[Federal Register: November 26, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 226)]
[Notices]
[Page 66021-66023]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26no07-90]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2007-0056]
Hours of Service of Drivers: Dart Transit Company Application for
Exemption
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: FMCSA has received from Dart Transit Company (Dart) an
application for an exemption from certain commercial motor vehicle
driver hours-of-service provisions of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations. Dart requests an exemption for 200 of its owner-operators
from the prohibition against driving after the 14th hour of coming on-
duty, following 10 consecutive hours off-duty, and the requirement that
drivers using two sleeper-berth periods to accumulate the equivalent of
10 consecutive hours off-duty spend at least 8 but less than 10
consecutive hours in the sleeper-berth during one of those two periods.
As requested by Dart, exempt drivers would be allowed to drive up to 11
hours within a 24-hour period between 3 a.m. one day and 3 a.m. the
next day, be required to complete a minimum of 6 consecutive off-duty
or sleeper-berth hours between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m., and complete
additional periods of off-duty or sleeper-berth time to total at least
10 hours of rest within any ``floating'' 24-hour period. Dart would
implement a detailed, performance-based Fatigue Risk Management System
to help prevent overall driver fatigue, and require the use of
Electronic On-Board Recorders. Dart believes the terms and conditions
of the exemption would ensure that the level of safety will be
equivalent to or greater than the level of safety that would be
obtained absent the exemption. FMCSA requests public comment on Dart's
application for exemption.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 26, 2007.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket
Management System Number FMCSA-2007-0056 by any of the following
methods:
Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for
submitting comments on the Federal electronic docket site.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington,
DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room W12-140, DOT Building,
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, 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 and
additional information on the exemption process, 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.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov at any time or to
the ground floor, room W12-140, DOT Building, New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. e.t., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78) or you may visit http://www.regulations.gov
.
[[Page 66022]]
Public participation: The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is
generally available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can get
electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the
``help'' section of the http://www.regulations.gov Web site and also at the DOT's http://docketsinfo.dot.gov Web site. 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Clemente, FMCSA Driver and
Carrier Operations Division; Office of Bus and Truck Standards and
Operations; Telephone: 202-366-4325. E-mail: MCPSD@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
(Pub. L. 105-178, 112 Stat. 107, June 9, 1998) amended 49 U.S.C. 31315
and 31136(e) to provide authority to grant exemptions from motor
carrier safety regulations. Under its regulations, the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) must publish a notice of each
exemption application in the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The
Agency must provide the public an opportunity to inspect the
information relevant to the application, including the conducting of
any safety analyses. The Agency must also provide an opportunity for
public comment on the application.
The Agency then reviews the safety analyses and the public
comments, and determines whether granting the exemption would likely
achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level
that would be achieved by the regulation (49 CFR 381.305). The decision
of the Agency must be published in the Federal Register (49 CFR
381.315(b)) with the reason for denying or, in the alternative, the
specific person or class of persons receiving the exemption, and the
regulatory provision or provisions from which exemption is granted. The
notice must also specify the effective period of the exemption (up to 2
years), and explain the terms and conditions of the exemption. The
exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)).
Application for Exemption
Dart Transit Company (Dart) is a for-hire motor carrier
headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota. Dart and its affiliated companies
have provided truckload service throughout the United States and Canada
for over 70 years. It employs over 2,500 owner-operators with nearly
the same number of power units.
Dart requested an exemption to allow 200 long-haul and regional
independent owner-operators--whom they refer to as ``Exempt Operators''
(EOs)--to be exempt from certain hours-of-service (HOS) provisions in
49 CFR part 395 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. There
would be turnover within the exempt group of drivers; therefore, the
exemption request is not for 200 specific drivers, but for a pool of up
to 200 EOs to participate at any given time. None of these EOs would
operate as team drivers.
Dart states that its exemption request is based on the results of a
fatigue-risk assessment of its operation, which indicated that the
current HOS ``14-hour rule'' and sleeper-berth (S/B) provisions
interfere with Dart drivers'' ability to obtain good-quality nocturnal
sleep. Dart acknowledges that provisions of its exemption request ``* *
* may not be acceptable or feasible for other trucking companies.''
Dart is specifically requesting an exemption from the following:
The ``14-hour rule'' [49 CFR 395.3(a)(2)] which prohibits
drivers of property-carrying commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) from
driving after the 14th hour after coming on duty. Under the exemption,
Dart would restrict its EOs to no more than 11 hours of driving time
between 3 a.m. of one day and 3 a.m. the following day; drivers would
not be required to complete the driving time within 14 consecutive
hours of the time they begin work.
The S/B provision [49 CFR 395.1(g)(1)(ii)(A)(1) and (2)]
requires drivers of property-carrying CMVs to have a period of at least
8 but less than 10 consecutive hours in a S/B, and a separate period of
at least 2 but less than 10 consecutive hours either in the S/B, off
duty, or any combination thereof if they are using an S/B to accumulate
the equivalent of 10 consecutive hours off duty. Dart's exemption
request would not require EOs to use an S/B, but would require them to
spend a minimum of 6 consecutive off-duty or S/B hours between 9 p.m.
of one day and 9 a.m. of the following day, rather than requiring 10
consecutive hours of off-duty time with the time of day unspecified.
Dart notes in its exemption application that the 6-hour ``nocturnal
rest rule'' is a minimum requirement, as drivers will often sleep 7-8
hours, especially when the core sleep requirement is at the preferred
circadian phase.
Dart's EOs would be required to take additional periods,
either off duty or in the S/B, at times most conducive to getting a
good-quality nap or sleep during their rest breaks, so that they would
have a total of at least 10 hours of opportunity for rest during any
consecutive 24-hour period. This 24-hour period would not be on a
midnight to midnight or other specified cycle--it could be for any 24
consecutive-hour time period (i.e., it may be referred to as a
``floating'' 24-hour period).
Briefly summarized, the ``key'' provisions of the Dart exemption
application request are as follows:
The EO will have a minimum of 10 total hours of off-duty
time for any ``floating'' 24-hour period.
The EO will be limited to a maximum of 11 hours of driving
time in the 24-hour period from 3 a.m. one day to 3 a.m. the following
day.
The EO will not have to complete his or her 11 hours of
driving time within 14 consecutive hours of coming on-duty.
The EO will be required to take a minimum off-duty period
of at least 6 consecutive hours between 9 p.m. one day to 9 a.m. the
following day. This 6-hour minimum period could be spent off-duty, in
the S/B, or any combination of both.
Dart states that while operating under the current HOS rules, it
has found that the two specific rule provisions--the ``14-hour rule''
and ``split S/B rule''--frequently interfere with the ability of its
over-the-road drivers to obtain good-quality sleep and deliver
shipments in a safe and timely fashion. It believes the requirement to
not drive after the 14th hour of coming on-duty on many occasions
``penalizes'' drivers who stop to take a nap or a sleep period of less
than 8 hours, even if this is at night and it is the most sensible
thing, according to Dart, to do to reduce the fatigue risk. Dart
believes that drivers are given an ``unwise incentive'' under the
current rules to continue driving because any time spent sleeping after
coming on duty counts against their 14-hour duty period--except a
minimum of at least 8 hours in the S/B--and may prevent them from
delivering their shipment on schedule.
Dart says that the current split S/B rule encourages drivers who
have been on duty at night to attempt to obtain all or most of their
sleep during the daytime hours when they are least likely to obtain
good-quality or long-duration sleep. Dart believes that not only does
strict compliance with these two provisions interfere with sleep
planning, but also has an effect on which shipments a driver can
deliver in a timely fashion.
[[Page 66023]]
For more details on Dart's request, a copy of their exemption
application is included in the docket identified at the beginning of
this notice. The application contains details on actual business trip
scenarios and other relevant information in support of the application.
Copies of all scientific reports and documents submitted by Dart in
support of its application for an exemption are also included in the
docket for this notice.
Dart states that to provide a superior level of safety, it will
implement a program referred to as its Fatigue Risk Management System
(FRMS), which is an integral part of Dart's safety management system
that ensures that the risks of driver loss of alertness, inattention
and chronic fatigue are minimized using scientifically validated
methods. Every participating driver would be subject to monitoring and
correcting his or her fatigue risk using this model, and there would be
advanced fatigue mitigation education for every exempt driver and the
fleet managers, sleep disorder screening, and the reporting of all
qualifying safety events to FMCSA. The purpose of the FRMS is to
provide a protective environment around the EOs that will ensure there
are no risks as the restrictions provided by the ``14-hour rule'' and
``split S/B rule'' would be withdrawn.
Dart's FRMS would include the following four core elements:
A system for duty-rest scheduling which provides for
improved sleep opportunities when compared to the current regulations.
A comprehensive education program for EOs and managers
that would educate, test, and certify them for comprehension in the
following areas: (1) Basic sleep and fatigue physiology; (2) managing
an alert trucking lifestyle; (3) rules of the exemption, including
electronic logging; and (4) fatigue risk scores and how to improve the
score.
A set of standards for the EO's work and sleep
environment; and
Procedures to screen for fitness for duty related to sleep
disorders.
Dart's four core components of fatigue risk management are
supported by a management structure that provides for the following:
Oversight of the FRMS by a Dart Fatigue Risk Management
Steering Committee.
A Fatigue Risk Management Policy that provides a
comprehensive set of guidelines for promoting the alertness, sleep and
health of the EOs.
A daily process of monitoring and measuring fatigue risk
and the safety of the EOs, which would include electronic on-board
recorders (EOBRs) on all units using the exemption.
The daily analysis of driver fatigue risk using commercial
fatigue-risk software.
The daily transmission of a ``fatigue risk score''
transmitted to each EO and fleet manager.
The regular assessment of progress in minimizing fatigue-
risk scores.
Safety records maintenance.
Monthly reporting of fatigue risk management and safety
performance to the FMCSA.
Conversely, Dart believes that the potential impacts of not
obtaining the exemption include the following:
The ability to improve the alertness and safety of its
drivers would be greatly limited because implementing the minimum 6
hours of continuous nocturnal rest without the ``14 hour clock''
exemption would make the recruitment of safe drivers unfeasible, and
the satisfaction of customer delivery requirements impossible;
The company would be unlikely to consider the introduction
of EOBRs because it would be difficult to recruit quality owner-
operators if it required EOs to install and be monitored by EOBRs;
Dart's drivers would on occasion find it economically
disadvantageous to stop for a required 6 overnight hours, and therefore
have to operate without sleep overnight and risk impaired sleep during
daytime rest in order to comply with the current HOS rules; and
Dart would not be able to accept certain shipments, which
could be safely delivered by alert drivers, from its customers only
because Dart would be in violation of the ``14-hour clock'' and ``split
S/B rule.''
Request for Comments
In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b)(4) and 31136(e), FMCSA
requests public comment on Dart's application for an exemption from the
``14-hour rule'' and split S/B provisions in 49 CFR Part 395. The
Agency will consider all comments received by close of business on
December 26, 2007. Comments will be available for examination in the
docket at the location listed under the ADDRESSES section of this
notice. The Agency will file comments received after the comment
closing date in the public docket, and will consider them to the extent
practicable.
Issued on: November 9, 2007.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy and Program Development.
[FR Doc. E7-22881 Filed 11-23-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P