36662 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 146 / Monday, July 30, 2018 / Notices 

Species; E.O. 13175, Consultation and 

Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments; E.O. 13166, Improving 

Access to Services for Persons with 

Limited English Proficiency; E.O. 13186, 

Responsibilities of Federal Agencies to 

Protect Migratory Birds. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Number 20.205, Highway Planning 

and Construction. The regulations 

implementing Executive Order 12372 

regarding intergovernmental consultation on 

Federal programs and activities apply to this 

program.) 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 139 (l)(1). 

Issued on: July 23, 2018. 

Sandra A. Garcia-Aline, 

Federal Highway Administration, Alaska 

Division Administrator, Juneau. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16263 Filed 7–27–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2018–0223] 

Parts and Accessories Necessary for 

Safe Operation; Application for an 

Exemption From Groendyke Transport, 

Inc. 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of application for 

exemption; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration (FMCSA) 

requests public comment on an 

application for exemption from 

Groendyke Transport, Inc. (Groendyke) 

to allow the use of a pulsating brake 

lamp in addition to the steady burning 

brake lamps required by the Federal 

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations 

(FMCSR) in its fleet operations. The 

FMCSRs require all exterior lamps (both 

required lamps and any additional 

lamps) to be steady-burning, with the 

exception of turn signal lamps, hazard 

warning signal lamps, school bus 

warning lamps, amber warning lamps or 

flashing warning lamps on tow trucks 

and commercial motor vehicles (CMV) 

transporting oversized loads, and 

warning lamps on emergency and 

service vehicles authorized by State or 

local authorities. Groendyke believes 

that operating a pulsating brake lamp on 

the rear of its trailers on a fleet-wide 

basis would allow the company to 

operate its equipment more effectively, 

efficiently, and safely, and would 

maintain a level of safety that is 

equivalent to, or greater than, the level 

that it would achieve without the 

requested exemption. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before August 29, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

bearing the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA– 

2018–0223 using any of the following 

methods: 

• Website: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on the Federal electronic docket site. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 

Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590– 

0001. 

• Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, DOT Building, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. e.t., MondayFriday, except Federal holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the Agency name and docket 

number for this notice. For detailed 

instructions on submitting comments 

and additional information on the 

exemption process, 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 for 

further information. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http://

www.regulations.gov or to Room W12– 

140, DOT Building, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

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 

described in the system of records 

notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can 

be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy. 

Public participation: The http://

www.regulations.gov website is 

generally available 24 hours each day, 

365 days each year. You may find 

electronic submission and retrieval help 

and guidelines under the ‘‘help’’ section 

of the http://www.regulations.gov 

website as well as the DOT’s http://

docketsinfo.dot.gov website. If you 

would like notification that we received 

your comments, please include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or 

postcard or print the acknowledgment 

page that appears after submitting 

comments online. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Luke W. Loy, Vehicle and Roadside 

Operations Division, Office of Carrier, 

Driver, and Vehicle Safety, MC–PSV, 

(202) 366–0676, Luke.Loy@dot.gov, 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590– 

0001. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), 

FMCSA may grant exemptions from the 

FMCSRs. Pursuant to the implementing 

regulations, FMCSA must publish a 

notice of each exemption request in the 

Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). 

The Agency must provide the public 

with an opportunity to inspect the 

information relevant to the application, 

including any safety analyses that have 

been conducted. The Agency must also 

provide an opportunity for public 

comment on the request. 

The Agency reviews the safety 

analyses and the public comments and 

determines whether granting the 

exemption would likely achieve a level 

of safety equivalent to or greater than 

the level that would be achieved by the 

current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). 

The decision of the Agency must be 

published in the Federal Register (49 

CFR 381.315(b)). If the Agency denies 

the request, it must state the reason for 

doing so. If the decision is to grant the 

exemption, the notice must specify the 

person or class of persons receiving the 

exemption and the regulatory provision 

or provisions from which an exemption 

is granted. The notice must specify the 

effective period of the exemption (up to 

5 years) and explain the terms and 

conditions of the exemption. The 

exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 

381.315(c) and 49 CFR 381.300(b)). 

Groendyke’s Application for Exemption 

Groendyke applied for an exemption 

from the requirements of 49 CFR 

393.25(e) which requires all exterior 

lamps (both required lamps and any 

additional lamps) to be steady-burning, 

with the exception of turn signal lamps, 

hazard warning signal lamps, school bus 

warning lamps, amber warning lamps or 

flashing warning lamps on tow trucks 

and CMVs transporting oversized loads, 

and warning lamps on emergency and 

service vehicles authorized by State or 

local authorities. Specifically, 

Groendyke is requesting the exemption 

to allow it to install pulsating brake 

lamps in addition to the steady-burning 

brake lamps required by the FMCSRs. A 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 146 / Monday, July 30, 2018 / Notices 36663 

1As cargo tank operators hauling hazardous 

materials, Groendyke drivers are required to stop or 

slow significantly at railroad crossings (49 CFR 

392.10–392.12). Groendyke notes that railroad 

crossings are a significant source of rear-end 

collisions at Groendyke and elsewhere because noncommercial drivers may not anticipate stops at 

railroad crossings. 

copy of the application is included in 

the docket referenced at the beginning 

of this notice. 

Groendyke is a carrier of flammable 

fuel and liquid hazardous materials. 

Groendyke has a fleet of approximately 

900 trucks and 1,440 trailers, and 

employs over 1,200 individuals, 

including approximately 900 drivers. In 

its application, Groendyke states 

‘‘Groendyke assessed what it could do 

to prevent other drivers from rear 

ending Groendyke trailers, and 

determined that increasing visibility of 

Groendyke trailers would be an efficient 

means to prevent rear ending accidents. 

To do this, Groendyke searched for 

ways to cause its braking system to 

capture the attention of other drivers 

faster and more completely.’’ 

In its application, Groendyke seeks an 

exemption to include an amber brakeactivated pulsating lamp to the rear of 

its trailers. The pulsating brake lamp 

would be positioned in the upper center 

portion of the trailer. In support of its 

application, Groendyke contends that 

the addition of the pulsating brake lamp 

will improve safety, and states that (1) 

research shows that pulsating brake 

lamps in addition to steady burning red 

brake lamps improves visibility and 

prevents accidents, (2) its own 

experience has demonstrated that 

pulsating brake lamps in addition to 

steady burning red brake lamps has 

decreased the frequency of rear-end 

accidents involving its fleet, and (3) 

similar exemptions exist for other 

classes of vehicles. 

Research. Groendyke cites several 

studies conducted by the National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 

another agency in the U.S. Department 

of Transportation, on the issues of rearend crashes, distracted driving, and 

braking signals. Groendyke states: 

Research indicates that there are ways to 

improve the attention-getting qualities of 

braking systems. Including a pulsating brake 

lamp on a lead vehicle has quantifiable effect 

on the drivers of following vehicles and 

measurably reduces rear-end collisions. 

Drivers are redirected and altered faster and 

more efficiently when a pulsating brake lamp 

draws their attention to the lead vehicle. As 

a result, rear-end collisions, can be prevented 

or at least reduced. 

Groendyke Experience. Beginning in 

the second quarter of 2015, Groendyke 

began installing pulsating brake lamps 

on some of its fleet without 

authorization from FMCSA to compare 

the frequency of rear-end collisions 

between (1) trailers equipped with 

pulsating brake lamps and the required 

steady-burning lamps and (2) trailers 

equipped with only the steady-burning 

lamps required by the FMCSRs. As of 

July 31, 2017, Groendyke had outfitted 

632 of its 1,440 trailers with pulsating 

brake lamps. 

Data gathered by Groendyke between 

January 2015 and July 2017 show that 

the pulsating brake lamps decreased the 

frequency of rear-end collisions by 33.7 

percent. Groendyke also analyzed its 

data to determine whether the pulsating 

brake lamps improved outcomes when 

drivers were slowing or stopping at 

railroad crossings.1 Groendyke found 

that trailers equipped with the pulsating 

brake lamps were not involved in a rearend crash at a railroad crossing during 

the same time period. Groendyke states: 

The results of the Groendyke Brake 

Warning Device Campaign are clear: The 

frequency of rear-end collisions is markedly 

lower when trailers are outfitted with 

pulsating brake lamps in addition to the 

steady-burning lamps required by the 

FMCSRs. The pulsating brake lamps draw 

other drivers’ attention to what is happening 

with the vehicle in front more effectively and 

more quickly than steady burning lamps. In 

the interest of safety and productivity, 

Groendyke desires to implement the 

Groendyke Brake Warning Device Campaign 

on the rest of its fleet without risking 

violation of the FMCSRs. 

Exemptions for Other Classes of 

Vehicles. In its application, Groendyke 

notes that the current requirements of 

49 CFR 393.25(e) specifically exclude 

tow trucks and CMVs from the 

requirements that all exterior lamps be 

steady-burning. Groendyke contends 

that ‘‘Allowing an exemption for drivers 

of hazardous loads would be consistent 

with the intent of the regulation.’’ 

Request for Comments 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 

and 31136(e), FMCSA requests public 

comment from all interested persons on 

Groendyke’s application for an 

exemption from the requirements of 49 

CFR 393.25(e). All comments received 

before the close of business on the 

comment closing date indicated at the 

beginning of this notice will be 

considered and will be available for 

examination in the docket at the 

location listed under the ADDRESSES

section of this notice. Comments 

received after the comment closing date 

will be filed in the public docket and 

will be considered to the extent 

practicable. In addition to late 

comments, FMCSA will also continue to 

file, in the public docket, relevant 

information that becomes available after 

the comment closing date. Interested 

persons should continue to examine the 

public docket for new material. 

Issued on: July 17, 2018. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16223 Filed 7–27–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2018–0119] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Request for Comments; 

Revision and Renewal of an Approved 

Information Collection: Medical 

Qualification Requirements 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

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 to revise and renew an ICR 

titled, ‘‘Medical Qualification 

Requirements,’’ due to updated 

information for several of the 

Information Collections (ICs) discussed. 

This ICR is needed to ensure that 

drivers, motor carriers and the States are 

complying with the physical 

qualification requirements of 

commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 

drivers. The information collected is 

used to determine and certify driver 

medical fitness and must be collected in 

order for our highways to be safe. On 

April 27, 2018, FMCSA published a 60- 

day notice (83 FR 18640) requesting 

comment on the renewal of this ICR. In 

response to this notice, eight comments 

were received. However, none of the 

comments were related to information 

collection activities or the renewal of 

this ICR. 

DATES: Please send your comments by 

August 29, 2018. 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–2018–0119. Interested persons 

are invited to submit written comments 

on the proposed information collection 

to the Office of Information and 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES