Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 130 / Friday, July 6, 2018 / Notices 31631 

‘‘upload file’’ field. The name of the file 

also should include who will be 

presenting the testimony. Remarks at 

the hearing should be limited to no 

more than five minutes to allow for 

possible questions from the 

Subcommittee. You should submit all 

documents in accordance with the 

instructions in section III below. 

III. Requirements for Submissions 

In order to be assured of 

consideration, persons submitting a 

notification of intent to testify and/or 

written comments must do so in English 

by noon on Wednesday, August 1, 2018. 

USTR strongly encourages commenters 

to make on-line submissions, using the 

www.regulations.gov website. To submit 

comments via www.regulations.gov, 

enter docket number USTR–2018–0022 

on the home page and click ‘‘search.’’ 

The site will provide a search-results 

page listing all documents associated 

with this docket. Find a reference to this 

notice and click on the link entitled 

‘‘comment now!’’ For further 

information on using the 

www.regulations.gov website, please 

consult the resources provided on the 

website by clicking on ‘‘How to Use 

Regulations.gov’’ on the bottom of the 

home page. We will not accept handdelivered submissions. 

For any comments submitted 

electronically containing business 

confidential information, the file name 

of the business confidential version 

should begin with the characters ‘‘BC’’. 

Any page containing business 

confidential information must be clearly 

marked ‘‘BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL’’ 

on the top of that page. Filers of 

submissions containing business 

confidential information also must 

submit a public version of their 

comments that we will place in the 

docket for public inspection. The file 

name of the public version should begin 

with the character ‘‘P’’. The ‘‘BC’’ and 

‘‘P’’ should be followed by the name of 

the person or entity submitting the 

comments or reply comments. Filers 

submitting comments containing no 

business confidential information 

should name their file using the name 

of the person or entity submitting the 

comments. Please do not attach separate 

cover letters to electronic submissions; 

rather, include any information that 

might appear in a cover letter in the 

comments themselves. Similarly, to the 

extent possible, please include any 

exhibits, annexes, or other attachments 

in the same file as the submission itself, 

not as separate files. 

As noted, USTR strongly urges 

submitters to file comments through 

www.regulations.gov. You must make 

any alternative arrangements with 

Yvonne Jamison at (202) 395–3475 in 

advance of transmitting a comment. 

General information concerning USTR 

is available at www.ustr.gov. 

We will post comments in the docket 

for public inspection, except business 

confidential information. You can view 

comments on the www.regulations.gov 

website by entering the relevant docket 

number in the search field on the home 

page. 

IV. Petitions 

15 CFR part 2017 permits any 

interested party to submit a petition to 

USTR, at any time, with respect to 

whether a beneficiary sub-Saharan 

African country is meeting the AGOA 

eligibility requirements. An interested 

party may file a petition through 

www.regulations.gov, under docket 

number USTR–2018–0022. 

Edward Gresser, 

Chair of the Trade Policy Staff Committee, 

Office of the United States Trade 

Representative. 

[FR Doc. 2018–14098 Filed 7–5–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3290–F8–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA—2017–0196] 

60-Day Notice of Proposed Information 

Collection: Pilot Program To Allow 18- 

to 21-Year-Old Persons With Military 

Driving Experience To Operate 

Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs) in 

Interstate Commerce 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), Department 

of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA is seeking approval 

from the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for the information 

collection described below. In 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, FMCSA is requesting 

comment from all interested parties on 

the proposed collection of information. 

The purpose of this notice is to allow for 

60 days of public comment. 

Pursuant to Section 5404 of the Fixing 

America’s Surface Transportation Act, 

2015 (FAST Act), FMCSA proposes a 3- 

year period of information collection to 

determine whether the safety outcomes 

(to include crashes, moving violations, 

inspection violations, and safety critical 

events as available) of drivers under the 

age of 21 with military experience in the 

operation of heavy vehicles (i.e., 

‘‘covered drivers’’) participating in 

interstate commerce are similar to the 

safety outcomes of commercial motor 

vehicle drivers (CMV) drivers between 

the ages of 21 and 24 operating freightcarrying CMVs, and how training and 

experience impact the safety of the 18- 

to 20-year-old driving population. 

FMCSA proposed this pilot program 

and solicited public comment on 

August 22, 2016. The prior 60-day 

notice sought comment on program 

operations, including whether any 

additional safeguards are needed to 

ensure that the pilot program provides 

a level of safety equivalent to current 

safety levels. Additional details on the 

broader pilot program are available 

through a separate notice published in 

today’s Federal Register. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before September 4, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

bearing the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA– 

2017–0196 using any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Operations, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building, 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the Agency name and the 

docket number. For detailed 

instructions on submitting comments, 

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 and follow the 

online instructions for accessing the 

dockets, or go to the street address listed 

above. 

Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 

U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments 

from the public to better inform its 

rulemaking process. DOT posts these 

comments, without edit, including any 

personal information the commenter 

provides, to www.regulations.gov, as 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
31632 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 130 / Friday, July 6, 2018 / Notices 

described in the system of records 

notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can 

be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy. 

Public Participation: The Federal 

eRulemaking Portal is available 24 

hours each day, 365 days each year. You 

can obtain electronic submission and 

retrieval help and guidelines under the 

‘‘help’’ section of the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal website. If you want 

us to notify you that we received your 

comments, please include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or 

postcard, or print the acknowledgement 

page that appears after submitting 

comments online. Comments received 

after the comment closing date will be 

included in the docket and will be 

considered to the extent practicable. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nicole Michel, Research Division, 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590– 

0001, by email at nicole.michel@

dot.gov, or by telephone at (202) 366– 

4354. If you have questions on viewing 

or submitting material to the docket, 

contact Docket Services, telephone (202) 

366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Proposed Information Collection 

for a Pilot Program to Allow 18- to 21- 

Year-Old Persons with Military Driving 

Experience to Operate CMVs in 

Interstate Commerce. 

OMB Control Number: 2126–00XX. 

Type of Request: New information 

collection. 

Respondents: Motor carriers; 21- to 

24-year-old entry-level CMV drivers 

with valid commercial drivers’ licenses 

(CDLs) operating in freight-carrying 

interstate commerce (control group 

drivers); 18- to 20-year-old freightcarrying CMV drivers with a valid CDL 

operating in intrastate commerce 

(intrastate group drivers); 18- to 20-yearold current or former military personnel 

with training in heavy-duty vehicle 

operations (covered drivers) and valid 

CDLs with a K-restriction. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

1,570. [Motor carriers: 70 in total; 50 at 

any given time. Control group drivers: 

1,500 in total (Year 1 = 300; Year 2 = 

100; Year 3 = 100; Annualized = 166.7). 

Intrastate group drivers: 500 in total 

(Year 1 = 300; Year 2 = 100; Year 3 = 

100; Annualized = 166.7). Covered 

group drivers: 500 in total (Year 1 = 300; 

Year 2 = 100; Year 3 = 100; Annualized 

= 166.7).] 

Estimated Time per Response: Motor 

Carriers: application—20 minutes (onetime response); monthly data 

submission—45 minutes (per 

participating driver); miscellaneous 

additional data submissions—60 

minutes per month (e.g. notification of 

a crash with injury or fatality, 

notification of a driver leaving the 

carrier or study); monthly supporting 

information—15 minutes (per sponsored 

participating driver, monthly; e.g., 

optional on-board monitoring system 

[OBMS] logs, investigation findings for 

crashes). Drivers: background 

information and informed consent 

forms—20 minutes (one-time response). 

Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new 

information collection request (ICR). 

Frequency of Response: This is a onetime pilot program that will span a 3- 

year period of data collection. 

Throughout the 3-year pilot program, 

the response frequencies are: Motorcarrier applications: one-time response. 

Driver demographic and release forms: 

one-time response. Motor carrier driver 

data submission: monthly (see 

‘‘Estimated Time per Response’’ for 

more details). 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

7,974.5 hours annualized. [This 

includes 7.8 hours annualized for motor 

carrier applications; 166.67 hours 

annualized for driver information and 

informed consent forms; 5,400 hours 

annualized for monthly driver activity 

and safety data; 600 hours annualized 

for miscellaneous tasks; and 1,800 hours 

annualized for additional supporting 

data] 

I. Background 

Applicable Regulations 

Drivers of CMVs engaged in interstate 

commerce must be at least 21 years of 

age (49 CFR 391.11(b)(1)). This includes 

CMVs for which CDLs are required and 

certain other CMVs for which a CDL is 

not required. 

In the May 9, 2011, final rule on 

‘‘Commercial Driver’s License Testing 

and Commercial Learner’s Permit 

Standards,’’ (76 FR 26854), the Agency 

set a minimum age of 18 for an 

individual to obtain a CDL. A CDL 

holder under the age of 21 must have a 

‘‘K’’ restriction on their CDL, which 

limits the driver to operating in 

intrastate commerce. Therefore, the 

proposed pilot program requires that 

participating drivers be provided relief 

from sections of 49 CFR parts 383 and 

391 concerning minimum age 

requirements so that the covered drivers 

may operate in interstate commerce. 

FAST Act Requirements 

On December 4, 2015, the FAST Act 

was signed into law. Section 5404 of the 

FAST Act (Pub. L. 114–94, 129 Stat. 

1312, 1549, Dec. 4, 2015) requires the 

Secretary of Transportation to conduct a 

commercial driver pilot program to 

‘‘. . . study the feasibility, benefits, and 

safety impacts of allowing a covered 

driver to operate a commercial motor 

vehicle in interstate commerce.’’ A 

‘‘covered driver’’ is defined as a current 

or former member of the armed forces or 

reserve components between the ages of 

18 and 21, who is qualified in a Military 

Occupational Specialty (MOS) to 

operate a CMV or similar vehicle. 

Section 5404 of the FAST Act requires 

the establishment of a data collection 

program to collect and analyze data 

regarding crashes involving covered 

drivers participating in the pilot 

program and drivers under the age of 21 

operating CMVs in intrastate commerce. 

A report detailing the findings will be 

submitted to Congress no later than one 

year after completing data collection. 

II. Purpose of Proposed ICR 

The primary purpose of the proposed 

ICR is to support research to determine 

whether the safety outcomes of covered 

drivers participating in interstate 

commerce are similar to the safety 

outcomes of older entry-level drivers 

(i.e., CDL drivers between the ages of 21 

and 24) and how training and 

experience impact the safety of the 18- 

to 20-year-old driving population. For 

the purposes of this ICR, safety 

outcomes refer to crashes, driver moving 

violations, total number of inspections 

for the month, violations from 

inspections, and any safety-critical 

events captured via OBMS, such as hard 

braking or sudden lane changes. This 

research effort will allow FMCSA to 

fulfill the requirements of Section 5404 

of the FAST Act. 

III. Data Collection Plan 

Details of the data collection plan for 

this pilot program are subject to change 

based on comments to the docket and 

further review by analysts. FMCSA will 

encourage motor carriers to participate 

in the pilot who will then identify and 

employ covered, intrastate, and/or 

control group drivers and report 

participating drivers’ safety and activity 

data to the project team. 

The plan for the data collection task 

is to have approximately 50 motor 

carriers participating in the pilot 

program at a time (some carriers may 

wish to depart the study before the 3- 

year data collection period is complete; 

FMCSA intends to replace them as 

needed and as possible) who will then 

identify and employ at least one covered 

group driver, as well as intrastate 

drivers, and/or control group drivers 

and report their safety and activity data 

to FMCSA. Note that while only 50 

carriers are expected to participate at 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 130 / Friday, July 6, 2018 / Notices 31633 

any given time, an estimated 70 carriers 

will participate throughout the 3-year 

study due to carriers leaving the study 

and needing to be replaced. 

FMCSA expects to include an average 

of 600 drivers in the study per year (200 

control group, 200 intrastate, and 200 

covered drivers). Because of relatively 

high turnover in the motor carrier 

industry and given that many covered 

drivers will turn 21 through the course 

of the pilot program (and therefore no 

longer be considered covered drivers), 

participating motor carriers will need to 

work with the project team to add 

additional drivers to the program over 

time. An estimated 300 replacement 

drivers (100 control group, 100 

intrastate, and 100 covered) will 

participate during each year of the 3- 

year program due to expected turnover. 

The information collection can be 

summarized by the following: 

• A motor carrier application 

(completed once at the time of 

application) for participation in the 

pilot program will provide the project 

team with the carrier’s contact 

information and demographic data. 

• Each participating driver will need 

to complete a driver background 

information form and sign an informed 

consent form, which the motor carrier 

will submit on the driver’s behalf. This 

is a one-time task for each driver. 

• On a monthly basis, carriers will 

submit data on driver activity (e.g., duty 

hours, driving hours, off-duty time, 

restart breaks), safety outcomes (e.g., 

crashes, violations, and safety-critical 

events) and any additional supporting 

information (e.g., OBMS logs, 

investigative reports from previous 

crashes). 

• Carriers will be required to notify 

FMCSA within 24 hours of: any injury 

or fatality crashes involving a 

participating driver, a participating 

driver receiving an alcohol-related 

citation (e.g., driving under the 

influence, driving while intoxicate), a 

participating driver choosing to leave 

the pilot program, a participating driver 

leaving the carrier, or a participating 

driver failing a random or post-crash 

drug/alcohol test. 

This pilot limits the definition of 

CMVs to large trucks and does not 

include passenger-carrying vehicles, 

such as buses. In addition, the 

definition of CMVs is limited to trucks 

not in special configurations or involved 

in the transport of hazardous materials. 

IV. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(the PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501–3520) 

prohibits agencies from conducting 

information collection (IC) activities 

until they analyze the need for the 

collection of information and how the 

collected data will be managed. 

Agencies must also analyze whether 

technology could be used to reduce the 

burden imposed on those providing the 

data. The Agency must estimate the 

time burden required to respond to the 

IC requirements, such as the time 

required to complete a particular form. 

The Agency submits its IC analysis and 

burden estimate to OMB as a formal 

ICR; the Agency cannot conduct the 

information collection until OMB 

approves the ICR. 

V. Request for Public Comments 

FMCSA asks for comment on the IC 

requirements of this pilot. Comments 

can be submitted to the docket as 

outlined under ADDRESSES at the 

beginning of this notice. You are asked 

to comment on any aspect of this 

information collection, including: 

1. Whether there are specific criteria 

that should make a driver ineligible to 

participate in the program. 

2. Whether there are specific criteria 

that should make a carrier ineligible to 

participate in the program. 

3. Whether the proposed collection is 

necessary for the performance of 

FMCSA’s functions. 

4. Whether additional items should be 

reported to FMCSA within 24 hours 

other than a driver being involved in a 

crash with injury or fatality, a driver 

receiving an alcohol-related citation, a 

driver choosing to leave the study, a 

driver leaving a carrier, or a driver 

failing a random or post-crash drug/ 

alcohol test. 

5. The accuracy of the estimated 

burdens. 

6. Ways for FMCSA to enhance the 

quality, usefulness, and clarity of the 

collected information. 

7. Ways that the burden could be 

minimized without reducing the quality 

of the collected information. 

8. Whether the data collection efforts 

proposed for carriers and drivers are 

burdensome enough to discourage their 

participation. 

9. Whether a comparison of the 

control group, intrastate driver group, 

and covered driver group is likely to 

produce valid conclusions. 

Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87 

on: June 15, 2018. 

Kelly Regal, 

Associate Administrator, Office of Research 

and Information Technology. 

[FR Doc. 2018–14028 Filed 7–3–18; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2016–0069] 

Proposed Pilot Program To Allow 

Persons Between the Ages of 18 and 

21 With Military Driving Experience To 

Operate Commercial Motor Vehicles in 

Interstate Commerce 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: On August 22, 2016, FMCSA 

proposed a pilot program to meet the 

requirements of section 5404 of the 

Fixing America’s Surface Transportation 

(FAST) Act. FMCSA proposed a pilot 

program to allow a limited number of 

individuals ages 18, 19, and 20 to 

operate commercial motor vehicles 

(CMVs) in interstate commerce, if they 

have received specified heavy-vehicle 

driver training while in military service 

and were hired by a participating motor 

carrier. This notice provides the details 

of the pilot program and responds to 

comments received in response to the 

August 22, 2016 notice. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Selden Fritschner, Commercial Driver’s 

License Division, Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590– 

0001, by email at Selden.Fritschner@

dot.gov, or by telephone at (202) 366– 

0677. If you have questions on viewing 

or submitting material to the docket, 

contact Docket Services, telephone (202) 

366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Definitions 

For the purposes of this pilot 

program, FMCSA is using the following 

definitions: 

Approved motor carrier—A motor 

carrier approved by the Agency to use 

covered drivers to operate CMVs in 

interstate commerce that agrees to 

provide data on covered drivers, control 

drivers and/or intrastate drivers. 

Control Driver—A 21 to 24-year-old 

driver employed by a motor carrier with 

a valid commercial driver’s license 

(CDL) who operates CMVs in interstate 

commerce. 

Covered Driver—An 18-, 19-, or 20- 

year-old driver with military training, in 

one of the seven Military Occupational 

Specialties (MOS), as defined below, 

employed by an approved motor carrier, 

who may operate in interstate commerce 

based on the provisions of this pilot 

program. 


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