[Federal Register: May 17, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 94)]
[Notices]               
[Page 26813]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17my99-97]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

 
Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping Requirements; Agency Information 
Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information 
Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR 
describes the nature of the information collection and its expected 
burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period 
soliciting comments on the following information collection was 
published on February 5, 1999 [64 FR 5853-5854].

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 16, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Philip Roke, Project Manager, (202) 
366-5884, Federal Highway Administration, Office of Motor Carrier and 
Highway Safety, Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Motor Carrier Scheduling Practices and Their Influence on 
Driver Fatigue.
    Type of Request: Approval of a new information collection.
    Affected Public: Interstate motor carrier executives, dispatchers, 
safety directors, and drivers of commercial motor vehicles carrying 
passengers and property.
    Abstract: The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of 
Motor Carrier and Highway Safety, at the direction and intent of 
Congress, is conducting this study as a part of applied research that 
will address a number of safety issues of concern, such as: driver 
fatigue and alertness; the application of emerging technologies to 
ensure safety, productivity and regulatory compliance; commercial 
driver licensing, training and education. This particular study focuses 
on the identification of causes of commercial motor vehicle driver 
fatigue and the development of effective countermeasures. Prior 
research has indicated that developing an understanding of current 
operational scheduling requirements is fundamental to any attempt to 
facilitate change toward better shift systems that take into account 
the needs of drivers, while at the same time account for the economic 
realities of their employers and their customers--shippers and 
receivers. Therefore, this study has two objectives: (1) to assess the 
operational scheduling requirements of interstate motor carriers of 
passengers and property; and (2) to identify motor carrier scheduling 
requirements that have a positive effect on safety performance. Data 
will be gathered from industry focus groups and a mail survey to 
randomly-selected participants in the motor carrier and motor coach 
industries, including upper-level management, safety directors, 
dispatchers and drivers of passengers and property. Additionally, the 
data generated from representative samples of the interstate motor 
carrier industry will be analyzed to develop causal inferences about or 
relationships between scheduling and related practices and safety 
performance.
    Frequency: The survey will be conducted once.
    Estimated Burden: The estimated total annual burden is 1,225 hours.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20503, Attention: DOT Desk Officer. Comments are invited 
on: whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the Department, including 
whether the information will have practical utility; the accuracy of 
the Department's estimate of the burden of the proposed information 
collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology. A comment to OMB is most effective if OMB receives it 
within 30 days of publication of this Notice.

    Issued on: May 11, 1999.
Michael J. Vecchietti,
Director, Office of Information and Management Services.
[FR Doc. 99-12362 Filed 5-14-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-22-P