Notice2021-26410
Agency Information Collection Activities; Approval of an Information Collection Request: Commercial Driver Licensing and Test Standards
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 6, 2021
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Abstract
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 review and approval. The FMCSA requests approval to revise and renew an ICR titled, "Commercial Driver Licensing and Test Standards," due to an increase in the number of commercial driver's license records. This ICR is needed to ensure that drivers, motor carriers and the States are complying with notification and recordkeeping requirements for information related to testing, licensing, violations, convictions, and disqualifications and that the information is accurate, complete, transmitted, and recorded within certain time periods as required by the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (CMVSA), as amended.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 231 (Monday, December 6, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 231 (Monday, December 6, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69116-69117]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26410]
[[Page 69116]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2021-0081]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Approval of an
Information Collection Request: Commercial Driver Licensing and Test
Standards
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 review
and approval. The FMCSA requests approval to revise and renew an ICR
titled, ``Commercial Driver Licensing and Test Standards,'' due to an
increase in the number of commercial driver's license records. This ICR
is needed to ensure that drivers, motor carriers and the States are
complying with notification and recordkeeping requirements for
information related to testing, licensing, violations, convictions, and
disqualifications and that the information is accurate, complete,
transmitted, and recorded within certain time periods as required by
the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (CMVSA), as amended.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before January 5,
2022.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this information
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Isabella Marra, Transportation
Specialist, Office of Safety Programs, Commercial Driver's License
Division (MC-ESL), DOT, FMCSA, 6th Floor, West Building, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001; 202-366-9579;
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d9b0aab8bbbcb5b5b8f7b4b8ababb899bdb6adf7beb6af"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b0d9c3d1d2d5dcdcd19eddd1c2c2d1f0d4dfc49ed7dfc6">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Commercial Driver Licensing and Test Standards.
OMB Control Number: 2126-0011.
Type of Request: Revision of the currently approved information
collection.
Respondents: Drivers with a commercial learner's permit (CLP) or
commercial driver's license (CDL) and State driver licensing agencies.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 7,696,360 driver respondents and
22,886 State respondents.
Estimated Time per Response: Varies, ranges from 5 seconds to 40
hours.
Expiration Date: December 31, 2021.
Frequency of Response: Varies.
Estimated Total Annual Burden: 2,700,901 hours, which is the total
of four tasks for CDL drivers (2,062,676 hours), added to a total of
eight tasks for State driver licensing agency CDL activities (638,225
hours).
Information collection tasks and associated burden hours are as
follows:
IC-1.1 Driver Notification of Convictions/Disqualifications to
Employer: 503,771 hours.
IC-1.2 Driver Providing Previous Employment History to New
Employer: 316,742 hours.
IC-1.3 Driver Completion of the CDL Application Form: 43,527 hours.
IC-1.4 Driver Completion of Knowledge and Skills Tests: 1,198,636
hours.
IC-2.1 State Recording of Medical Examiner's Certificate
Information: 90,202 hours.
IC-2.2 State Recording of the Self Certification of Commercial
Motor Vehicle (CMV) Operation: 2,987 hours.
IC-2.3 State Verification of Medical Certification Status: 5,330
hours.
IC-2.4 Annual State Certification of Compliance: 1,632 hours.
IC-2.5 State Preparing for and Participating in Annual Program
Review: 10,200 hours.
IC-2.6 CDLIS/PDPS/State Recordkeeping: 289,254 hours.
IC-2.7 Knowledge and Skills Test Recordkeeping: 49,721 hours.
IC-2.8 Knowledge and Skills Test Examiner Certification: 188,899
hours.
Background: The licensed drivers in the United States deserve
reasonable assurances that their fellow motorists are properly
qualified to drive the vehicles they operate. Before the Commercial
Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (CMVSA or the Act) (Pub. L. 99-570,
Title XII, 100 Stat. 3207-170, codified at 49 U.S.C. chapter 313) was
signed by the President on October 27, 1986, 18 States and the District
of Columbia authorized any person licensed to drive an automobile to
also legally drive a large truck or bus. No special training or special
license was required to drive these vehicles, even though it was widely
recognized that operation of certain types of vehicles called for
special skills, knowledge, and training. Even in the 32 States that had
a classified driver licensing system in place, only 12 of these States
required an applicant to take a skills test in a representative
vehicle. Equally serious was the problem of drivers possessing multiple
driver licenses. By spreading their convictions among several States,
commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers could avoid punishment for their
infringements and stay behind the wheel.
The CMVSA addressed these problems by requiring the Federal
government to act and place minimum standards on all jurisdictions,
including the District of Columbia. Section 12002 of the Act made it
illegal for a CMV operator to have more than one driver's license.
Section 12003 required the CMV driver conducting operations in commerce
to notify both the designated State of licensure official and the
driver's employer of any convictions of State or local laws relating to
traffic control (except parking tickets). This section also required
the promulgation of regulations to ensure each person who applies for
employment as a CMV operator to notify prospective employers of all
previous employment as a CMV operator for at least the previous 10
years. In section 12005 of the Act, the Secretary of Transportation
(Secretary) is required to develop minimum Federal standards for
testing and licensing of operators of CMVs. Section 12007 of the Act
also directed the Secretary, in cooperation with the States, to develop
a clearinghouse to aid the States in implementing the one driver, one
license, and one driving record requirement. This clearinghouse is
known as the Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS).
The CMVSA further required each person who has their CDL suspended,
revoked or canceled by a State, or who is disqualified from operating a
CMV for any period, to notify his or her employer of such actions.
Drivers of CMVs must notify their employers within 1 business day of
being notified of the license suspension, revocation, and cancellation,
or of the lost right to operate or disqualification. These requirements
are reflected in 49 CFR part 383, titled ``Commercial Driver's License
Standards; Requirements and Penalties.'' Specifically, section 383.21
prohibits a person from having more than one license; section 383.31
requires notification of convictions for driver violations; section
383.33 requires notification of driver's license suspensions; section
383.35 requires notification of previous employment; and section 383.37
outlines employer responsibilities. Section 383.111
[[Page 69117]]
requires the passing of a knowledge test by the driver and section
383.113 requires the passing of a skills test by the driver. Section
383.115 contains the requirement for the double/triple trailer
endorsement; section 383.117 contains the requirement for the passenger
endorsement; section 383.119 contains the requirement for the tank
vehicle endorsement; and section 383.121 contains the requirement for
the hazardous materials endorsement. The 10-year employment history
information supplied by the CDL holder to the employer upon application
for employment (49 CFR 383.35) is used to assist the employer in
meeting his/her responsibilities to ensure that the applicant does not
have a history of high safety risk behavior. State officials use the
information collected on the license application form (49 CFR 383.71),
the medical certificate information that is posted to the driving
record, and the conviction and disqualification data posted to the
driving record (49 CFR 383.73) to prevent unqualified and/or
disqualified CDL holders from operating CMVs on the nation's highways.
State officials are required to adopt and administer an FMCSA approved
program for testing and ensuring the fitness of persons to operate CMVs
(49 CFR 384.201). State officials are also required to administer
knowledge and skills tests to CDL driver applicants (49 CFR 384.202).
The driver applicant is required to correctly answer at least 80
percent of the questions on each knowledge test to achieve a passing
score on that test. To achieve a passing score on the skills test, the
driver applicant must demonstrate that he/she can successfully perform
all the skills listed in the regulations. During State CDL program
reviews, FMCSA officials review this information to ensure that the
provisions of the regulations are being carried out. Without the
aforementioned requirements, there would be no uniform control over
driver licensing practices to prevent unqualified and/or disqualified
drivers from being issued a CDL and to prevent unsafe drivers from
spreading their convictions among several licenses in several States
and remaining behind the wheel of a CMV. Failure to collect this
information would render the regulations unenforceable.
The 60-day Federal Register notice (86 FR 49595) was published on
September 3, 2021 and announced FMCSA's intent to submit the Commercial
Driver Licensing and Test Standards clearance process to OMB for
approval and requested comments from the public for 60 days. The FMCSA
received one comment recommending FMCSA: (1) Add a minimum number of
behind-the-wheel training hours to the entry level driver training
regulations, (2) implement the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st
Century (Pub. L. 112-141, MAP-21) mandate for a written proficiency
exam for new motor carriers, and (3) include additional data collection
elements based on those additions. The comment was filed jointly by the
Truck Safety Coalition (TSC), Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways
(CRASH), Parents Against Tired Truckers (PATT), and their volunteers.
This comment proposes changes to regulatory requirements, and not to
the revision of the collection of information.
FMCSA contacted the commenters and notified them that their request
is denied for two reasons. First, FMCSA noted that it will not be
adding a minimum number of behind-the-wheel training hours to the entry
level driver training regulations because there is no evidence that a
certain amount of behind-the-wheel training has an impact on the safety
performance of new drivers. FMCSA explained this in the Minimum
Training Requirements for Entry-Level Commercial Motor Vehicle
Operators (81 FR 88732) Federal Register notice. Second, the MAP-21
mandate referenced does not pertain to CDLs and is not applicable to
this information collection request.
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.
Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.
Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2021-26410 Filed 12-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P
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This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.