Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 156 / Friday, August 12, 2011 / Notices 50313 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lucy Garliauskas, Director, Office of 

Human Environment, (202) 366–2047, 

Lucy.Garliauskas@dot.gov or Adam 

Sleeter, Office of the Chief Counsel, 

(202) 366–8839; Federal Highway 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

An electronic copy of this notice may 

be downloaded from the Office of the 

Federal Register’s home page at http:// 

www.archives.gov/ and the Government 

Printing Office’s Web site at http:// 

www.access.gpo.gov/. 

Background 

Section 5207 of the Safe, Accountable, 

Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 

Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU) 

(Pub. L. 109–59, Aug. 10, 2005), 

established the Surface Transportation 

Environment and Planning Cooperative 

Research Program in section 507 of Title 

23, United States Code. The FHWA 

anticipates that the STEP or a similar 

program to provide resources for 

national research on issues related to 

planning, environment, and realty will 

be included in future surface 

transportation legislation. The general 

objective of the STEP is to improve 

understanding of the complex 

relationship between surface 

transportation, planning, and the 

environment. 

The SAFETEA–LU provided $16.875 

million per year for FY 2006–2009 to 

implement this cooperative research 

program. Due to obligation limitations, 

rescissions, and congressional 

designation of Title V Research in 

SAFETEA–LU, on average $14.5 million 

of the $16.875 million authorized was 

available each fiscal year. 

The STEP is the primary source of 

funds for FHWA to conduct research 

and develop tools and technologies to 

advance the state of the practice 

regarding national surface 

transportation and environmental 

decisionmaking. In FY 2012, the FHWA 

expects to seek partnerships that can 

leverage limited research funding in the 

STEP with other stakeholders and 

partners in order to increase the total 

amount of resources available to meet 

the nation’s surface transportation 

research needs. 

The FY 2012 STEP will support the 

implementation of a national research 

agenda that includes: 

(1) Conducting research to develop 

climate change mitigation, adaptation 

and livability strategies; 

(2) Developing and/or supporting 

accurate models and tools for evaluating 

transportation measures and developing 

indicators of economic, social, and 

environmental performance of 

transportation systems to facilitate 

alternative analysis; 

(3) Developing and deploying 

research to address congestion 

reduction efforts; 

(4) Developing transportation safety 

planning strategies for surface 

transportation systems and 

improvements; 

(5) Improving planning, operation, 

and management of surface 

transportation systems and rights-ofway; 

(6) Enhancing knowledge of strategies 

to improve transportation in rural areas 

and small communities; 

(7) Strengthening and advancing 

State/local and tribal capabilities 

regarding surface transportation and the 

environment; 

(8) Improving transportation 

decisionmaking and coordination across 

international borders; 

(9) Improving state of the practice 

regarding the impact of transportation 

on the environment; 

(10) Conducting research to promote 

environmental streamlining/ 

stewardship and sustainability; 

(11) Disseminating research results 

and advances in state of the practice 

through peer exchanges, workshops, 

conferences, etc; 

(12) Meeting additional priorities as 

determined by the Secretary; and 

(13) Refining the scope and research 

emphases through active outreach and 

in consultation with stakeholders. 

The FHWA is issuing this notice to: 

(1) To announce the STEP 

Implementation Strategy for the FY 

2012 STEP in anticipation of future 

surface transportation legislation, and 

(2) to solicit comments on proposed 

research activities to be undertaken in 

the FY 2012 STEP via the STEP Web 

site. The STEP Implementation Strategy 

can be found at http:// 

www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/about_step/ 

strategy/. That Strategy updates 

information on the graphs and charts 

regarding historical planning and 

environment research funding, and adds 

information about the proposed FY 2012 

STEP including proposed funding 

levels, goals, and potential research 

activities. We invite the public to visit 

this Web site to obtain additional 

information on the STEP, as well as 

information on the process for 

forwarding comments to the FHWA 

regarding the STEP implementation 

plan. The URL for the STEP Web site is: 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/step/. 

The FHWA will use this Web site as 

a major mechanism for informing the 

public regarding the status of the STEP. 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 507. 

OMB Approval for Specific Forms, 

Surveys, Questionnaires: Burden 

Statement 

This collection of information is 

voluntary and will be used to identify 

potential research for the creation of a 

research plan for the FHWA STEP 

Program. Public reporting burden is 

estimated to average 30 minutes per 

response, including the time for 

reviewing instructions, searching 

existing data sources, gathering and 

maintaining the data needed, and 

completing and reviewing the collection 

of information. No confidential 

information will be collected; therefore, 

no assurances of confidentiality will be 

provided. Please note that an agency 

may not conduct or sponsor, and a 

person is not required to respond to, a 

collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) control 

number. The OMB control number for 

this collection is 2125–0627 (Expiration 

6/30/14). Send comments regarding this 

burden estimate or any other aspect of 

this collection of information, including 

suggestions for reducing this burden to: 

Information Collection Clearance 

Officer, Federal Highway 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

Authority: 5 CFR 1320.8. 

Issued on: August 8, 2011. 

Victor M. Mendez, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2011–20506 Filed 8–11–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2011–0177] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Request for Comment; 

Extension of an Information Collection: 

Hours of Service (HOS) of Drivers 

Regulations 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

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50314 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 156 / Friday, August 12, 2011 / Notices 

(PRA), 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 and 

invites public comment. The FMCSA 

requests OMB approval to revise and 

extend an existing ICR entitled, ‘‘Hours 

of Service (HOS) of Drivers 

Regulations.’’ The HOS rules require 

most commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 

drivers to maintain in the CMV an 

accurate record of duty status (RODS) in 

either paper or electronic form. The 

Agency, effective June 4, 2010, 

authorized the use of electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs) to create driver 

RODS. This ICR estimates, for the first 

time, the PRA burden of motor carriers 

voluntarily directing their drivers to 

employ EOBRs. This ICR promotes 

safety in CMV operations by assisting 

motor carriers and enforcement officials 

in monitoring compliance with the HOS 

rules. On June 6, 2011, FMCSA 

published a Federal Register notice 

allowing for a 60-day comment period 

on the ICR (76 FR 32388). One comment 

was received. 

DATES: Please send your comments by 

September 12, 2011. OMB must receive 

your comments by this date in order to 

act quickly on the ICR. 

ADDRESSES: All comments should 

reference Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) Docket Number 

FMCSA–2011–0177. Interested persons 

are invited to submit written comments 

on the proposed information collection 

to the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget. Comments 

should be addressed to the attention of 

the Desk Officer, Department of 

Transportation/Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration, and sent via 

electronic mail to 

oira_submission@omb.eop.gov, faxed to 

(202) 395–6974, or mailed to the Office 

of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert F. Schultz, Jr., FMCSA Driver 

and Carrier Operations Division. 

Telephone: 202–366–4325. E-mail: 

MCPSD@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Hours of Service (HOS) of 

Drivers Regulations. 

OMB Control Number: 2126–0001. 

Type of Request: Revision and 

extension of a currently-approved 

information collection. 

Respondents: Motor Carriers, Drivers 

of CMVs. 

Estimated Annual Respondents: 4.93 

million [4.60 million drivers + 0.33 

million active motor carriers]. 

Estimated Time per Response: A 

driver employing a paper RODS takes an 

average of 6.5 minutes to complete it; a 

driver employing an EOBR takes an 

average of 2 minutes to complete it. A 

driver takes an average of 5 minutes to 

forward a paper RODS to the motor 

carrier; a driver employing an EOBR is 

relieved of this task by automation. 

Whether using a paper or EOBR RODS, 

a motor carrier takes 2 minutes to 

review a RODS and its corresponding 

supporting documents, and 1 additional 

minute to maintain those supporting 

documents. For those motor carriers 

using an EOBR, the ICR burden of 

maintaining the RODS is eliminated by 

automation; for those motor carriers 

using paper RODS, 1 minute is required 

to maintain the RODS. 

Expiration Date: 8/31/2011. 

Estimated Frequency of Response 

Drivers: 240 days per year, on average. 

Motor Carriers: 240 days per year, on 

average. 

Estimated Annual Responses: 

3,843.59 million—the sum of the 

following: 

A. Driver Tasks 

(1) Filling out the RODS: 

1,104 million, and 

(2) Forwarding the RODS to the motor 

carrier: 102.23 million. 

B. Motor Carrier Tasks 

(1) Reviewing the RODS: 552 million, 

(2) Maintaining the RODS: 

981.36 million, and 

(3) Maintaining the supporting 

documents: 1,104 million. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

172.08 million burden hours [118.92 

million driver hours + 53.16 million 

carrier hours]. 

Background: The FMCSA regulates 

the amount of time a CMV driver may 

drive or otherwise be on duty, in order 

to ensure that an adequate period of 

time is available to the driver to rest. A 

driver must accurately record his or her 

duty status (driving, on duty not 

driving, off duty, sleeper berth) at all 

points during the 24-hour period 

designated by the motor carrier (49 CFR 

395.8(a)(1)). This RODS must be made 

on a grid specified by subsection 

395.8(g). The term ‘‘logbook’’ is often 

used in the industry to denote the 

collection of the most recent RODS of 

the driver. A driver must have the RODS 

for the previous 7 consecutive days in 

the CMV at all times (395.8(k)(2)). The 

RODS must be submitted to the motor 

carrier along with any supporting 

documents, such as fuel receipts and 

toll tickets that could assist in verifying 

the accuracy of entries on the RODS, 

and the motor carrier must retain these 

records for a minimum of 6 months 

from the date of receipt (49 CFR 

395.8(k)(1)). 

Statutory authority for regulating the 

hours of service (HOS) of drivers 

operating CMVs in interstate commerce 

is derived from 49 U.S.C. 31136 and 

31502. The penalty provisions are 

located at 49 U.S.C. 521, 522 and 526, 

as amended. On November 28, 1982, the 

Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA), the agency responsible for 

administration of the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) 

(49 CFR 350 et seq.) at that time, 

promulgated a final rule requiring motor 

carriers to ensure that their drivers 

record their duty status in a specified 

format and verify the accuracy of the 

HOS of each driver (47 FR 53383). The 

rule is codified at 49 CFR 395.8. 

The HOS rules provide the following 

four methods of recording driver duty 

status: 

(1) Paper RODS: This grid form 

requires the driver to graph time and 

location on a paper record over a 24- 

hour period (Section 395.8(g)). It must 

be present on the CMV in the absence 

of a regulatory exception. 

(2) Time Record: The HOS regulations 

allow certain ‘‘short haul’’ CMV drivers 

to avoid the onboard-the-CMV RODS 

requirement if their employing motor 

carrier records their HOS by means of a 

time record or time card maintained at 

the place of business (Section 395.1(e)). 

To qualify for this exception, short-haul 

drivers generally must return at the end 

of the duty day to the same location at 

which they began the day, and must 

remain within a certain distance of that 

location at all times during the duty 

day. The time record must show the 

time the driver began work, was 

released from work, and the total hours 

worked. 

(3) Automatic On-Board Recording 

Device (AOBRD): An electronic record is 

permitted if it is created and maintained 

by an AOBRD as defined by 49 CFR 

395.2. The record must include all the 

information that would appear on a 

paper RODS, and the driver or carrier 

must be capable of producing this 

information upon demand. 

(4) EOBR: Motor carriers subject to an 

FMCSA remedial directive must use an 

electronic record created and 

maintained by an EOBR as defined in 

49 CFR 395.2. Other motor carriers may 

voluntarily employ EOBRs. 

The RODS is important because it 

provides motor carriers and 

enforcement personnel a significant tool 

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 156 / Friday, August 12, 2011 / Notices 50315 

for determining driver compliance with 

the HOS rules. Compliance helps 

FMCSA protect the public by reducing 

the number of tired CMV drivers on the 

highways. 

Most States receive grants from 

FMCSA under the Motor Carrier Safety 

Assistance Program. As a condition of 

receiving these grants, States agree to 

adopt and enforce the FMCSRs, 

including the HOS rules, as State law. 

As a result, State enforcement 

inspectors use the RODS and supporting 

documents to determine whether CMV 

drivers are complying with the HOS 

rules. In addition, FMCSA uses the 

RODS during on-site compliance 

reviews (CRs) and targeted reviews of 

motor carriers. The CR is a public 

record. An unfavorable review can be 

damaging to a motor carrier’s business 

because customers may access the CRs 

before selecting a motor carrier to hire. 

Finally, Federal and State judicial 

systems generally accept RODS as 

evidence in actions alleging driver or 

motor carrier violations of the HOS 

regulations. This information collection 

supports the DOT’s Strategic Goal of 

Safety because the information helps the 

Agency ensure the safe operation of 

CMVs in interstate commerce on our 

Nation’s highways. 

The currently-approved PRA burden 

estimate is 181.28 million hours, as 

approved by OMB on August 20, 2010. 

The expiration date of this IC is August 

31, 2011. In this ICR, FMCSA proposes 

to reduce the PRA burden by 

approximately 9.20 million burden 

hours, or by slightly over 5 percent. 

FMCSA seeks OMB approval of its 

revised estimated PRA burden of 172.08 

million burden hours. In today’s 

submission, FMCSA for the first time 

estimates the extent of voluntary EOBR 

use by motor carriers, and subtracts that 

same number from its estimate of the 

extent of the use of paper RODS. The 

Agency maintains its OMB-approved 

estimates of the total number of CMV 

drivers subject to the HOS rules, and the 

total number of CMV drivers subject to 

an Agency remedial HOS directive. 

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 the 

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 information 

collected. 

Issued on: August 8, 2011. 

Kelly Leone, 

Associate Administrator for Research and 

Information Technology. 

[FR Doc. 2011–20584 Filed 8–11–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

Notice of Fiscal Year 2012 Safety 

Grants and Solicitation for 

Applications 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice; change in application 

due dates. 

SUMMARY: This notice informs the public 

of FMCSA’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 safety 

grant opportunities and FMCSA’s 

projected application due dates. FMCSA 

announces these grant opportunities 

based on authorities provided for in the 

Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 

Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy of 

Users. The Agency will inform 

applicants if new authorizing legislation 

changes its grant programs for FY 2012 

through a Federal Register notice. The 

10 safety grant programs include the 

Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program 

(MCSAP) Basic grants; MCSAP 

Incentive grants; New Entrant Safety 

Audit grants; MCSAP High Priority 

grants; Commercial Motor Vehicle 

(CMV) Operator Safety Training grants; 

Border Enforcement grants (BEG); 

Commercial Driver’s License Program 

Improvement (CDLPI) grants; 

Performance and Registration 

Information Systems Management 

(PRISM) grants; Safety Data 

Improvement Program (SaDIP) grants; 

and the Commercial Vehicle 

Information Systems and Networks 

(CVISN) grants. It should be noted that 

FMCSA does not expect the Commercial 

Driver’s License Information System 

(CDLIS) Modernization grants to be 

continued in reauthorization, and, 

therefore, FMCSA will not be soliciting 

applications for this grant program in 

FY 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Please contact the following FMCSA 

staff with questions or needed 

information on the Agency’s grant 

programs: 

MCSAP Basic/Incentive Grants— 

Suzanne Poole, 

suzanne.poole@dot.gov, 202–493– 

0804. 

New Entrant Safety Audits Grants— 

Arthur Williams, 

arthur.williams@dot.gov, 202–366– 

3695. 

Border Enforcement Grants—Carla 

Vagnini, carla.vagnini@dot.gov, 202– 

366–3771. 

High Priority Grants—Cim Weiss, 

cim.weiss@dot.gov, 202–366–0275. 

CMV Operator Safety Training Grants— 

Arthur Williams, 

arthur.williams@dot.gov, 202–366– 

0710. 

CDLPI Grants—James Ross, 

james.ross@dot.gov, 202–366–0133. 

SaDIP Grants—Cim Weiss, 

cim.weiss@dot.gov, 202–366–0275. 

PRISM Grants—Julie Otto, 

julie.otto@dot.gov, 202–366–0710. 

CVISN Grants—Julie Otto, 

julie.otto@dot.gov, 202–366–0710. 

All staff may be reached at FMCSA, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are 

from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., E.S.T., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background and Purpose 

FMCSA recognizes that State and 

local governments and other grantees 

are dependent on the Agency’s safety 

grants to develop and maintain 

important CMV safety programs. 

FMCSA further acknowledges that 

delays in awarding grant funds may 

have an adverse impact on these 

important safety programs. As a result, 

FMCSA completed a grants process 

review to identify ways to streamline 

the application, award, and grants 

management processes, and to award 

grant funds earlier each fiscal year. In 

addition, FMCSA made changes in the 

grants application, award and oversight 

processes to standardize application 

forms, increase the use of electronic 

documents, standardize quarterly 

reports, and reduce the number of 

needed grant amendments. 

FMCSA continues to enter into grant 

agreements beginning October 1 or as 

soon thereafter as administratively 

practicable. FMCSA intends to begin 

awarding grants no later than 90 days 

from the date the application is due. 

FMCSA uses the standard grant 

application form and quarterly reporting 

process. FMCSA requires the Standard 

Form 424 (Application for Federal 

Assistance) and its attachments for all 

grant program applications. While each 

grant program may request different 

data in some of the data fields on the 

form, the use of the Standard Form 424 

is mandatory. FMCSA uses the Standard 

Form-Project Progress Report (SF–PPR) 

as its required form for quarterly 

reporting. While each grant program 

may request that different data be 

submitted in some fields or boxes on the 

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