[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 111 (Monday, June 10, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26932-26933]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12167]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2019-0054]


Request for Information Concerning Commercial Motor Vehicle 
Driver Detention Times During Loading and Unloading

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

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA requests information on existing or potential sources of 
data to better understand driver detention times during the loading and 
unloading of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) and the potential impact 
of such delays on roadway safety. A recent study by the U.S. Department 
of Transportation's (DOT) Office of Inspector General found that better 
data are needed to fully understand the issues associated with driver 
detention.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before September 
9, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket Number FMCSA-
2019-0054 using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 
20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building, Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001 
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    Instructions: Each submission must include the Agency name and the 
docket number for this notice. Note that DOT posts all comments 
received without change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information included in a comment. Please see the Privacy Act heading 
below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or visit Room W12-140 
on the ground level of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays. The online FDMS is available 24 hours 
each day, 365 days each year. If you want acknowledgment that we 
received your comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped 
envelope or postcard or print the acknowledgement page that appears 
after submitting comments on-line.
    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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this 
notice, contact Ms. Nicole Michel, Research Division, Office of 
Analysis, Research and Technology, FMCSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001, (202) 366-4354, [email protected]. If 
you have questions on viewing or submitting material to the docket, 
contact Docket Services at (202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation and Request for Comments

Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
notice (FMCSA-2019-0054), indicate the specific question of this 
document to which each comment applies, and provide a source for your 
data. You may submit your comments and material online or by fax, mail, 
or hand delivery, but please use only one of these means. FMCSA 
recommends that you include your name and mailing address, an email 
address, or a phone number in the body of your document so that FMCSA 
can contact you if there are questions regarding your submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov, 
put the docket number, FMCSA-2019-0054, in the ``Keyword'' box, and 
click ``Search.'' When the new screen appears, click on the ``Comment 
Now!'' button and type your comment into the text box on the following 
screen. Choose whether you are submitting your comment as an individual 
or on behalf of a third party and then submit.
    If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them 
in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing. If you submit comments by mail and would 
like to know that they reached the facility, please enclose a stamped, 
self-addressed postcard or envelope.
    FMCSA will consider all comments and material received during the 
comment period.

Confidential Business Information

    Confidential Business Information (CBI) is commercial or financial 
information that is customarily not made available to the general 
public by the submitter. Under the Freedom of Information Act, CBI is 
eligible for protection from public disclosure. If you have CBI that is 
relevant or responsive to this notice, it is important that you clearly 
designate the submitted comments as CBI. Accordingly, please mark each 
page of your submission as ``confidential'' or ``CBI.'' Submissions 
designated as CBI and meeting the definition noted above will not be 
placed in the public docket of this notice. Submissions containing CBI 
should be sent to Mr. Brian Dahlin, Chief, Regulatory Evaluation 
Division, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001. Any commentary that FMCSA 
receives which is not specifically designated as CBI will be placed in 
the public docket for this notice.

Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as any documents mentioned in this 
preamble as being available in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Insert the docket number, FMCSA-2019-0054, in the 
keyword box, and click ``Search.'' Next, click the ``Open Docket 
Folder'' button and choose the document to review. If you do not have 
access to the internet, you may view the docket by visiting the Docket 
Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the West 
Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

II. Background

    A number of studies have examined the issue of CMV driver delays in 
the loading and unloading process, and what their potential impact may 
be on roadway safety and the economy. For example, in 2011 the 
Government Accountability Office (GAO), in its report More Could Be 
Done to Determine Impact of Excessive Loading and Unloading Wait Times 
on Hours of

[[Page 26933]]

Service Violations (GAO-11-198),\1\ recommended that ``FMCSA examine 
the extent to which detention time contributes to hours of service 
violations in its future studies on driver fatigue and detention 
time.'' In response to the GAO report, FMCSA sponsored a study \2\ 
among a sample of carriers which generated estimates of driver delay 
times. Among the sampled carriers, the study found that drivers 
experienced detention time during approximately 10 percent of their 
stops for an average duration of 1.4 hours beyond a commonly accepted 
two-hour loading and unloading period [total driver wait time = 
(legitimate loading/unloading time) + (delay times)]. Most recently, in 
a 2018 report titled Estimates Show Commercial Driver Detention 
Increases Crash Risks and Costs, but Current Data Limit Further 
Analysis,\3\ DOT's Office of Inspector General recommended that FMCSA 
collaborate with industry stakeholders to develop and implement a plan 
to collect and analyze reliable, accurate, and representative data on 
the frequency and severity of driver detention.
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    \1\ https://www.gao.gov/assets/320/315297.pdf.
    \2\ Driver Detention Times in Commercial Motor Vehicle 
Operations (December 2014), https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/194/dot_194_DS1.pdf?
    \3\ https://www.oig.dot.gov/library-item/36237.
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    Although the above referenced studies estimated overall wait times, 
they were not able to separate normal loading and unloading times 
(e.g., the time it would usually take to load and unload a CMV under 
typical schedules) from detention time (delays in the start of the 
loading and unloading process which disrupt the driver's available 
driving and/or on-duty time). This is a critical data gap in our 
understanding of the detention issue.
    FMCSA is interested in data sources, methodologies, and potential 
technologies that could provide insight into loading and unloading 
delays experienced by CMV drivers.

III. Request for Information

    Specifically, FMCSA requests information that addresses the 
following questions:
    1. Are data currently available that can accurately record loading, 
unloading, and delay times?
    2. Is there technology available that could record and delineate 
prompt loading and unloading times versus the extended delays sometimes 
experienced by drivers?
    3. How can delay times be captured and recorded in a systematic, 
comparable manner?
    4. Could systematic collection and publication of loading, 
unloading, and delay times be useful in driver or carrier business 
decisions and help to reduce loading, unloading, and delay times?
    5. What should FMCSA use as an estimate of reasonable loading/
unloading time? Please provide a basis for your response.
    6. How do contract arrangements between carriers and shippers 
address acceptable wait times? Do these arrangements include penalties 
for delays attributable to a carrier or shipper?
    7. What actions by FMCSA, within its current statutory authority, 
would help to reduce loading, unloading, and delay times?

    Issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on: June 4, 
2019.
Raymond P. Martinez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2019-12167 Filed 6-7-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P