[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3546-3547]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1401]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket Nos. FMCSA-2006-26367 and FMCSA-2011-0131]


Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC): Public Meeting 
Medical Review Board: Joint Public Meeting With MCSAC

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

ACTION: Notice of Meeting of Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee 
(MCSAC) and Joint Meeting with the Medical Review Board (MRB).

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that MCSAC will hold a meeting on Monday-
Thursday, February 6-9, 2012, which will include a joint meeting on 
Monday, February 6, 2012, with the MRB to finalize recommendations of 
the joint MCSAC-MRB subcommittee to the FMCSA Administrator on 
obstructive sleep apnea. The MCSAC will meet separately on Tuesday-
Thursday, February 7-8, 2012, where it will consider issues relating to 
the prevention of harassment of truck and bus drivers through 
electronic on-board recorders (EOBRs). On Thursday, February 9, there 
will be a preliminary discussion of ideas and concepts the MCSAC 
believes the Agency should consider concerning motorcoach hours-of-
service (HOS). All four days of the meeting will be open to the public.
    Time and Dates: The meetings will be held on Monday-Wednesday, 
February 6-8, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Eastern Time (E.T.), and 
on Thursday, February 9, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., E.T. The 
meetings will be held at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town, 1767 King 
Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 in the Washington and Jefferson Rooms on 
the 2nd floor. The Hilton Alexandria Old Town is located across the 
street from the King Street Metro station.
    Copies of all MCSAC Task Statements and an agenda for the entire 4-
day meeting will be made available in advance of the meeting at http://mcsac.fmcsa.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Shannon L. Watson, Senior Advisor 
to the Associate Administrator for Policy, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, (202) 385-2395, [email protected].

Services for Individuals With Disabilities

    For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request special assistance at the meeting, contact 
Elizabeth Turner at (617) 494-2068, [email protected], by 
Wednesday, February 1, 2012.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

MCSAC

    Section 4144 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU, Pub. L. 109-
59, 119 Stat. 1144, August 10, 2005) required the Secretary of 
Transportation to establish the MCSAC. The MCSAC provides advice and 
recommendations to the FMCSA Administrator on motor carrier safety 
programs and regulations, and operates in accordance with the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (FACA, 5 U.S.C. App. 2).

MRB

    Section 4116 of the SAFETEA-LU requires the Secretary of 
Transportation, with the advice of the MRB, to ``establish, review, and 
revise medical standards for operators of CMVs [commercial motor 
vehicles] that will ensure that the physical condition of operators of 
CMVs is adequate to enable them to operate the vehicles safely.'' On 
November 2, 2010, the Secretary of Transportation announced the five 
medical experts who serve on the MRB. FMCSA is planning revisions to 
the physical qualification regulations of CMV drivers, and the MRB will 
provide the necessary science-based guidance to establish realistic and 
responsible medical standards. The MRB operates in accordance with 
FACA.

Sleep Apnea and Other Sleep Disorders

    The MCSAC and the MRB joint subcommittee on obstructive sleep apnea 
will report to the full MCSAC and MRB committees its recommendations on 
ideas and concepts the Agency should consider for a future rulemaking 
on obstructive sleep apnea. The full committees will consider the 
report and submit recommendations to the FMCSA Administrator.

Hours-of-Service (HOS) for Drivers of Passenger-Carrying CMVs

    The MCSAC will begin consideration of Task 11-06, concerning ideas 
and concepts the Agency should consider in deciding whether to initiate 
a rulemaking to amend or revise the HOS requirements for drivers of 
passenger-carrying CMVs.

Driver Harassment

    On August 26, 2011, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals vacated 
the Agency's April 2010 final rule concerning EOBRs because the agency 
failed to consider a statutory mandate to ``ensure that [EOBRs] are not 
used to harass vehicle operators'' Owner-Operator Indep. Drivers Ass'n 
et al. v. Fed. Motor Carrier Safety Admin., 656 F.3d 580 (7th Cir. 
2011). The FMCSA has requested that the MCSAC provide ideas and 
concepts on how the Agency could address the statutory mandate in a 
future EOBR rulemaking.

II. Meeting Participation

    Oral comments from the public will be heard during the last hour of 
the meetings on Monday-Wednesday, and during the last 15 minutes of the 
meeting on Thursday. Members of the public may submit written comments 
on the topics to be considered during the meeting by Wednesday, 
February 1, 2012, to Federal Docket Management System (FDMC) Docket 
Number FMCSA-2006-26367 using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590.

[[Page 3547]]

     Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Room W12-140, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., E.T. Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

    Issued on: January 19, 2012.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2012-1401 Filed 1-23-12; 8:45 am]
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