[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 146 (Friday, July 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45650-45651]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19184]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2011-0213]


Motorcoach Safety Summit and Regional Roundtables

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of meetings, request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Transportation announces that it will 
hold a national Motorcoach Safety Summit (National Summit), hosted by 
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to exchange 
information and ideas on the best possible approaches to reduce the 
number of motorcoach crashes, injuries, and fatalities and raise 
passenger awareness. Leading up to the National Summit, the Department 
will hold four regional roundtable discussions. Seating is limited for 
all events. Individuals with diverse experience, expertise, and 
perspectives are encouraged to attend. Please visit our dedicated Web 
site at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/motorcoach/2011 as details for each 
continue to evolve.

Dates, Times, and Addresses:  The first regional roundtable session 
will be held August 3, 2011, from 8 a.m. to noon (local time) in Dallas 
at the Marriott Dallas/Fort Worth Airport South, 4151 Centreport 
Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76155 (1-817-358-1700), Web page: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/dfwam-dallas-fort-worth-airport-marriott-south/.
    The second regional roundtable session will be held August 4, 2011, 
from 8 a.m. to noon (local time) in New York City at the New York 
Marriott Downtown, 85 West Street at Albany Street, New York, NY 10006 
(1-212-385-4900), Web page: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/nycws-new-york-marriott-downtown/.
    The third regional roundtable session will be held August 5, 2011 
from 8 a.m. to noon (local time) in Columbus, Ohio at the Hyatt 
Columbus Capitol Square, 75 East State Street, Columbus, OH 43215 (1-
614-228-1234), Web page: http://capitolsquare.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp?null.
    The fourth regional roundtable session will be held August 8, 2011, 
from noon to 4 p.m. (local time) in Los Angeles at the Hilton Anaheim, 
777 Convention Way, Anaheim, CA 92802 (1-714-750-4321), Web page: 
http://www.hiltonanaheimtour.com.
    The National Summit will take place on September 23, 2011, in 
Washington, DC. FMCSA will announce the location and address for the 
National Summit at a later date and will post the information at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/motorcoach/2011.
    The Department welcomes comments or questions prior to and during 
the National Summit and Regional Roundtables. The discussion for each 
Regional Roundtable session and concurrent online dialogue will center 
around four challenge questions:
    1. How can we increase awareness of the importance of safety and 
enforcement among all stakeholders including industry, law enforcement, 
consumer groups, safety advocates, and passengers themselves?
    2. What are the policy-related challenges or barriers for 
motorcoach safety and how do we develop opportunities to address each?
    3. What are the challenges and gaps related to motorcoach education 
and training for representatives from the industry, law enforcement, 
consumer groups, safety advocates, and passengers themselves?
    4. What are the challenges and limitations for passengers when 
considering and purchasing motorcoach services?
    The challenges and strategies garnered from the different feedback 
avenues will be used, with national data points, to frame the 
conversation during the National Summit. If you would like to submit a 
comment or question through this Federal Register Notice, in relation 
to any of the challenge questions and/or otherwise, you may do so under 
DOT Docket ID Number FMCSA-2011-0213 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: the Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) address: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility (M-30), U.S. Department 
of Transportation, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: 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 
telephone number is 202-366-9329.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and 
docket number (FMCSA-2011-0213) for this announcement. To avoid 
duplication, please use only one of these four methods. Note that all 
comments and questions received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. 
Please refer to the Privacy Act heading for further information.
    Comments received after the comment closing date will be considered 
and incorporated as appropriate. For questions, see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov at any time or to 
West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.
    Privacy Act: Anyone may 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 notice published 
on January 17, 2008 (73 FR 3316) at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-785.pdf.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Dee Williams, Chief, Strategic 
Planning and Program Evaluation Division, FMCSA, telephone (202) 493-
0192, or e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Motorcoach transportation is one of the most cost-effective, 
accessible and

[[Page 45651]]

safe forms of public transportation. The past several months, however, 
have seen a number of tragic crashes around the United States that 
involve motorcoaches and buses. The U.S. Department of Transportation, 
through FMCSA, is convening a series of public meetings across the 
country as well as a national Motorcoach Safety Summit (National 
Summit), to exchange information and ideas on the best possible 
approaches to reduce the number of motorcoach crashes, injuries, and 
fatalities and raise passenger awareness. These meetings and the 
National Summit will bring together partners and stakeholders from all 
sides of the motorcoach community, including senior transportation 
officials, elected officials, safety advocates, law enforcement 
representatives, private sector representatives, academics, ticket 
brokers, and passengers to address a range of issues related to 
reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities through enforcement, public 
awareness, and education. They will be open and interactive and FMCSA 
hopes that they will foster informative dialogue and innovative ideas 
and approaches.
    FMCSA will host the National Summit in Washington, DC on September 
23, 2011. Leading up to the Summit, FMCSA will hold Regional 
Roundtables on August 3rd in Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX, on August 4th in New 
York City, NY, on August 5th in Columbus, OH, and on August 8th in Los 
Angeles/Anaheim, CA. These locations represent corridors with high 
levels of motorcoach transportation and safety concerns. These Regional 
Roundtable discussions will engage participants from all sides of the 
motorcoach communities they represent, including state and local 
organizations (i.e., law enforcement, industry, advocates, consumer 
groups) and the public. All information gathered will provide the 
framework for the National Summit. Goals of the National Summit 
include: identifying challenges, policy solutions, educational 
strategies, and best practices to enhance the culture of safety for the 
future of motorcoach transportation.
    The U.S. Department of Transportation is committed to providing 
equal access to this National Summit. Based on limited seating and to 
accommodate the strong interest outside the Washington area, the 
National Summit will be available live by a Web cast that will comply 
with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended and 
members of the public will be given the opportunity to submit questions 
or comments online. The Department has also created a Web site to 
provide information and updates on the National Summit and Regional 
Roundtables as more details become available: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/motorcoach/2011.
    Limited exhibit space will be available for the National Summit. 
Anyone who wishes to request exhibit space and/or who has questions 
pertaining to exhibit space should contact Ms. Dee Williams, Chief, 
Strategic Planning and Program Evaluation Division, FMCSA, telephone 
(202) 493-0192, or e-mail [email protected].

FMCSA IdeaScale Community

    In addition to the Federal Register notice where comments and 
questions are being accepted, FMCSA has set up an IdeaScale Community 
on its main Web site at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov. This online dialogue 
will be driven by the same challenge questions as included under the 
``Background'' section of this Notice. IdeaScale is a Department of 
Transportation initiative providing an interactive, on-line, 
transparent space for people to engage in conversation about draft 
proposals and vote if they agree or disagree.

Accessibility Needs

    If you need special accommodations for the National Summit and/or 
the Regional Roundtables, such as sign language interpretation, please 
contact Ms. Dee Williams, Chief, Strategic Planning and Program 
Evaluation Division, FMCSA, telephone (202) 493-0192, or e-mail 
[email protected] at least forty-eight hours prior to the event, to 
allow us sufficient time to arrange for such services. We will make 
every attempt to fulfill requested accommodations.

    Issued on: July 25, 2011.
William A. Bronrott,
Deputy Administrator, FMCSA.
[FR Doc. 2011-19184 Filed 7-28-11; 8:45 am]
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