Hours of Service of Drivers
| Published date | 20 August 2019 |
| Citation | 84 FR 43097 |
| Record Number | 2019-17837 |
| Section | Proposed rules |
| Court | Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration,Transportation Department |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 161 (Tuesday, August 20, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 20, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43097-43098]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-17837]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
49 CFR Part 395
[Docket No. FMCSA-2018-0248]
RIN 2126-AC19
Hours of Service of Drivers
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of public listening sessions.
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SUMMARY: The FMCSA announces that it will hold two public listening
sessions concerning potential changes to its hours-of-service rules for
truck drivers. On August 19, 2019, FMCSA published a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking comment on proposed changes to its hours-of-
service (HOS) requirements to provide greater flexibility for drivers
who are subject to the HOS rules without adversely affecting safety.
The listening sessions will be held in Dallas, TX, and Washington, DC.
The listening sessions will allow interested persons to present
comments, views, and relevant research on topics mentioned above. All
comments will be transcribed and placed in the rulemaking docket for
the FMCSA's consideration. The sessions will be webcast to allow
interested parties to participate remotely.
DATES: The first listening session will be held on August 23, 2019, in
Dallas, TX, at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, 650 S
Griffin St., Dallas, TX 75202. A subsequent listening session will be
held in September 2019, at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Media
Center in Washington, DC. FMCSA will publish a separate notice
announcing the headquarters session in the Federal Register. All
listening sessions will begin at 10:00 a.m. local time and end at 12:00
noon or earlier, if all participants wishing to express their views
have done so.
DATES: The August 23, 2019, session will be held at the Kay Bailey
Hutchison Convention Center, 650 S Griffin St. Dallas, TX 75202. The
September 2019, session will be held at the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Media Center (date TBD), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590.
You may submit comments identified by Docket Number FMCSA-2018-248
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, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: 202-493-2251.
Submissions Containing Confidential Business Information
(CBI): Mr. Brian Dahlin, Chief, Regulatory Analysis Division, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
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, including collection of information comments for the Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For special accommodations for any of
these HOS listening sessions, such as sign language interpretation,
contact Shannon L. Watson, Senior Policy Advisor, (202) 385-2395 or at
[email protected] to allow us to arrange for such services. For
information concerning the hours-of-service rules, contact Ms. La Tonya
Mimms, Chief, Driver and Carrier Operations Division, (202) 366-4325,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation and Request for Comments
A. Submitting Comments
If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this
NPRM (Docket No. FMCSA-2018-0248), indicate the specific section of
this document to which each section
[[Page 43098]]
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 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-2018-0248, 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 for the ANPRM. Late comments will be considered to the
extent practicable.
Confidential Business Information
Confidential Business Information (CBI) is commercial or financial
information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by
its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552),
CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your submission contains
commercial or financial information that is customarily treated as
private, that you actually treat as private, and that is relevant or
responsive to the listening session, it is important that you clearly
designate the submitted comments as CBI. Please mark any page of your
submission that constitutes CBI as ``PROPIN'' to indicate it contains
proprietary information. FMCSA will treat such marked submissions as
confidential under the FOIA, and they will not be placed in the public
docket of this NPRM and associated listening sessions. Submissions
containing CBI should be sent to Brian Dahlin, Chief, Regulatory
Analysis Division, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Any
commentary that FMCSA receives which is not specifically designated as
CBI will be placed in the public docket for this rulemaking.
FMCSA will consider all comments and material received during the
comment period for the NPRM.
B. 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-2018-0248, 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 online by visiting the
Docket Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the
DOT West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590,
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
C. 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.
II. Background
On August 14, 2019, FMCSA issued an NPRM concerning amendments to
its hours-of-service (HOS) requirements to provide greater flexibility
for drivers who are subject to the HOS rules without adversely
affecting safety. First, the Agency proposed to change the short-haul
exception to the record of duty status (RODS) requirement available to
certain commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers by lengthening the
drivers' maximum on-duty period from 12 to 14 hours and extending the
distance limit within which the driver may operate from 100 air miles
(115.08 statute miles) to 150 air miles (172.6 statute miles). Second,
the Agency proposed to modify the adverse driving conditions exception
by extending by 2 hours the maximum window during which driving is
permitted. Third, the Agency proposed to increase flexibility for the
30-minute break rule by requiring a break after 8 hours of driving time
(instead of on-duty time), and allowing the requirement to be satisfied
by an on-duty break from driving, rather than requiring an off-duty
break. Fourth, the Agency proposed to modify the sleeper-berth
exception to allow drivers to split their required 10-hours off duty
into two periods: One period of at least 7 consecutive hours in the
sleeper berth and the other period of not less than 2 consecutive
hours, either off duty or in the sleeper berth. Neither period would
count against the driver's 14-hour driving window. Fifth, the Agency
proposed to allow one off-duty break of at least 30 minutes, but not
more than 3 hours, that would pause a truck driver's 14-hour driving
window, provided the driver takes 10 consecutive hours off-duty at the
end of the work shift. The NPRM also posed questions about other HOS-
related topics the Agency is considering as part of this rulemaking.
The listening sessions will provide interested persons the
opportunity to share their views on these topics with representatives
of the Agency.
III. Meeting Participation
The listening sessions are open to the public. Speakers' remarks
will be limited to 10 minutes each. The public may submit material to
the FMCSA staff at each session for inclusion in the public docket,
FMCSA-2018-0248.
Issued on: August 14, 2019.
Raymond P. Martinez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2019-17837 Filed 8-15-19; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P
