[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 124 (Thursday, June 28, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35537-35538]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-12551]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2007-28416]


Notice of Request for Information (RFI): Training Certification 
for Drivers of Longer Combination Vehicles (LCVs)

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

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA 
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review 
and approval and invites public comment on its proposal. Specifically, 
the FMCSA requests OMB's approval to revise an ICR entitled, ``Training 
Certification for Drivers of Longer Combination Vehicles (LCVs).'' This 
ICR is necessary due to the paperwork requirement to complete and 
maintain training certificates that drivers must present to prospective 
employers. These certificates serve as proof the drivers have 
successfully completed sufficient training to operate LCVs safely on 
our Nation's highways. Motor carriers are required to maintain a copy 
of the training certification in each LCV driver's qualification (DQ) 
file, which may be reviewed by Federal or State enforcement officials.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before August 27, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by any of the following 
methods. Please identify your comments by the FMCSA docket number 
provided at the beginning of this notice.
     Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow instructions for 
submitting comments to the Docket.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket 
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket 
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Docket: For access to the Docket Management System (DMS) to read 
background documents or comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at 
any time or to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket 
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The DMS is 
available electronically 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. If you 
want notification of receipt of your comments, please include a self-
addressed, stamped envelope, or postcard or print the acknowledgement 
page that appears after submitting comments on-line.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register on April 11, 
2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Tom Yager, Chief of the Driver and 
Carrier Operations Division, Department of Transportation, Federal 
Motor Carrier Safety Administration, West Building

[[Page 35538]]

6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. 
Telephone: 202-366-5370; E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Section 4007(b) of the Motor Carrier Act of 1991 (Title IV of the 
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), Pub. 
L. 102-240, 105 Stat. 1914, 2152; 49 U.S.C. 31307) requires the 
Secretary of Transportation to establish Federal minimum training 
requirements for drivers of LCVs. The responsibility for implementing 
the statutory requirement was subsequently delegated to FMCSA (49 CFR 
1.73). The FMCSA, in a final rule entitled, ``Minimum Training 
Requirements for Longer Combination Vehicle (LCV) Operators and LCV 
Driver-Instructor Requirements'' adopted implementing regulations for 
the minimum training requirements for the operators of LCVs (see 69 FR 
16722; March 30, 2004).
    The 2004 final rule created an information collection burden 
concerning the certification of new, current and non-grandfathered LCV 
drivers; grandfathering those current LCV drivers who are eligible for 
certification; and the certification of LCV driver-instructors. The 
implementing regulations define an LCV as any combination of a truck-
tractor and two or more semi-trailers or trailers, which operate on the 
National System of Interstate and Defense Highways (as defined in 23 
CFR 470.107) with a GVW greater than 80,000 pounds. The purpose of this 
rule is to enhance the safety of LCV operations on our nation's 
highways.
    Drivers are required to present a training certification form to 
prospective employers to prove they are certified to drive LCVs. Motor 
carriers must not allow drivers to operate LCVs without ensuring the 
drivers have been properly trained in accordance with the requirements 
under 49 CFR part 380. The training certification form provides this 
assurance. Motor carriers must maintain a copy of the LCV training 
certification form in the driver qualification file, required by 49 CFR 
391.51. Motor carriers responsible for the operation of LCVs must be 
able to show Federal or State enforcement officials that drivers 
responsible for operating such LCVs are certified to do so, based on 
the training certificate located in their DQ files.
    Title: Training Certification for Drivers of Longer Combination 
Vehicles.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0026.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently-approved information 
collection.
    Respondents: Drivers who have completed the required LCV training 
and driver instructors responsible for conducting the required LCV 
training.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,200 drivers who complete the 
required LCV training each year; 6 driver instructors who complete LCV 
training must document their qualifications to train new LCV drivers.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes for LCV drivers; 30 minutes 
for LCV instructors.
    Expiration Date: June 30, 2007.
    Frequency of Response: Annual.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 203 hours. The FMCSA estimates that 
10 minutes would be needed for newly certified LCV drivers to fulfill 
the information collection requirement, resulting in an annual 
information collection burden of 200 hours [1,200 LCV drivers x 10 
minutes/60 minutes = 200 hours]. The estimated annual burden associated 
with instructor certification would be 3 burden hours [(2 classroom 
instructors x 10 minutes = 20 minutes) + (4 skills instructors x 15 
minutes = 60 minutes) + (6 new instructors x 15 minute administrative 
burden per instructor certification = 90 minutes) = 170 minutes/60 
minutes = 3 burden hours].
    Definitions: The information collection requirement for the LCV 
training regulations under 49 CFR part 380 are applicable only to 
drivers of LCVs, as defined in 49 CFR 380.105. Section 380.105 defines 
LCV as any combination of a truck-tractor and two or more semi-trailers 
or trailers, which operate on the National System of Interstate and 
Defense Highways (defined in 23 CFR 470.107) with a gross vehicle 
weight greater than 80,000 pounds.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the FMCSA's performance; (2) the accuracy 
of the estimated burden; (3) ways for the FMCSA to enhance the quality, 
usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that 
the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of the 
collected information. The agency will summarize or include your 
comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information 
collection.

    Issued on: June 21, 2007.
D. Marlene Thomas,
Associate Administrator for Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-12551 Filed 6-27-07; 8:45 am]
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