[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 11, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51891-51892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-17805]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2007-28850]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of an Approved 
Information Collection: Driver Qualification Files

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 collection, entitled ``Driver Qualification Files,'' 
accounts for the information that motor carriers must obtain and 
maintain on the qualifications of the commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 
drivers they employ. On May 23, 2007, FMCSA published a Federal 
Register notice allowing for a 60-day comment period on the ICR. No 
comments were received.

DATES: Please send your comments by October 11, 2007. OMB must receive 
your comments by this date in order to act quickly on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Docket No. FMCSA-2007-28850. 
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. Thomas Yager, Chief, FMCSA Driver 
and Carrier Operations Division. Telephone: 202-366-4235; e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Driver Qualification Files.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0004.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Motor carriers; drivers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 7 million.
    Estimated Time per Response: An average of 28 minutes.
    Expiration Date: September 30, 2007.
    Frequency of Response: The principal obligations of these rules are 
imposed on motor carriers when considering a driver for employment, and 
on CMV drivers, when applying for employment.

[[Page 51892]]

These obligations arise irregularly because they are associated with 
the hiring process. This collection also imposes certain annual 
obligations on motor carriers and employee-drivers.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 3,254,580 hours. FMCSA arrives at 
this estimate through calculation of the time involved with each of the 
requirements of the driver qualification rules including those 
pertaining to the hiring of a CMV driver by a motor carrier and the 
safety performance history of the applicant-driver.

Background

    The Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-554, Title II, 98 
Stat. 2834 (October 30, 1984)) requires the Secretary of Transportation 
to issue regulations pertaining to CMV safety. These regulations, also 
issued under the authority provided by 49 U.S.C. 504, 31133, 31136, and 
31502, require motor carriers to maintain a driver qualification file 
on each of their CMV drivers. The rules require a motor carrier to 
obtain and maintain specified information concerning the qualifications 
of each driver to operate a CMV in interstate commerce. The CMV driver 
is often required to produce the required information. The majority of 
the information is collected during the process of hiring the CMV 
driver and during annual reviews. This information is available to 
FMCSA investigators to substantiate the qualifications of drivers to 
operate a CMV safely in interstate commerce. A qualified driver means 
fewer crashes.
    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 performance of FMCSA's functions; (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 31, 2007.
Michael S. Griffith,
Acting Associate Administrator for Research and Information Technology.
 [FR Doc. E7-17805 Filed 9-10-07; 8:45 am]
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