[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29145-29146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13453]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2016-0394]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Flexible 
Sleeper Berth Pilot Program

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA is seeking approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, FMCSA is requesting 
comment from all interested parties on the proposed collection of 
information. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of 
public comment. FMCSA proposes a pilot program to allow temporary 
regulatory relief from the Agency's sleeper berth regulation for a 
limited number of commercial drivers who have a valid commercial 
driver's license (CDL), and who regularly use a sleeper berth to 
accumulate their required 10 hours of non-duty work status. During the 
pilot program, participating drivers would have the option to split 
their sleeper berth time within parameters specified by FMCSA. Driver 
metrics would be collected for the duration of the study, and 
participants' safety performance and fatigue levels would be analyzed. 
This pilot program seeks to produce statistically reliable evidence on 
the question as to whether split sleeper berth time affects driver 
safety performance and fatigue levels.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 28, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA-2016-0394 using any of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Operations, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., West Building, Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West 
Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590 between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and the 
docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see 
the Public Participation heading below. Note that all comments received 
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including 
any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading 
below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the 
online instructions for accessing the dockets, or go to the street 
address listed above.
    Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits 
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT 
posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information 
the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the 
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.dot.gov/privacy.
    Public Participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available 
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic 
submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ``help'' section 
of the Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site. If you want us to notify 
you that we received your comments, please include a self-addressed, 
stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that 
appears after submitting comments online. Comments received after the 
comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be 
considered to the extent practicable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Michel, Research Division, 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001, by email at [email protected], or 
by telephone at (202) 366-4354. If you have questions on viewing or 
submitting material to the docket, contact Docket Services, telephone 
(202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Flexible Sleeper Berth Pilot Program.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-00XX.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Respondents: Large, medium, and small motor carriers; independent 
owner-operators; commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 10 motor carrier responses; 1,000 
CMV driver responses (this estimate includes responses to the online 
application; not all of these drivers will be eligible or selected for 
study participation).
    Estimated Time per Response: Motor carriers: 1 hour (one-time 
response). Drivers: online application--15 minutes (one-time response); 
background questionnaire and tax form--30 minutes (one-time response); 
daily field study data collection--30 minutes (daily, for a maximum of 
90 days); weekly phone briefings--10 minutes (once weekly, for a 
maximum of 13 weeks); debriefing questionnaire--15 minutes (one-time 
response).
    Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new information collection request 
(ICR).
    Frequency of Response: Motor carriers: One-time response. Drivers: 
Varies; will not exceed daily responses for 90 days (see ``Estimated 
Time for Response'' for more details).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 4,423 hours (7 hours for carrier 
tasks and 4,416 hours for driver tasks). The total annual number of 
carrier responses is seven. Reviewing the study materials and granting 
permission for drivers to participate is estimated to take 1 hour per 
carrier. Participating driver burden is associated with completing the 
online application, background questionnaire, daily data collection 
during the field study period, weekly phone briefings, and debriefing 
questionnaire. The online application is estimated to take 15 minutes, 
the background questionnaire and tax form (completed together) is 
estimated to take 30 minutes, and the debriefing questionnaire is 
estimated to take 15 minutes. Daily data collection during the field 
study is estimated to take 30 minutes per day, for up to 90 days. 
Weekly phone briefings are estimated to take 10 minutes per week. It is 
estimated that 40 drivers will participate for 14 days, 75 drivers will 
participate for 30 days, 75 drivers will participate for 60 days, and 
50 drivers will participate for the maximum 90 days.

I. Background

    As described in 49 CFR 395.1(g)(1), a driver who operates a 
property-carrying CMV equipped with a sleeper berth \1\ and who uses 
the sleeper berth provision must take at least 8 consecutive hours in 
the sleeper berth, plus a separate 2 consecutive hours either in the 
sleeper berth, off duty, or any combination of the two, before 
returning to on-duty status.
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    \1\ A ``sleeper berth'' is a sleeping compartment installed on a 
CMV that complies with the specifications in 49 CFR 393.76.
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    During listening sessions for the hours-of-service (HOS) 
rulemaking, the

[[Page 29146]]

Agency heard from many drivers that they would like some regulatory 
flexibility to be able to sleep when they get tired or as a 
countermeasure to traffic congestion (i.e., an exemption from the 
requirement for consolidated sleeper berth time). FMCSA has reviewed 
the literature and conducted its own laboratory studies on the subject. 
The majority of sleep studies to date demonstrate that well-timed split 
sleep has either a positive or no effect on subsequent neurobehavioral 
performance. To determine whether split sleeper berth time affects 
driver safety performance and fatigue levels, FMCSA is introducing a 
pilot program to allow temporary regulatory relief from 49 CFR 
395.1(g)(1) (the sleeper berth provision) for a limited number of 
commercial drivers who have valid commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) 
and who regularly use sleeper berths.

II. Abstract of Pilot Program

    The Flexible Sleeper Berth Pilot Program requires that 
participating drivers be provided relief from Part 395 concerning 
consolidated sleeper berth time requirements. Participating drivers 
will be asked if they have completed the Driver Education Module of the 
North American Fatigue Management Program (NAFMP) prior to study 
enrollment. If drivers have not completed the program, they will be 
given information on the program and encouraged, but not required, to 
complete these modules prior to participation in the study. During the 
pilot program, participating drivers will have the option to split 
their sleeper berth time, within parameters specified by FMCSA (i.e., 
participants will have exemption from the requirement for consolidated 
sleeper berth time). Driver metrics will be collected for the duration 
of the study, as discussed in Section III of this notice. Upon 
completion of the program, participants' safety performance and fatigue 
levels will be analyzed, according to provision use, using a ``within-
subject and between-subject'' study design. In this analysis, drivers 
will be compared among themselves and against other participating 
drivers. This pilot program seeks to produce statistically reliable 
evidence of the relationship between the degree of HOS flexibility and 
safety outcomes.

III. Data Collection Plan

    Details of the data collection plan for this pilot program are 
subject to change based on comments to the docket and further review by 
analysts. Participating drivers will drive an instrumented vehicle for 
up to 3 consecutive months. At a minimum, FMCSA will gather the 
following data during the study:
     Electronic logging device (ELD) data, to evaluate duty 
hours and timing, driving hours and timing, rest breaks, off-duty time, 
and restart breaks.
     Onboard monitoring system (OBMS) data, to evaluate driving 
behaviors, safety-critical events (or SCEs, which include crashes, 
near-crashes, and other safety-related events), reaction time, fatigue, 
lane deviations, and traffic density, road curvature, and speed 
variability.
     Roadside violation data (from carriers and drivers), 
including vehicle, duty status, hazardous materials, and cargo-related 
violations (contingent upon inspections).
     Wrist actigraphy data,\2\ to evaluate total sleep time, 
time of day sleep was taken, sleep latency, and intermittent 
wakefulness.
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    \2\ Participants will wear wrist actigraphy devices (similar to 
commercially available smart fitness watches) throughout their time 
in the study. Actigraphy is a minimally obtrusive, validated 
approach to assessing sleep/wake patterns.
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     Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) \3\ data, to evaluate 
drivers' behavioral alertness based on reaction times.
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    \3\ For this study, drivers will be required to complete daily 
iterations of a brief PVT, a 3-minute behavioral alertness test 
which measures drivers' alertness levels by timing their reactions 
to visual stimuli.
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     Subjective sleepiness ratings, using the Karolinska 
Sleepiness Scale (KSS),\4\ to measure drivers' perceptions of their 
fatigue levels.
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    \4\ The KSS is a 9-point Likert-type scale ranging from 
``extremely alert'' to ``extremely sleepy'' and has been widely used 
in the literature as a subjective assessment of alertness.
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     Sleep logs, in which drivers will document when they are 
going to sleep, when they wake up, and whether they are using the 
sleeper berth. For split-sleep days, drivers will record how and why 
they chose to split their sleep.
    Other information that may be needed, such as vehicle miles 
traveled (VMT), will also be collected through the participating 
carrier. Every effort will be made to reduce the burden on the carrier 
in collecting and reporting this data.

IV. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) 
prohibits agencies from conducting information collection (IC) 
activities until they analyze the need for the collection of 
information and how the collected data will be managed. Agencies must 
also analyze whether technology could be used to reduce the burden 
imposed on those providing the data. The Agency must estimate the time 
burden required to respond to the IC requirements, such as the time 
required to complete a particular form. The Agency submits its IC 
analysis and burden estimate to OMB as a formal ICR; the Agency cannot 
conduct the information collection until OMB approves the ICR.

V. Request for Public Comments

    FMCSA asks for comment on the IC requirements of this study. 
Comments can be submitted to the docket as outlined under ADDRESSES at 
the beginning of this notice. 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 FMCSA to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity 
of the collected information.
    4. Ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the 
quality of the collected information.
    5. Whether the data collection efforts proposed for carriers and 
drivers are burdensome enough to discourage their participation.
    6. How data collection efforts should differ for team drivers.

    Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87 on: June 20, 2017.
Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2017-13453 Filed 6-26-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P