[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 10, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37563-37565]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13376]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2006-26602]


Notice of Request for Information (RFI): Renew Approval of an 
Information Collection; OMB Control No. 2126-0011 (Commercial Driver 
Licensing and Test Standards)

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

ACTION: Notice; request for information.

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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. The FMCSA requests approval to 
revise an ICR entitled, ``Commercial Driver Licensing and Test 
Standards.'' This information collection is needed to ensure that 
drivers, motor carriers and the States are complying with notification 
and recordkeeping requirements for information related to testing, 
licensing, violations, convictions and disqualifications and that the 
information is accurate, complete and transmitted and recorded within 
certain time periods as required by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety 
Act of 1986 (CMVSA), as amended.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before September 10, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods. 
Please identify your comments by the FMCSA Docket Number FMCSA-2006-
26602.
     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. Robert Redmond, Office of Safety 
Programs, Commercial Driver's License Division (MC-ESL), Department of 
Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, West 
Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-
0001. Telephone: 202-366-5014; e-mail: [email protected]. Office 
hours are from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal Holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The licensed drivers in the United States deserve reasonable 
assurance that their fellow motorists are properly qualified to drive 
the vehicles they operate. Before the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety 
Act of 1986 (CMVSA or the Act at Attachment A) Public Law 99-570, Title 
XII, 100 Stat. 3207-170) was signed by the President on October 27, 
1986, 18 States and the District of Columbia authorized any person 
licensed to drive an automobile to also legally drive a large truck or 
bus. No special training or special license was required to drive these 
vehicles, even though it was widely recognized that operation of 
certain types of vehicles called for special skills, knowledge and 
training. Even in the 32 States that had a classified driver licensing 
system in place, only 12 of these States required an applicant to take 
a skills test in a representative vehicle. Equally serious was the 
problem of drivers possessing multiple driver licenses that enabled 
these commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers to avoid license 
suspension for traffic law convictions. By spreading their convictions 
among several States, CMV drivers could avoid punishment for their 
infringements, and stay behind the wheel.
    The CMVSA addressed these problems. Section 12002 of the Act makes 
it illegal for a CMV operator to have more than one driver's license. 
Section 12003 requires the CMV driver conducting operations in commerce 
to notify both the designated State of licensure official and the 
driver's employer of any convictions of State or local laws relating to 
traffic control (except parking tickets). This section also requires 
each person who applies for employment as a CMV operator to notify 
prospective employers of all previous employment as a CMV operator for 
at least the previous ten years.
    In section 12005 of the Act, the Secretary of Transportation 
(Secretary) is required to develop minimum Federal standards for 
testing and licensing of operators of CMVs.
    Section 12007 of the Act also directs the Secretary, in cooperation 
with the States, to develop a clearinghouse to aid the States in 
implementing the one driver, one license, and one driving record 
requirement. This clearinghouse is known as the commercial driver's 
license information system (CDLIS).
    The CMVSA further requires each person who has a CDL suspended, 
revoked or canceled by a State, or who is disqualified from operating a 
CMV for any period, to notify his or her employer of such actions. 
Drivers of CMVs must notify their employers within 1 business day of 
being notified of the license suspension, revocation, and cancellation, 
or of the lost right to operate or disqualification. These requirements 
are reflected in 49 CFR part 383, titled ``Commercial Driver's License 
Standards; Requirements and Penalties.''
    Specifically, section 383.21 prohibits a person from having more 
than one license; section 383.31 requires notification of convictions 
for driver violations; section 383.33 requires notification of driver's 
license suspensions; section 383.35 requires notification of previous 
employment; and section 383.37 outlines employer responsibilities. 
Section 383.111 requires the passing of a knowledge test by the driver 
and section 383.113 requires the passing of a skills test by

[[Page 37564]]

the driver; section 383.115 contains the requirement for the double/
triple trailer endorsement, section 383.117 contains the requirement 
for the passenger endorsement, section 383.119 contains the requirement 
for the tank vehicle endorsement and section 383.121 contains the 
requirement for the hazardous materials endorsement.
    Section 12011 of the CMVSA states that the Secretary shall withhold 
a portion of the Federal-aid highway funds apportioned to a State if 
the State does not substantially comply with the requirements in 
section 12009(a) of the Act. The information gathered during State 
compliance reviews is used to determine whether States are complying 
with these requirements.
    A final rule was published on July 31, 2002 (67 FR 49742) 
implementing 15 of the 16 CDL related provisions of the Motor Carrier 
Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (MCSIA) (Public Law 106-159, 113 Stat. 
1748 (Dec. 9, 1999)) (Attachment B) that were designed to enhance the 
safety of drivers on our nation's highways by ensuring that only safe 
drivers operate CMVs. These new requirements are contained in 49 CFR 
part 383 and include: five new major and serious disqualifying offenses 
(section 383.51): Non-CMV disqualifying offenses by a CDL holder 
(section 383.51); disqualification of drivers determined to be an 
imminent hazard (section 383.52); a new school bus endorsement (section 
383.123); a prohibition on issuing a hardship license to operate a CMV 
while under suspension (section 384.210); a prohibition on masking 
convictions (section 384.226); and various requirements for 
transmitting, posting and retaining driver convictions and 
disqualification records.
    An interim final rule (IFR) was published on May 5, 2003 (68 FR 
23844)as a companion rule to the Transportation Security 
Administration's (TSA's) May 5, 2003 IFR implementing section 1012 of 
the USA PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56) (Attachment C) on security 
threat assessments for drivers applying for or renewing a CDL with a 
hazardous materials endorsement. While TSA set the requirements in 
their rule; FMCSA has the responsibility as part of the CDL testing and 
issuance process to ensure that States are in compliance with the TSA 
requirements.
    This information collection supports the DOT Strategic Goal of 
Safety by requiring that drivers of CMVs are properly licensed 
according to all applicable Federal requirements.
    The 10-year employment history information supplied by the CDL 
holder to the employer upon application for employment (49 CFR 383.35) 
is used to assist the employer in meeting his/her responsibilities to 
ensure that the applicant does not have a history of high safety risk 
behavior.
    State officials use the information collected on the license 
application form (49 CFR 383.71), the medical certificate information 
that is posted to the driving record (proposed) and the conviction and 
disqualification data posted to the driving record (49 CFR 383.73) to 
prevent unqualified and/or disqualified CDL holders from operating CMVs 
on the nation's highways. State officials are also required to 
administer knowledge and skills tests to CDL driver applicants (49 CFR 
384.202). The driver applicant is required to correctly answer at least 
80 percent of the questions on each knowledge test in order to achieve 
a passing score on that test. To achieve a passing score on the skills 
test, the driver applicant must demonstrate that he/she can 
successfully perform all of the skills listed in the regulations. 
During State CDL compliance reviews, FMCSA officials review this 
information to ensure that the provisions of the regulations are being 
carried out. Without the aforementioned requirements, there would be no 
uniform control over driver licensing practices to prevent unqualified 
and/or disqualified drivers from being issued a CDL and to prevent 
unsafe drivers from spreading their convictions among several licenses 
in several States and remaining behind the wheel of a CMV. Failure to 
collect this information would render the regulations unenforceable.
    Information submitted by the States will be used by the FMCSA to 
determine if individual States are in ``substantial compliance'' with 
section 12009(a) of the CMVSA. The FMCSA reviews information submitted 
by the States and conducts such reviews, audits, and investigations of 
each State once every three years or as it deems necessary to make 
compliance determinations for all States and the District of Columbia. 
If this information were not available, the FMCSA would have no means 
of independently verifying State compliance.
    This request for renewed approval includes three additional 
information collection items: (1) ``State completing documents for a 
State-CDL compliance review [49 CFR 384],'' (2) ``CDL Knowledge and 
Skills Tests Recordkeeping [49 CFR 384.202]'' and (3) driver renewals 
under ``Driver Completion of the CDL Application [49 CFR 383.71].''
    Title: Commercial Driver Licensing and Test Standards.
    OMB Number: 2126-0011.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently-approved information 
collection.
    Respondents: Drivers with a commercial driver's license (CDL) and 
State driver licensing agencies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 8,332,800 driver respondents and 
7,870,400 State respondents.
    Estimated Time per Response: 5.15 minutes per response.
    Expiration Date: April 30, 2007.
    Frequency of Response: Variable.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1,391,456 hours.

The Information Collection is Comprised of Seven Components

    (1) Notification of Convictions/Disqualifications: There are 
approximately 11.52 million active commercial driver's license (CDL) 
driver records. Each driver averages 1 conviction every 3 years. The 
estimated number of annual responses = 3,840,000 (11.52 million CDL 
drivers/3 = 3,840,000). It takes approximately 10 minutes to notify a 
motor carrier concerning convictions. The notification requirement has 
an estimated annual burden of 640,000 burden hours (3,840,000 
convictions x 10/60 hours = 640,000 hours);
    (2) Providing Previous Employment History: The estimated annual 
turnover rate of drivers is approximately 14 percent (%.) There are an 
estimated 1,612,800 annual responses to this requirement (11.52 million 
CDL drivers x .14 annual turnover rate = 1,612,800). It takes 
approximately 15 minutes to complete this requirement. The employment 
history requirement has an estimated annual burden of 403,200 hours 
(1,612,800 annual responses x 15/60 hours = 403,200 hours);
    (3) State Certification of Compliance: There are 51 responses (50 
States and the District of Columbia) to this requirement and it takes 
approximately 32 hours to complete each response. The compliance 
certification requirement has an estimated annual burden of 1,632 hours 
(51 responses x 32 hours = 1,632 hours);
    (4) State Compliance Review Documentation: A State CDL compliance 
review is conducted approximately every 3.4 years. There are 15 
responses (51 States/3.4 years = 15 States/year). It takes 
approximately 160 hours to complete each response. The State compliance 
review documentation requirement has an estimated annual burden of 
2,400 hours (15 States x 160 hours = 2,400 hours).

[[Page 37565]]

    (5) CDLIS Recordkeeping: Fifty (50) States and the District of 
Columbia are required to enter data into the commercial driver's 
license information system (CDLIS) about operators of CMVs and to 
perform record checks before issuing, renewing, upgrading or 
transferring a CDL.
    There are approximately 576,000 new drivers a year (11.52 million 
drivers x .05 = 576,000 new drivers). We estimate that the average 
amount of time for each CDLIS inquiry performed by a State to add a new 
driver is 2 minutes. The new driver requirement has an estimated annual 
burden of 19,200 hours (576,000 transactions x 2/60 = 19,200 hours).
    There are 230,400 drivers a year who change their State of domicile 
(11.52 million drivers x .02 = 230,400 drivers). We estimate that the 
average amount of time for each CDLIS inquiry performed by a State to 
change a driver's State of domicile is 2 minutes. The change State of 
domicile requirement has an estimated annual burden of 7,680 hours 
(230,400 transactions x 2/60 hours = 7,680 hours).
    Approximately 25 percent of convictions result in a 
disqualification. There are 4,800,000 driver convictions and 
disqualifications (3,840,000 convictions x 1.25 = 4,800,000). We 
estimate that the average amount of time for each transaction performed 
by a State is 2 minutes. The driver conviction/disqualification 
transaction requirement has an estimated annual burden of 160,000 hours 
(4,800,000 transactions x 2/60 hours = 160,000 hours).
    Approximately 33 percent of active CDL drivers have a hazardous 
materials endorsement. The average renewal period is approximately 5 
years. There are 760,320 drivers a year applying for or renewing a 
hazardous materials endorsement to their CDL (11.52 million active CDL 
drivers x .33/5 years = 760,320 drivers). We estimate that the average 
amount of time for each citizenship/resident alien status check 
performed by a State is 2 minutes. The citizenship/resident alien 
status check transaction requirement has an estimated annual burden of 
25,344 hours (760,320 transactions x 2/60 hours = 25,344 hours).
    The total burden hours for these combined collection of information 
activities is 212,224 hours (19,200 hours + 7,680 hours + 160,000 hours 
+ 25,344 hours = 212,224 hours).
    (6) CDL Application Form: There are approximately 576,000 new CDL 
applicants a year. It takes approximately 1 minute to complete the CDL 
application. The new applicant CDL application requirement has an 
estimated annual burden of 9,600 hours (576,000 applications x 1/60 
hours = 9,600 hours).
    The average CDL renewal period is approximately 5 years. Therefore, 
2,304,000 drivers renew their CDL a year (11.52 million active CDL 
drivers/5 years = 2,304,000 drivers). It takes approximately 1 minute 
for renewal drivers to complete the CDL application. The renewal driver 
CDL application requirement has an estimated annual burden of 38,400 
hours (2,304,000 x 1/60 hours = 38,400 hours).
    The total burden hours for these combined collection of information 
activities is 48,000 hours (9,600 hours + 38,400 hours = 48,000 hours).
    (7) Knowledge and Skills Test Recordkeeping: There are 
approximately 576,000 new CDL applicants a year. It takes approximately 
2 minute to record the results of knowledge tests and 5 minutes for the 
skills tests. Approximately 25 percent of the applicants fail the 
knowledge and skills tests.
    The knowledge test recordkeeping requirement has an estimated 
annual burden of 24,000 hours (576,000 applicants x 2 /60 hours x 1.25 
= 24,000 hours).
    The skills test recordkeeping requirement has an estimated annual 
burden of 60,000 hours (576,000 applicants x 5/60 hours x 1.25 = 
60,000).
    The total burden hours are 84,000 hours for these combined 
activities (24,000 + 60,000 = 84,000).
    Definitions: 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 or more kg (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 as hazardous materials are 
defined in 49 CFR 383.5.
    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 29, 2007.
D. Marlene Thomas,
Associate Administrator for Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-13376 Filed 7-9-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P