[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8569-8571]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03943]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2018-0090]


Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Application 
for an Exemption From the Automobile Carriers Conference of the 
American Trucking Associations

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

ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) 
requests public comment on an application for exemption from the 
Automobile Carriers Conference (ACC) of the American Trucking 
Associations (ATA) requesting that motor carriers operating stinger 
steered automobile transporter equipment be relieved from the 
requirement to place warning flags on projecting loads of new motor 
vehicles. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) require 
any commercial motor vehicle (CMV)

[[Page 8570]]

transporting a load that extends more than 4 feet beyond the rear of 
the vehicle to be marked with a single red or orange fluorescent 
warning flag at the extreme rear if the projecting load is 2 feet wide 
or less, and two warning flags if the projecting load is wider than 2 
feet. The flags must be located to indicate the maximum width of loads 
which extend beyond the sides and/or rear of the vehicle. The ACC 
believes that the reflex reflectors that are required to be installed 
on the new motor vehicles being transported, in conjunction with the 
various marking and conspicuity requirements required on the trailer 
transporting the new vehicles, provide a level of safety that is 
greater than that achieved by the warning flags required by the FMCSRs.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 29, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA-2018-0090 using any of the 
following methods:
     Website: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on the Federal electronic docket 
site.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 
20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room W12-140, DOT Building, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 
e.t., Monday-Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and 
docket number for this notice. For detailed instructions on submitting 
comments and additional information on the exemption process, 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 for further information.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or to Room W12-140, 
DOT Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. 
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    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 http://www.regulations.gov website is 
generally available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You may find 
electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the 
``help'' section of the http://www.regulations.gov website as well as 
the DOT's http://docketsinfo.dot.gov website. If you would like 
notification that we received your comments, please include a self-
addressed, stamped envelope or postcard or print the acknowledgment 
page that appears after submitting comments online.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jos[eacute] R. Cestero, Vehicle 
and Roadside Operations Division, Office of Carrier, Driver, and 
Vehicle Safety, MC-PSV, (202) 366-5541, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Section 4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century 
(TEA- 21) [Pub. L. 105-178, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 401] amended 49 
U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e) to provide authority to grant exemptions from 
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). On August 20, 
2004, FMCSA published a final rule (69 FR 51589) implementing section 
4007. Under this rule, FMCSA must publish a notice of each exemption 
request in the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The Agency must 
provide the public with an opportunity to inspect the information 
relevant to the application, including any safety analyses that have 
been conducted. The Agency must also provide an opportunity for public 
comment on the request.
    The Agency reviews the safety analyses and the public comments and 
determines whether granting the exemption would likely achieve a level 
of safety equivalent to or greater than the level that would be 
achieved by the current regulation (49 CFR 381.305).
    The decision of the Agency must be published in the Federal 
Register (49 CFR 381.315(b)). If the Agency denies the request, it must 
state the reason for doing so. If the decision is to grant the 
exemption, the notice must specify the person or class of persons 
receiving the exemption and the regulatory provision or provisions from 
which an exemption is granted. The notice must specify the effective 
period of the exemption (up to 5 years) and explain the terms and 
conditions of the exemption. The exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 
381.315(c) and 49 CFR 381.300(b)).

ACC Application for Exemption

    The ACC has applied for an exemption from 49 CFR 393.87, requesting 
that motor carriers operating stinger steered automobile transporter 
equipment be relieved from the requirement to place warning flags on 
projecting loads of new motor vehicles. A copy of the application is 
included in the docket referenced at the beginning of this notice.
    Section 393.87 of the FMCSRs requires any commercial motor vehicle 
transporting a load which extends beyond the sides by more than 4 
inches, or more than 4 feet beyond the rear, to have the extremities of 
the load marked with red or orange fluorescent warning flags. Each 
warning flag must be at least 18 inches square. There must be a single 
flag at the extreme rear if the projecting load is 2 feet wide or less, 
and two warning flags are required if the projecting load is wider than 
2 feet. The flags must be located to indicate the maximum width of 
loads which extend beyond the sides and/or rear of the vehicle.
    In its application, the ACC states ``With the enactment of the FAST 
[Fixing America's Surface Transportation] Act in December 2015, stinger 
steered automobile transporter equipment are permitted a rear vehicular 
overhang allowance of not less than six feet. [49 U.S.C. 
31111(b)(1)(G)] Prior to the enactment of the FAST Act, the minimum 
rear overhang allowance for all automobile transporters was a minimum 
of four feet. [23 CFR Sec. 658.13(e)(ii)].''
    The ACC states:

    The transportation of new motor vehicles poses a dilemma in 
adhering to the flag requirements. Affixing flags or anything else 
to the surfaces of the vehicles is not allowed by vehicle 
manufacturers as it can lead to scratches and other damage to the 
vehicle. Auto transporters have attempted to adhere to the intent of 
the regulations by affixing flags at the end of the trailers (see 
attachments). This in itself can still lead to vehicle damage by 
virtue of the flag rubbing on the vehicle surface. However, this 
attempt to comply with the regulatory intent does not adhere to the 
letter of the regulations and has resulted in carriers receiving 
numerous citations for being in violation of the flag requirements.

    The ACC states that motor vehicles are the only commodity to be 
transported that must adhere to the requirements of Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108,

[[Page 8571]]

``Lamps, reflective devices and associated equipment,'' and that FMCSS 
No. 108 has required motor vehicles to be equipped with side-facing 
reflex reflectors in addition to amber reflectors in the front of the 
vehicle and red reflectors in the rear of the vehicle since 1968. The 
ACC contends that the reflective devices that are required to be on the 
vehicles being transported, along with the required lighting and 
conspicuity treatments on the trailer ``more than adequately adhere to 
the intent of Sec. 383.87 in notifying the motoring public that a load 
extends more than four feet beyond the rear of the trailer.'' In 
addition, ACC states that FMVSS No. 108 imposes specific performance 
criteria for the required reflectors, whereas there are no such 
performance requirements for the flags required by the FMCSRs.
    The ACC states that the automobile transporter vehicle population 
is a fraction of the overall CMV population, consisting of 
approximately 16,000 units, and that the stinger steered vehicle 
population is a subset of that. Further, ACC notes that since the 
enactment of the FAST Act, the industry has not experienced an increase 
in collisions into the rear end of trucks with the additional 2 feet of 
allowable overhang. The ACC states that ``Statistics show that the 
accident frequency of collisions into the rear end of auto transporters 
is miniscule with a rate of less than 0.05%.''
    The exemption would apply to all motor carriers operating stinger 
steered automobile transporter equipment. The ACC believes that the 
reflex reflectors that are required to be installed on the new motor 
vehicles being transported, in conjunction with the various marking and 
conspicuity requirements required on the trailer transporting the new 
vehicles, provide a level of safety that is greater than that achieved 
by the warning flags required by the FMCSRs.

Request for Comments

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), FMCSA requests 
public comment from all interested persons on ACC's application for an 
exemption from 49 CFR 393.87. All comments received before the close of 
business on the comment closing date indicated at the beginning of this 
notice will be considered and will be available for examination in the 
docket at the location listed under the ADDRESSES section of this 
notice. Comments received after the comment closing date will be filed 
in the public docket and will be considered to the extent practicable. 
In addition to late comments, FMCSA will continue to file, in the 
public docket, relevant information that becomes available after the 
comment closing date. Interested persons should continue to examine the 
public docket for new material.

    Issued on: February 20, 2018.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-03943 Filed 2-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P