[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 56 (Friday, March 21, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15253-15254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5720]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2007-29251]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Emergency Approval of a 
New Information Collection: Commercial Vehicle Driver Survey: Truck 
Driver Hours of Service and Fatigue Management

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

ACTION: Notice and request for information.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) to request an emergency approval process. FMCSA requested 
approval of this ICR not later than 30 days from the date of 
publication of this notice. The purpose of this information collection 
is to analyze the impact of the new Hours-of-Service regulations on 
drivers and the effects of these regulations on driver fatigue as well 
as to acquire general demographic information regarding the commercial 
motor vehicle driving population.

DATES: Please send your comments by April 21, 2008. 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. Robert Carroll, Senior 
Transportation Specialist, (202) 385-2388, [email protected], MC-
RRR Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration,

[[Page 15254]]

6th Floor, West Building, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Washington, DC 
20590. Requests for additional information or copies of the information 
collection instrument and instructions should be directed to Dr. 
Michelle Yeh, Engineering Psychologist, (617) 494-3459, 
[email protected], Human Factors Division, Volpe National 
Transportation Systems Center, 55 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02124. Office 
hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Commercial Vehicle Driver Survey: Truck Driver Hours of 
Service and Fatigue Management.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-XXXX.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Respondents: Commercial motor vehicle drivers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1728 respondents.
    Estimated Time per Response: 15 minutes.
    Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new information collection.
    Frequency of Response: One-time.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 432 hours [1728 respondents x 15 
minutes = 432].
    Background: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) 
needs a better understanding of the commercial motor vehicle driving 
population and the perceived effect of its new Hours-of-Service rule. 
This rule, adopted in August 2005, was intended to align truck drivers' 
schedules with the normal 24-hour circadian cycle and provide drivers 
with better opportunities to obtain more restorative sleep. The Hours-
of-Service rule is intended to minimize the occurrence of operational 
errors on the road. However, in July, 2007, two provisions of the 
Hours-of-Service rule were vacated by the United States Court of 
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (the Court). The Court 
held that FMCSA had failed to provide an opportunity to comment on the 
methodology of its operator-fatigue model, and that it failed to 
explain the elements of that methodology. Because the model is the 
basis for the cost-benefit analysis which supports the increase of 
driving time from 10 to 11 hours and of the 34-hour restart, the Court 
vacated those two provisions. The Court subsequently stayed its mandate 
for three months, until December 27, 2007.
    FMCSA would like to analyze, in great detail, the impact of the 
2005 Hours-of-Service regulations on drivers. Related to this issue is 
truck driver fatigue. Fatigue mitigation has been a high priority in 
the Department of Transportation and the FMSCA for many years. The 2005 
Hours-of-Service regulations required drivers to take two additional 
hours off duty every day, allowing them to obtain the 7-8 hours of 
sleep that most people need to maintain alertness. An understanding of 
whether the rules are perceived to be having the desired effect on 
driver sleep is needed. Additionally, understanding drivers' napping 
habits and other solutions for coping with fatigue would provide input 
for future solutions and policies to better accommodate these issues.
    FMCSA would also like to obtain information on the commercial motor 
vehicle driving population. Driver-related factors are an important 
consideration in commercial motor vehicle crashes, but there is no 
central nationwide source of information describing the population of 
drivers holding a Commercial Drivers License (CDL). An estimate of the 
number of commercial drivers and particular subsets of drivers (e.g., 
short-haul, regional, long-haul) is needed and would benefit FMCSA in 
assessing the impacts of future initiatives, policies, and rules and 
the improvement of its safety programs.
    The goals of this survey are to obtain commercial motor vehicle 
drivers' opinions on the new Hours-of-Service regulations and the 
effects of these regulations on driver fatigue and to acquire general 
demographic information regarding the commercial motor vehicle driving 
population. Data for this project will be collected via driver 
interviews and from a one-time, hard copy, mailed survey. Drivers will 
provide information regarding the nature of their work, experience, and 
employment history, their perceptions regarding the effect of the 
Hours-of-Service regulations, and methods for coping with fatigue. The 
results of the information collection will be summarized and made 
available to the public. It will be used to inform future initiatives, 
policies, and rules; develop a picture of the commercial vehicle driver 
population for use in future FMCSA research; and contribute to the 
general literature regarding fatigue management.
    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: March 14, 2008.
Terry Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Research and Information Technology.
 [FR Doc. E8-5720 Filed 3-20-08; 8:45 am]
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