[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 152 (Monday, August 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 47883]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-19593]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration


Elimination of USDOT Number Registrant-Only Classification

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

ACTION: Notice of procedural changes to the Performance and 
Registration Information Systems Management Program.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces elimination of the ``registrant-only'' USDOT 
number as part of the Performance and Registration Information Systems 
Management (PRISM) program. FMCSA developed the concept of a 
``registrant-only'' USDOT number to identify registered owners of 
commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) that are not motor carriers, but lease 
their CMVs to entities that are motor carriers. FMCSA has concluded 
that registrant-only USDOT numbers are being used differently from what 
the Agency intended and thus the practice of issuing registrant-only 
numbers to entities that are not motor carriers is having an adverse 
affect on the Agency's ability to track motor carriers' safety 
violations. As a result, FMCSA made the decision to eliminate the PRISM 
procedure that requires non-motor carrier registrants to obtain USDOT 
numbers, and will maintain all existing numbers as dormant registrant-
only USDOT numbers.

DATES: The effective date of the change is September 1, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Lawler, Department of 
Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. (202) 366-3866 (telephone), 
202-366-3375 (fax), [email protected] (e-mail).

Background

    PRISM was created by Section 4003 of the Intermodal Surface 
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), Public Law 102-240 (105 
Stat.1914, 2144, Dec. 18, 1991) as a demonstration project. The goal of 
the demonstration project was to explore the potential benefits of 
using State commercial vehicle registration sanctions as an incentive 
to improve motor carrier safety [49 U.S.C. 31106(b)]. In 1998, Congress 
authorized additional funding through Section 4004 of the 
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), Public Law 
105-178 (112 Stat. 107, 398, June 9, 1998) to implement the PRISM 
program nationwide.
    In 1999, FMCSA created the ``registrant-only'' USDOT number 
classification to identify registered owners of CMVs that are not motor 
carriers but lease their CMVs to entities that are motor carriers. 
Because the registrant is not a motor carrier, the registrant-only 
USDOT number is used to track ownership of CMVs in the Motor Carrier 
Management Information System (MCMIS). A registrant-only USDOT number 
does not authorize a non-motor carrier to operate in interstate 
commerce, and it should not have any safety events assigned to it. 
However, in numerous cases, law enforcement personnel have been 
presented a registrant-only number during inspections and crash 
investigations. As a result, data that should be assigned to the record 
of the motor carrier operating the CMV has been erroneously assigned to 
the registrant-only DOT number. The Agency conducted an analysis in 
2009 and found that over 35,500 (18%) of the more than 200,000 
registrant-only records in MCMIS contained crash and inspection 
activity that should have been recorded on the lessee's motor carrier 
record.
    Placement of this information on a registrant-only record adversely 
affects the accuracy of FMCSA's safety monitoring system. Motor 
carriers that improperly use registrant-only numbers can evade FMCSA 
oversight, including compliance reviews and new entrant program audits. 
In addition, if safety events are not properly attributed to the motor 
carriers operating CMVs, FMCSA cannot factor those events into the 
motor carriers' safety ratings.

Action To Be Taken

    On September 1, 2011, FMCSA will eliminate the practice of allowing 
non-motor carrier registrants to obtain registrant-only USDOT numbers. 
Approximately 40 of the State jurisdictions that are PRISM members will 
be affected by this change. Members will need to modify their forms, 
instruction manuals, computer systems' validation and safety edits, 
renewal application and MCS-150 edits and procedures. FMCSA will be 
working with members to make the necessary changes. The goal is for 
members to make these changes by August 31, 2011.
    While members are modifying their systems, the FMCSA Division 
Offices will be researching the events attributed to the registrant-
only records and reassigning the events to the proper motor carrier 
record on MCMIS, or, if appropriate, changing the non-motor carrier to 
motor carrier status. The registrant-only USDOT numbers will remain on 
MCMIS as dormant numbers unless a non-motor carrier changes its status 
to motor carrier. FMCSA's goal is to have all of the records corrected 
by December 31, 2011.

    Issued on: July 30, 2010.
Anne S. Ferro,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2010-19593 Filed 8-6-10; 8:45 am]
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