[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