[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 213 (Tuesday, November 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69678-69680]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24247]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2020-0203]


Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information 
Collection

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety

[[Page 69679]]

Administration (FMCSA) announces its plan to submit the Information 
Collection Request (ICR) described below to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for its review and approval and invites public 
comment. This notice invites comment on a proposed information 
collection project titled Trucking Fleet Concept of Operations (CONOPS) 
for Managing Mixed Fleets. It is a survey study that will assess the 
self-reports of approximately 2,000 survey respondents, including 
commercial motor vehicle (CMV) fleet managers, CMV sales personnel, 
State and Federal government personnel, industry engineers, 
researchers, and CMV drivers. The questionnaire is designed to collect 
baseline opinions of automated driving systems (ADS) before and after 
hands-on demonstrations with ADS technologies.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before January 4, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2020-0203 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 Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. e.t., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and 
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.
    Dockets: 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 website. 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: Thomas Kelly, Technology Division, 
Department of Transportation, FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-480-5240; email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: Although ADS-equipped trucks 
hold the promise of increased safety, productivity, and efficiency, it 
is not clear how these vehicles should be integrated into fleet 
operations with conventional trucks for mixed-fleet operations. 
Reflecting this issue is a question frequently asked by trucking 
executives: How can I integrate ADS into my fleet operations? FMCSA 
needs information from truck industry representatives regarding their 
opinions and perception of ADS.
    The introduction of ADS technology on heavy trucks (Class 8 
vehicles) will profoundly affect all commerce in the U.S., as the U.S. 
moves more than 70% of all goods by truck. However, existing 
stakeholders in the road freight ecosystem (primarily for-hire and 
private truck fleets, but also shippers, brokers, truck manufacturers, 
and service and maintenance providers) do not have a clear picture of 
how they will implement ADS in their daily operations. At present, 
technical progress in this nascent but promising technology is 
outstripping the ability of truck fleets to keep up and plan for ADS 
deployment. This may adversely affect adoption by truck fleets and 
associated industries, resulting in the delayed achievement of safety, 
productivity, and efficiency benefits of ADS-equipped trucks. If ADS 
technology is to gain traction in the U.S. trucking industry, current 
stakeholders and new entrants need a rigorous, data driven CONOPS.
    This project focuses on the development and demonstration of a 
CONOPS for ADS-equipped trucks, which will ensure the results translate 
directly to real-world settings that are of practical importance to the 
trucking industry, regulators, and the public at large. Part of the 
development of CONOPS includes a series of outreach events where the 
public, with a focus on truck drivers and truck fleet managers, will 
have the opportunity to meet ADS technology developers and original 
equipment manufacturers. The outreach will also provide opportunities 
to participate in hands-on technology demonstrations, such as in-
vehicle demonstrations and closed-course scenarios. Lessons learned 
from this demonstration will influence all three phases of the research 
to ensure the CONOPS developed is true to real-life fleet operations. 
Thus, the purpose of the hands-on demonstrations: (1) Expose truck 
fleet managers and other personnel, truck drivers, government 
officials, insurance and inspection personnel, and the general public 
to ADS; (2) collect valuable qualitative data on participants' opinions 
and perceptions regarding ADS; and (3) use the data to ensure the 
CONOPS covers major industry concerns.
    Data will be collected from CMV drivers, CMV fleet managers, 
industry engineers, CMV sales personnel, researchers, and State and 
Federal government personnel at four roadshows. The roadshows will 
coincide with large conferences, such as the Technology Maintenance 
Council (TMC) Annual Meeting, North American Commercial Vehicle Show, 
SAE COMVEC, and Automated Vehicle Symposium. The questionnaire data 
collected in Phase I of the study (pre-roadshow) will allow us to 
gather baseline opinions regarding ADS technologies. Once they 
participate in the hands-on demonstrations at the roadshow, we will see 
if their opinions on the technologies have changed (Phase 2 or post-
roadshow).
    The research team will use cell phones to collect participant data 
(adhering to cleaning procedures between each participant). The pre- 
and post-study questionnaires will be loaded onto a cell phone which 
will be distributed to participants at the beginning (and end) of the 
roadshow. Each questionnaire will be loaded in an app format. Once the 
participants submit their answers, the data will be stored on the phone 
and will not be accessible until researchers download the data to a 
computer.
    FMCSA conducted a pilot test with some of the proposed end-users. 
This

[[Page 69680]]

pilot test included six end users, two researchers, one government 
employee, one commercial/motor vehicle fleet representative, and two 
commercial driver's license holders. Participants completed the Pre-
Roadshow Questionnaire and Post-Roadshow Questionnaire, timing 
completion of each and reviewing for content and/or comprehension 
issues. Based on this pilot test, FMCSA revised the Pre-Roadshow 
Questionnaire and Post-Roadshow Questionnaire. Pilot test participants 
indicated mean completion times of 3.5 minutes and 4.4 minutes for the 
Pre-Roadshow Questionnaire and Post Roadshow Questionnaire, 
respectively.
    Title: Trucking Fleet Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for Managing 
Mixed Fleets.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-00XX.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Respondents: CMV fleet managers, CMV sales personnel, State and 
Federal government personnel, industry engineers, researchers, and CMV 
drivers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,000 total respondents (675 CMV 
fleet managers, 150 CMV sales personnel, 600 Industry Engineers, 100 
CMV Drivers, 325 State and Federal government, and 150 Researchers).
    Estimated Time per Response: 3.5 minutes for the Pre-Roadshow 
Questionnaire and 4.4 minutes for the Post-Roadshow Questionnaire.
    Expiration Date: This is a new ICR.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion (if attending one of four 
roadshows).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 175 hours.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                                    Annualized      Burden per      Annualized
              Task                  Respondents    Responses per       total         response      total burden
                                                    respondent       responses       (minutes)        hours *
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Pre-roadshow Questionnaire: CMV              675               1           455.5             3.5            26.6
 Fleet Managers.................
Post-roadshow Questionnaire: CMV             675               1           455.5             4.4            33.4
 Fleet Managers.................
Pre-roadshow Questionnaire:                  600               1             396             3.5            23.1
 Industry Engineers.............
Post-roadshow Questionnaire:                 600               1             396             4.4              29
 Industry Engineers.............
Pre-roadshow Questionnaire: CMV              150               1              99             3.5             5.8
 Sales Personnel................
Post-roadshow Questionnaire: CMV             150               1              99             4.4             7.3
 Sales Personnel................
Pre-roadshow Questionnaire: CMV              100               1              66             3.5             3.9
 Drivers........................
Post-roadshow Questionnaire: CMV             100               1              66             4.4             4.8
 Drivers........................
Pre-roadshow Questionnaire:                  325               1           214.5             3.5            12.5
 State and Federal Personnel....
Post-roadshow Questionnaire:                 325               1           214.5             4.4            15.7
 State and Federal Personnel....
Pre-roadshow Questionnaire:                  150               1              99             3.5             5.8
 Researchers....................
Post-roadshow Questionnaire:                 150               1              99             4.4             7.3
 Researchers....................
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    Annualized Total *..........  ..............  ..............           2,660  ..............             175
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        Study Total **..........  ..............  ..............           3,990  ..............             263
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* Total may not equal the sum of previous items due to rounding.
** The research team plans to collect data from a maximum of 2,000 respondents over 18 months.

    Public Comments Invited: 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; and (4) 
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of 
the collected information. The agency will summarize or include your 
comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information 
collection.
    Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.

Tom Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research, Technology and 
Registration.
[FR Doc. 2020-24247 Filed 11-2-20; 8:45 am]
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