[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 66 (Thursday, April 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23617-23618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07172]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2024-0097]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Emergency Approval of 
Revision to an Approved Information Collection Request: Apprenticeship 
Pilot Program

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

ACTION: Notice of request for emergency OMB approval.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
discussed below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review of a required revision and emergency approval. 
FMCSA requests approval to revise, on an emergency basis, an ICR 
titled, ``Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program'' to conform the 
collection with recently revised statutory authority. FMCSA requests 
that OMB approve this collection by April 15, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Michel, Mathematical 
Statistician, Research Division, DOT, FMCSA, West Building, 6th Floor, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001; 202-366-4354; 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0075.
    Type of Request: Request for emergency approval of revisions to an 
existing information collection.
    Respondents: Motor carriers; drivers.
    Estimated Total Respondents: 14,830 total (1,600 motor carriers and 
13,230 CMV drivers); 5,410 annually (1,000 carriers and 4,410 CMV 
drivers).
    Estimated Total Responses: 168,430 total, or 56,143 annually 
(applications: 14,830 total, or 4,943 annually; plus data collection 
for participating carriers: 153,600 total, or 51,200 annually).
    Estimated Burden Hours: 169,343 hours total, or 56,448 hours 
annually (Motor carriers: 164,933 hours total, or 54,978 hours 
annually; Drivers: 4,410 hours total, or 1,470 hours annually).
    Estimated Burden per Response: 20 minutes per response for carrier, 
apprentice, and experienced driver application forms; 15 minutes per 
response for safety benchmark certifications; 60 minutes per month per 
driver for monthly driving and safety data; 90 minutes per month for 
miscellaneous data submission.
    Frequency: Once for carrier, apprentice, and experienced driver 
application forms; twice per apprentice for safety benchmark 
certifications; monthly per number of participating drivers for driving 
and safety data; and monthly for miscellaneous monthly data.

Background

    Current regulations on driver qualifications (49 CFR part 
391.11(b)(1)) state that a driver must be 21 years of age or older to 
operate a CMV in interstate commerce. Currently, drivers under the age 
of 21 may operate CMVs only in intrastate commerce subject to State 
laws and regulations.
    Section 23022 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), 
requires the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a commercial driver 
Apprenticeship Pilot Program. An apprentice is defined as a person 
under the age of 21 who holds a commercial driver's license (CDL). 
Under this program, these apprentices will complete two probationary 
periods, during which they may operate in interstate commerce only 
under the supervision of an experienced driver in the passenger seat. 
An experienced driver is defined in section 23022 as a driver who is 
not younger than 26 years old, who has held a CDL and been employed for 
at least the past 2 years, and who has at least 5 years of interstate 
CMV experience and meets the other safety criteria defined in the IIJA.
    The first probationary period must include at least 120-hours of on 
duty time, of which at least 80 hours are driving time in a CMV. To 
complete this probationary period, the employer must determine 
competency in:
    1. Interstate, city traffic, rural 2-lane, and evening driving;
    2. Safety awareness;
    3. Speed and space management;
    4. Lane control;
    5. Mirror Scanning;
    6. Right and left turns; and
    7. Logging and complying with rules relating to hours of service.
    The second probationary period must include at least 280 hours of 
on-duty time, including not less than 160 hours driving time in a CMV. 
To complete this probationary period, the employer must determine 
competency in:
    1. Backing and maneuvering in close quarters;
    2. Pre-trip inspections;
    3. Fueling procedures;
    4. Weighing loads, weight distribution, and sliding tandems;
    5. Coupling and uncoupling procedures; and
    6. Trip planning, truck routes, map reading, navigation, and 
permits.
    After completion of the second probationary period, the apprentice 
may begin operating CMVs in interstate commerce unaccompanied by an 
experienced driver.
    In addition to data regarding successful completion of the 
probationary periods, the IIJA requires data collection and submission 
relating to any incident in which a participating apprentice is 
involved, as well as other data relating to the safety performance of 
apprentices. Additional data will include crash data (incident reports,

[[Page 23618]]

police reports, insurance reports), inspection data, citation data, 
safety event data (as recorded by all safety systems installed on 
vehicles, to include advanced driver assistance systems, automatic 
emergency braking systems, onboard monitoring systems, required 
forward-facing video systems and optional in-cab video systems, if a 
carrier chooses to provide this data) as well as exposure data (record 
of duty status logs, on-duty time, driving time, and time spent away 
from home terminal). This data will be submitted monthly through 
participating motor carriers.
    The data collected will be used to report on the following items, 
as required by section 23022:
    1. The findings and conclusions on the ability of technologies or 
training provided to apprentices as part of the pilot program to 
successfully improve safety;
    2. An analysis of the safety record of participating apprentices as 
compared to other CMV drivers;
    3. The number of drivers that discontinued participation in the 
apprenticeship program before completion;
    4. A comparison of the safety records of participating drivers 
before, during, and after each probationary period; and
    5. A comparison of each participating driver's average on-duty 
time, driving time, and time spent away from home terminal before, 
during, and after each probationary period.
    FMCSA will monitor the monthly data being reported by the motor 
carriers and will identify drivers or carriers that may pose a risk to 
public safety. While removing unsafe drivers or carriers may bias the 
dataset, it is a necessary feature for FMCSA to comply with 49 CFR 
381.505, which requires development of a monitoring plan to ensure 
adequate safeguards to protect the health and safety of pilot program 
participants and the general public. Knowing that a driver or carrier 
was removed from the pilot program for safety reasons will help FMCSA 
minimize bias in the final data analysis.
    The statutory mandate for this pilot program is contained in 
section 23022 of the IIJA. FMCSA's regulatory authority for initiation 
of a pilot program is 49 CFR 381.400. The Apprentice Pilot Program 
supports the DOT strategic goal of economic strength while maintaining 
DOT's and FMCSA's commitment to safety.

Revision

    The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 (Pub. L. 118-42) 
revised FMCSA's authority regarding the Safe Driver Apprenticeship 
Pilot (SDAP) Program. Section 422 of that Act states that FMCSA may not 
require the use of inward facing cameras or require a motor carrier to 
register an apprenticeship program with the Department of Labor as a 
condition for participation in the SDAP program. As such, the 
application and monthly report forms have been revised to remove those 
two elements as mandatory requirements. However, the Agency will 
continue to ask carriers whether they use inward facing cameras and 
whether they have a Registered Apprenticeship program approval number, 
and will give carriers the option of providing that information. 
Therefore, FMCSA does not expect to see any change in the number of 
respondents, responses, or the overall burden of this information 
collection.
    In accordance with the PRA and OMB's implementing regulations at 5 
CFR 1320.13, this information is necessary to the mission of the Agency 
and is needed prior to the ordinary time periods established for 
revision of an approved collection of information (found within 5 CFR 
part 1320). The Agency cannot reasonably comply with the normal 
clearance procedures listed under this part because the use of normal 
clearance procedures is reasonably likely to cause a statutory deadline 
to be missed (5 CFR 1320.13(2)(iii)).

    Issued under the authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87.
Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2024-07172 Filed 4-3-24; 8:45 am]
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