45300 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 173 / Thursday, September 6, 2018 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2018–0237] 

Hours of Service of Drivers: American 

Concrete Pavement Association, Inc.; 

Application for Exemption 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of application for 

exemption; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it has 

received an application from the 

American Concrete Pavement 

Association, Inc. (ACPA) requesting 

exemptions from two requirements of 

the hours-of-service (HOS) regulations 

for drivers of certain commercial motor 

vehicles (CMVs) operated by ACPA 

members: The 30-minute rest break 

provision; and the requirement that 

short-haul drivers utilizing the record of 

duty status (RODS) exception return to 

their work-reporting location within 12 

hours of coming on duty. The first 

exemption would enable drivers 

engaged in the transportation of readymixed concrete in vehicles, other than 

those outfitted with rotating mixer 

drums, and related materials and 

equipment to use 30 minutes or more of 

on-duty ‘‘waiting time’’ to satisfy the 

requirement for the 30-minute rest 

break, provided they do not perform any 

other work during the break. The second 

exemption would allow these drivers to 

use the short-haul exception but return 

to their work-reporting location within 

14 hours instead of the usual 12 hours. 

FMCSA requests public comment on 

ACPA’s application for exemptions. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before October 9, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Federal Docket 

Management System Number FMCSA– 

0237–0237 by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. See the Public 

Participation and Request for Comments 

section below for further information. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: West 

Building, Ground Floor, Room W12– 

140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

Each submission must include the 

Agency name and the docket number for 

this notice. Note that DOT posts all 

comments received without change to 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information included in a 

comment. Please see the Privacy Act 

heading below. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments, go to www.regulations.gov at 

any time or visit Room W12–140 on the 

ground level of the West Building, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, 

DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. The on-line FDMS is available 

24 hours each day, 365 days each year. 

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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information concerning this notice, 

please contact Mr. Richard Clemente, 

FMCSA Driver and Carrier Operations 

Division; Telephone: (202) 366–2722; 

Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. If you have 

questions on viewing or submitting 

material to the docket, contact Docket 

Services, telephone (202) 366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation and Request for 

Comments 

FMCSA encourages you to participate 

by submitting comments and related 

materials. 

Submitting Comments 

If you submit a comment, please 

include the docket number for this 

notice (FMCSA–2018–0237), indicate 

the specific section of this document to 

which the comment applies, and 

provide a reason for suggestions or 

recommendations. You may submit 

your comments and material online or 

by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but 

please use only one of these means. 

FMCSA recommends that you include 

your name and a mailing address, an 

email address, or a phone number in the 

body of your document so the Agency 

can contact you if it has questions 

regarding your submission. 

To submit your comment online, go to 

www.regulations.gov and put the docket 

number, ‘‘FMCSA–2018–0237’’ in the 

‘‘Keyword’’ box, and click ‘‘Search.’’ 

When the new screen appears, click on 

‘‘Comment Now!’’ button and type your 

comment into the text box in the 

following screen. Choose whether you 

are submitting your comment as an 

individual or on behalf of a third party 

and then submit. If you submit your 

comments by mail or hand delivery, 

submit them in an unbound format, no 

larger than 81⁄2 by 11 inches, suitable for 

copying and electronic filing. If you 

submit comments by mail and would 

like to know that they reached the 

facility, please enclose a stamped, selfaddressed postcard or envelope. FMCSA 

will consider all comments and material 

received during the comment period 

and may grant or not grant this 

application based on your comments. 

II. Legal Basis 

FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 

31136(e) and 31315 to grant exemptions 

from certain Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). FMCSA 

must publish a notice of each exemption 

request in the Federal Register (49 CFR 

381.315(a)). The Agency must provide 

the public 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 safety analyses 

and public comments submitted, 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)) with the reasons for 

denying or granting the application and, 

if granted, the name of the person or 

class of persons receiving the 

exemption, and the regulatory provision 

from which the exemption is granted. 

The notice must also specify the 

effective period (up to 5 years) and 

explain the terms and conditions of the 

exemption. The exemption may be 

renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)). 

III. Request for Exemption 

ACPA seeks exemptions for all drivers 

of member companies transporting 

ready-mixed concrete and related 

materials and equipment from the HOS 

30-minute rest break provision in 49 

CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii) and the restriction of 

the RODS exception for short-haul 

operations to drivers who return to their 

normal work-reporting location within 

12 hours [49 CFR 395.1(e)(1)(ii)(A)]. 

The first exemption from the HOS rest 

break provision, if granted, would 

enable drivers engaged in the 

transportation of ready-mixed concrete 

in vehicles, other than those outfitted 

with rotating mixer drums, and related 

materials to use 30 minutes or more of 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 173 / Thursday, September 6, 2018 / Notices 45301 

1The hours-of-service regulations define ‘‘ready 

mixed concrete delivery vehicle’’ to mean ‘‘a 

vehicle designed to deliver ready-mixed concrete 

on a daily basis and equipped with a mechanism 

under which the vehicle’s propulsion engine 

provides the power to operate a mixer drum to 

agitate and mix the product en route to the delivery 

site.’’ 49 CFR 395.2. 

on-duty ‘‘waiting time’’ to satisfy the 

requirement for the 30-minute rest 

break, provided they do not perform any 

other work during the break. According 

to ACPA, a typical mainline paving 

project (i.e., pavement for highways, 

airports, streets, and large industrial 

facilities) involves mixing of concrete at 

a central mix batch plant located 3–10 

miles from the paving site, transport of 

the freshly mixed concrete to the paving 

machine, placement of the concrete 

pavement, texturing of the slab surface, 

curing of the concrete slab, and finally 

saw-cutting of the pavement. ACPA 

advises that all steps in this process are 

time-critical, as concrete mixtures are 

extremely perishable. Employees must 

coordinate and direct a complex series 

of logistical steps, one of the most 

important elements of which is the 

delivery of the concrete within a time 

frame specified by the transportation 

agency or owner. The concrete is 

essentially made to order, then 

delivered by end-dump trucks so there 

is a steady and constant delivery of 

material that keeps pace with the paving 

equipment. Any issue that that delays 

the well-orchestrated, just-in-time 

delivery of batches of concrete can 

result in batches being turned away by 

inspectors, the paving operation being 

shut down temporarily, and ultimately, 

cause time and cost overruns. According 

to ACPA, the criticality of concrete 

delivery from plant to paving site is 

arguably one of the most important 

factors in a paving process. 

The second exemption, if granted, 

would allow these same drivers to use 

the short-haul RODS exception, but 

with a 14-hour duty period instead of 12 

hours. ACPA advises that, while some 

short-haul drivers will be able to take 

advantage of the exception from the 30- 

minute break, other drivers are often 

required to be on duty more than 12 

hours in a day and therefore are not 

eligible to use the short-haul exception. 

Although drivers using the short-haul 

exception in 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1) are not 

required to take the minimum 30- 

minute rest break [49 CFR 

395.3(a)(3)(ii)], the extension of the 

short-haul 12 hour limit to 14 hours, if 

granted, might be construed by some to 

require the 30-minute break; therefore, 

ACPA is requesting the second 

exemption from the rest break 

requirement. 

ACPA mentioned that drivers of 

ready-mixed concrete delivery vehicles 

were previously granted an exemption 

from the minimum 30-minute rest break 

provision.1 FMCSA granted the National 

Ready Mixed Concrete Association a 

limited exemption from the 30-minute 

break requirement of the driver HOS 

regulations [80 FR 17819 April 2, 2015]. 

Similarly, on January 26, 2018, FMCSA 

granted an exemption to the National 

Asphalt Pavement Association for 

drivers engaged in the transportation of 

asphalt and related materials and 

equipment from: (1) The 30-minute rest 

break requirement; and (2) the 12-hour 

daily on-duty limit on the short-haul 

exception, which was expanded to 14 

hours [83 FR 3864]. ACPA states that 

‘‘the same reasoning supporting the 

exemptions from the 30-minute break 

time rule and allowing a 14-hour daily 

duty-period for drivers of ready-mixed 

concrete vehicles, and drivers engaged 

in the transportation of asphalt and 

related materials, applies to drivers 

engaged in the transportation of readymixed concrete in vehicles, other than 

those outfitted with rotating mixer 

drums, and related materials and 

equipment. These are all perishable 

products that are not useable if they are 

not dropped and spread within a brief 

delivery window. Because of this short 

delivery window, the routes from the 

production facility to the delivery site 

for both products are limited, usually 

between 3–10 miles, and the time spent 

actually driving a commercial motor 

vehicle is typically only a few hours per 

day. Thus, the drivers do not face the 

same fatigue factors as drivers of longhaul trucks, and therefore do not pose 

the same risk of a fatigue-related 

accident as long-haul drivers.’’ 

ACPA states in its application that the 

exemptions would not have any adverse 

impacts on operational safety, as drivers 

would remain subject to the HOS 

regulations in 49 CFR 395.3, and would 

receive sufficient rest due to the nature 

of their operations that limit driving to 

an average of only 80–100 miles per day 

during the paving season. ACPA 

believes that granting these exemptions 

would achieve the same level of safety 

provided by the two HOS rules. The 

term of the requested exemptions is for 

5 years, subject to renewal upon 

application. A copy of ACPA’s 

application for exemptions is available 

for review in the docket for this notice. 

Issued on: August 28, 2018. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19257 Filed 9–5–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

[FTA Docket No. FTA 2018–0009] 

Agency Information Collection Activity 

Under OMB Review 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of request for comments. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces that the Information 

Collection Requirements (ICRs) 

abstracted below have been forwarded 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for review and comment. The 

ICR describes the nature of the 

information collection and their 

expected burdens. The Federal Register 

notice with a 60-day comment period 

soliciting comments on the following 

collection of information was published 

on May 31, 2018. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before October 9, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tia 

Swain, Office of Administration, 

Management Planning Division, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Mail Stop TAD– 

10, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366– 

0354 or tia.swain@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), Public Law 104–13, Section 2, 

109 Stat. 163 (1995) (codified as revised 

at 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), and its 

implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 

1320, require Federal agencies to issue 

two notices seeking public comment on 

information collection activities before 

OMB may approve paperwork packages. 

44 U.S.C. 3506, 3507; 5 CFR 1320.5, 

1320.8(d)(1), 1320.12. On May 31, 2018, 

FTA published a 60-day notice (83 FR 

25103) in the Federal Register soliciting 

comments on the ICR that the agency 

was seeking OMB approval. FTA 

received no comments from this 

publication. Accordingly, DOT 

announces that these information 

collection activities have been reevaluated and certified under 5 CFR 

1320.5(a) and forwarded to OMB for 

review and approval pursuant to 5 CFR 

1320.12(c). 

Before OMB decides whether to 

approve these proposed collections of 

information, it must provide 30 days for 

public comment. 44 U.S.C. 3507(b); 5 

CFR 1320.12(d). Federal law requires 

OMB to approve or disapprove 

paperwork packages between 30 and 60 

days after the 30-day notice is 

published. 44 U.S.C. 3507 (b)–(c); 5 CFR 

1320.12(d); see also 60 FR 44978, 44983, 


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