[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 164 (Friday, August 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 48726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16724]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2007-28660]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of an Approved 
Information Collection: Accident Recordkeeping Requirements

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

ACTION: Notice and 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. This information collection concerns the requirement that 
motor carriers maintain a record of all accidents in which their 
commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) are involved. The collection is 
necessary for FMCSA to assess the effectiveness of the safety 
management controls of motor carriers. On April 23, 2007, FMCSA 
published a Federal Register notice allowing for a 60-day comment 
period on the ICR. One comment was received.

DATES: Please send your comments by September 24, 2007. OMB must 
receive your comments by this date in order to act quickly on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 Seventeenth 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention: DOT/FMCSA Desk Officer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Tom Yager, Chief, Driver & Carrier 
Operations Division, Office of Bus & Truck Standards and Development 
(MC-PSD): Telephone: 202-366-4009; e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Accident Recordkeeping Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0009.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently-approved collection.
    Respondents: Motor Carriers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 106,800 motor carriers.
    Estimated Time per Response: 18 minutes.
    Expiration Date: September 30, 2007.
    Frequency of Response: Once per year.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 32,040 hours. 106,800 motor carriers 
recording an accident x 18 minutes per response/60 minutes in an hour.

Background

    Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 390.15, 
requires interstate motor carriers to maintain an ``accident register'' 
consisting of a list of ``accidents'' (as defined in 49 CFR 390.5) that 
involve their CMVs and occur in interstate or intrastate commerce. The 
register may be electronic. The information for each accident must 
include, at a minimum, the following elements: Date of accident; city 
or town in which or most near where the accident occurred and the State 
in which the accident occurred; driver name; number of injuries; number 
of fatalities; and whether hazardous materials, other than fuel spilled 
from the fuel tanks of motor vehicles involved in the accident, were 
released. In addition, the register must contain copies of all accident 
reports required by State or other governmental entities or insurers. A 
motor carrier must maintain the required information in the accident 
register for three years after the date of the accident.
    The FMCSA uses this data to analyze the safety performance of motor 
carriers and drivers of CMVs. This information supports the DOT 
strategic goal of safety. Information concerning crashes strengthens 
FMCSA's ability to assess motor carrier safety performance and to 
assist motor carriers in preventing crashes and reducing crash 
severity. The FMCSA uses this data to target motor carriers with the 
weakest safety records.
    Response to Comment: On April 23, 2007, FMCSA published a Federal 
Register notice allowing for a 60-day comment period on the proposed 
renewal of this ICR. One comment was received from the American 
Trucking Association (ATA). In that comment, the ATA asked the Agency 
to reconsider its calculations to account for the fact that the States 
historically under-report their accidents to FMCSA. For this ICR, FMCSA 
did not use the accident data reported by the States to FMCSA. The 
Agency employed two databases compiled by the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration because they produced the most accurate and 
reliable data for calculating the paperwork burden of this ICR.
    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.

    Issued on: August 17, 2007.
Terry Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Research and Information Technology.
 [FR Doc. E7-16724 Filed 8-23-07; 8:45 am]
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