Notice2024-07172
Agency Information Collection Activities; Emergency Approval of Revision to an Approved Information Collection Request: Apprenticeship Pilot Program
Primary source
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Published
April 4, 2024
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Abstract
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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 66 (Thursday, April 4, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 66 (Thursday, April 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23617-23618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2e60474d41424b0043474d464b426e4a415a00494158"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="450b2c262a29206b282c262d202905212a316b222a33">[email protected]</span></a>.
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]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P
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