzu requests the 
exemption because its drivers are residents of Japan and therefore are 
ineligible to obtain a CDL from a State. The Isuzu CMVs are prototypes 
which require testing under U.S. climatic conditions prior to being 
placed on the U.S. market. It is expected that each driver would 
operate CMVs about 5,000 miles per year. A copy of Isuzu's application 
is in Docket No. FMCSA-2006-25290.

Japanese Drivers Included in Application

    The exemption would enable the following 76 drivers to operate CMVs 
that will be manufactured, assembled, sold or primarily used in the 
United States: Aihara Hirokazu, Akira Iiduka, Akira Yoshino, Atsushi 
Hirotsu, Atsushi Yamazaki, Chito Agatsuma, Fuki Yokoyama, Fumiaki Kubo, 
Fumiaki Takei, Fuyuki Hamanaka, Go Shinozuka, Hideki Shibata, Hiroaki 
Kurata, Hiroaki Takahashi, Hiromasa Narita, Hiroshi Osada, Hiroyoshi 
Morohoshi, Hisashi Hashiguchi, Ichirou Watanabe, Jirou Arai, Junichi 
Yamada, Jyunichi Suda, Kakuya Sekimoto, Kazuhiro Itou, Kazuhiro 
Teraguchi, Kazuyoshi Tateishi, Ken Ueda, Kenji Takashima, Kiyoaki 
Nokura, Kiyoshi Toshima, Kohki Natsumi, Manabu Andou, Masaaki Toriyama, 
Masahiko Gotou, Masahito Katou, Masayuki Tanaka, Minoru Endou, Misturu 
Denpouy, Mitsugu Sugiura, Motoyuki Kamo, Naoki Morimoto, Naomi Uchida, 
Naoyuki Itou, Noboru Azuma, Nobuhisa Okuda, Nobuyuki Iwao, Ryo Sato, 
Ryouji Matsuzawa, Satoshi Yatomi, Shigeo Shimada, Shinya Ishida, Syouji 
Takahashi, Tadao Shibuya, Tadashi Shoda, Takahiro Maemoto, Takashi 
Oguma, Takatomo Omukai, Takauki Asaoka, Takayuki Kaneda, Takeshi Kamei, 
Tatsumi Wakamori, Tatsuya Kawase, Tatsuya Sakata, Tetsuji Oshima, 
Tetuya Hiromatsu, Toshiaki Shimizu, Toshihiko Sudo, Tsuchida Minoru, 
Tsugio Fujita, Yasuhiro Sakai, Yasuo Tamamoto, Yasuyuki Fujita, 
Yoshiaki Miyamoto, Yoshinori Kunieda, Yoshinori Ugai and Youcihi 
Kurita.
    Isuzu presents evidence of the comprehensive driver training and 
testing which precedes issuance of a Japanese CDL. Isuzu also provides 
evidence of the background of each of the 76 drivers. They are 
automotive engineers and technicians, and each holds a valid Japanese 
CDL. They are experienced CMV operators, and Isuzu states in its 
application that none of these drivers has been cited for a traffic 
violation or has been involved in a traffic accident during the two 
years prior to the application.

Request for Comments

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b)(4) and 31136(e), FMCSA 
requests public comment from all interested persons, including those 
with specific data concerning the safety records of the drivers listed 
in this notice, on Isuzu's application for an exemption from the CDL 
requirements of 49 CFR 383.23. The Agency requests that comments be 
submitted by the close of business on August 24, 2006. Comments will be 
available for examination in the docket. FMCSA will review all comments 
received by this date, and will determine whether the exemption is 
consistent with requirements of 49 U.S.C. 31315(b)(4) and 31136(e). 
Comments received after the closing date will be filed in the public 
docket and will be considered to the extent practicable, but FMCSA may 
make a final decision at any time after the close of the comment 
period.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 31136 and 31315; and 49 CFR 1.73.

    Issued on: July 19, 2006.
David H. Hugel,
Acting Administrator.
 [FR Doc. E6-11766 Filed 7-24-06; 8:45 am]
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