[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 184 (Monday, September 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65764-65765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20641]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2023-0159]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of an Approved 
Information Collection: Inspection, Repair and Maintenance

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 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. The information 
collection concerns records of inspection, repair, and maintenance of 
commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). FMCSA requests approval to revise an 
ICR titled, ``Inspection, Repair and Maintenance.''

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before November 24, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket Number FMCSA-
2023-0159 using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Dockets Operations; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Dockets Operations, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, 
Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. To be sure someone is 
there to help you, please call (202) 366-9317 or (202) 366-9826 before 
visiting Dockets Operations.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods. 
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for instructions on submitting 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jose R. Cestero, Vehicle and 
Roadside Operations Division, DOT, FMCSA, West Building, 6th Floor, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590; 202-366-5541; 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 https://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading 
below.

Public Participation and Request for Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
notice (FMCSA-2023-0159), indicate the specific section of this 
document to which your comment applies, and provide a reason for each 
suggestion or recommendation. 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 a mailing 
address, an email address, or a phone number in the body of your 
document so FMCSA can contact you if there are questions regarding your 
submission. 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.
    To submit your comment online, go to https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FMCSA-2023-0159/document, click on this notice, click 
``Comment,'' and type your comment into the text box on the following 
screen.
    If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them 
in an

[[Page 65765]]

unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing.
    Comments received after the comment closing date will be included 
in the docket and will be considered to the extent practicable.

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.

Background

    The Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) is authorized under the 
provisions of 49 U.S.C. 31502 to prescribe requirements for, among 
other things, safety of operations of equipment of motor carriers that 
operate CMVs in interstate commerce. Under 49 U.S.C. 31136, the 
Secretary also has authority to prescribe regulations to ensure that 
CMVs are maintained, equipped, loaded, and operated safely. Under 49 
U.S.C. 31142 the Secretary must establish standards for annual or more 
frequent inspections of CMVs. The Secretary's authority to establish 
improved standards or methods to ensure brakes and brake systems of 
CMVs are inspected by appropriate employees and maintained properly is 
provided under 49 U.S.C. 31137(g).
    Motor carriers must maintain, or require maintenance of, records 
documenting the inspection, repair and maintenance activities performed 
on their owned and leased vehicles. There are no prescribed forms. 
Electronic recordkeeping is allowed (see 49 CFR 390.31(d)). Documents 
requiring a signature must be capable of replication (e.g., photocopy, 
facsimile, etc.) in such form that will provide an opportunity for 
signature verification upon demand. Also, if electronic recordkeeping 
is used, all of the relevant data on the original documents must be 
included in the electronic transmission for the records to be valid.
    The motor carrier industry has never questioned the need to keep 
CMV maintenance records. In fact, most motor carriers would keep some 
records without any regulatory requirements to do so. Records of 
inspection, repair, and maintenance; roadside inspection reports; 
driver vehicle inspection reports; the documentation of periodic 
inspections; the evidence of the qualifications of individuals 
performing periodic inspections; and the evidence of brake inspectors' 
qualifications contain the minimum amount of information necessary to 
document that a motor carrier has established a system of inspection, 
repair, and maintenance for its equipment which meets the standards in 
49 CFR part 396.
    FMCSA and its representatives use these records to verify motor 
carriers' compliance with the inspection, repair, and maintenance 
standards in part 396. This ICR supports DOT's strategic goal of 
safety. The ICR also ensures that motor carriers have adequate records 
to document the inspection, repair, and maintenance of their CMVs, and 
to ensure that adequate measures are taken to keep their CMVs in safe 
and proper operating condition at all times. Compliance with the 
inspection, repair, and maintenance regulations helps to reduce the 
likelihood of accidents attributable, in whole or in part, to the 
mechanical condition of the CMV.
    This ICR submittal includes updated data regarding the number of 
motor carriers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, 
vehicle counts, inspections, and other underlying data used to estimate 
the total burden hours. In addition, this revision eliminates the 
requirement that drivers of passenger-carrying CMVs operating in 
interstate commerce submit, and motor carriers retain, Driver-Vehicle 
Inspection Reports (DVIRs) when the driver has neither found nor been 
made aware of any vehicle defects or deficiencies (no-defect DVIRs).
    If the recordkeeping were required to be completed less frequently, 
it would greatly hinder the ability of FMCSA and State officials and 
representatives to ascertain that CMVs are satisfactorily maintained. 
The timely documentation of CMV inspection, repair, and maintenance 
enables FMCSA and State officials to evaluate the present state of a 
motor carrier's CMV maintenance program and to check the current level 
of regulatory compliance at any point in a carrier's maintenance 
schedule or program.
    FMCSA has identified periodic inspection standards of 22 States, 
the District of Columbia, the Alabama Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board, 10 
Canadian Provinces, and one Canadian Territory that are comparable to, 
or as effective as, the Federal periodic inspection requirements. FMCSA 
does not require Federal periodic inspections and the related 
recordkeeping for motor carriers that comply with these equivalent 
periodic inspection programs. FMCSA is not aware of any other 
duplicative standards or recordkeeping requirements that apply to motor 
carriers.
    FMCSA does not employ this collection of information for 
statistical use.
    Title: Inspection, Repair and Maintenance.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0003.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Respondents: Motor carriers and CMV drivers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 757,652 motor carriers and 
5,646,722 drivers.
    Estimated Time per Response: Varies according to the requirements 
for specific records.
    Expiration Date: December 31, 2023.
    Frequency of Response: Varies according to requirements for 
specific records.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 19,103,153 hours [14,602,802 hours 
for inspection, repair, and maintenance + 3,516,342 hours for driver 
inspection reports + 161,528 hours for disposition of roadside 
inspection reports + 777,864 hours for periodic inspections + 23,571 
hours for records of inspector qualifications + 21,046 hours for 
records of brake inspector qualifications].
    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 ICR.

    Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.
Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2023-20641 Filed 9-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P