Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 239 / Thursday, December 14, 2023 / Notices 86723 

unbound format, no larger than 81⁄2 by 

11 inches, suitable for copying and 

electronic filing. 

Comments received after the comment 

closing date will be included in the 

docket and will be considered to the 

extent practicable. 

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. 

Background 

FMCSA registers for-hire motor 

carriers of regulated commodities and of 

passengers under 49 U.S.C. 13902(a); 

surface freight forwarders under 49 

U.S.C. 13903; property brokers under 49 

U.S.C. 13904; and certain Mexico 

domiciled motor carriers under 49 

U.S.C. 13902(c). These motor carriers 

may conduct transportation services in 

the United States only if they are 

registered with FMCSA. Each 

registration is effective from the date 

specified and remains in effect for such 

period as the Secretary of 

Transportation (Secretary) determines 

by regulations. 

Prior to 2015, all entities seeking 

authority (both first-time applicants and 

registered entities seeking additional 

authorities) were required to apply for 

such authority using the OP–1 series of 

forms, including OP–1, OP–1(P), OP– 

1(FF), OP–1(NNA), and OP–1(MX) (for 

Mexico-domiciled carriers only). 

The final rule titled ‘‘Unified 

Registration System,’’ (78 FR 52608) 

dated August 23, 2013, implemented 

statutory provisions for an online 

registration system for entities that are 

subject to FMCSA’s licensing, 

registration, and certification 

regulations. The Unified Registration 

System (URS) streamlines the 

registration process and serves as a 

clearinghouse and repository of 

information on motor carriers, brokers, 

freight forwarders, intermodal 

equipment providers, hazardous 

materials safety permit applicants, and 

cargo tank facilities required to register 

with FMCSA. When developing URS, 

FMCSA planned that the OP–1 series of 

forms—except for OP–1(MX)—would 

ultimately be folded into one 

overarching electronic application 

(MCSA–1) which would be used by all 

motor carriers seeking authority. 

FMCSA began a phased rollout of 

URS in 2015. The first phase, which 

went into effect on December 12, 2015, 

impacted only first-time applicants 

seeking an FMCSA-issued registration. 

FMCSA had planned subsequent rollout 

phases for existing registrants; however, 

there were substantial delays, and 

subsequent phases have not been rolled 

out to date. 

On January 17, 2017, FMCSA issued 

a final rule titled ‘‘Unified Registration 

System; Suspension of Effectiveness,’’ 

which indefinitely suspended URS 

effective dates for existing registrants 

only (82 FR 5292). Pursuant to this final 

rule, FMCSA is still accepting forms 

OP–1, OP–1(P), OP–1(FF), and OP– 

1(NNA) for existing registrants wishing 

to apply for additional authorities. 

Separately, FMCSA requires Form OP– 

1(MX) for new and existing Mexicodomiciled motor carriers that wish to 

operate beyond the U.S. municipalities 

on the U.S.-Mexico border and their 

commercial zones. Information 

collected through URS, utilizing the 

MCSA–1, does not include registration 

form OP–1(MX), which continues to 

remain a paper form outside URS. 

Forms in the OP–1 series request 

information to identify the applicant, 

the nature and scope of its proposed 

operations, a narrative description of the 

applicant’s safety policies and 

procedures, and information regarding 

the drivers and vehicles it plans to use 

in U.S. operations. The OP–1 series also 

requests information on the applicant’s 

familiarity with relevant safety 

requirements, the applicant’s 

willingness to comply with those 

requirements during its operations, and 

the applicant’s willingness to meet any 

specific statutory and regulatory 

requirements applicable to its proposed 

operations. Information collected 

through these forms aids FMCSA in 

determining the type of operation a 

company may run, the cargo it may 

carry, and the resulting level of 

insurance coverage the applicant will be 

required to obtain and maintain to 

continue its operating authority. 

Changes From Previous Estimates 

The currently approved version of 

this ICR estimated the average annual 

burden to be 162,476 annual burden 

hours, with 81,209 total annual 

respondents. For this renewal the 

estimated average annual burden is 

318,656, with 159,312 total average 

annual respondents. The annual burden 

hourly increase of 156,180 is due to an 

increase in the number of entities that 

registered 2020 through 2022 and were 

required to obtain operating authority 

registration. The average number of 

entities which registered in the threeyear period 2020 and 2022 increased by 

96 percent compared to the number that 

registered 2017 through 2019. 

Title: Licensing Applications for 

Motor Carrier Operating Authority. 

OMB Control Number: 2126–0016. 

Type of Request: Renewal of a 

currently approved ICR. 

Respondents: Carrier compliance 

officer or equivalent from motor 

carriers, motor passenger carriers, 

freight forwarders, brokers, and certain 

Mexico-domiciled motor carriers subject 

to FMCSA’s licensing, registration, and 

certification regulations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

159,312. 

Estimated Time per Response: 2 hours 

for forms OP–1, OP–1(P) and OP–1(FF); 

4 hours for forms OP–1(MX) and OP– 

1(NNA). 

Expiration Date: May 31, 2024. 

Frequency of Response: Other (as 

needed). 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

318,656. 

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 

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 collected 

information. The Agency will 

summarize or include your comments in 

the request for OMB’s clearance of this 

ICR. 

Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87. 

Thomas P. Keane, 

Associate Administrator, Office of Research 

and Registration. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27455 Filed 12–13–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2023–0100] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Renewal of an Approved 

Information Collection: Accident 

Recordkeeping Requirements 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), Department 

of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
86724 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 239 / Thursday, December 14, 2023 / Notices 

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 its 

review and approval and invites public 

comment. FMCSA requests approval to 

renew the ICR titled ‘‘Accident 

Recordkeeping Requirements.’’ This ICR 

relates to Agency requirements that 

motor carriers maintain a record of 

accidents involving their commercial 

motor vehicles (CMVs). Motor carriers 

are not required to report this data to 

FMCSA, but must produce it upon 

inquiry by authorized Federal, State, or 

local officials. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received on or before January 16, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this information 

collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 

30-day Review—Open for Public 

Comments’’ or by using the search 

function. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Pearlie Robinson, Driver and Carrier 

Operations Division, DOT, FMCSA, 

West Building, 6th Floor, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 

20590–0001; 202–366–4225; 

pearlie.robinson@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: 

Accident Recordkeeping Requirements. 

OMB Control Number: 2126–0009. 

Type of Request: Renewal of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents: Motor carriers. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

93,280. 

Estimated Time per Response: 18 

minutes. 

Expiration Date: February 29, 2024. 

Frequency of Response: On occasion. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

48,760 burden hours (162,533 accidents 

× 18 minutes per response/60 minutes 

in an hour = 48,760 hours). 

Definitions: Accident is an occurrence 

involving a CMV operating on a public 

road which results in: (1) a fatality, (2) 

bodily injury to a person who, as a 

result of the injury, immediately 

receives medical treatment away from 

the scene of the accident, or (3) one or 

more motor vehicles incurring disabling 

damage as a result of the accident, 

requiring the motor vehicle(s) to be 

transported away from the scene by a 

tow truck or other motor vehicle (see 49 

CFR 390.5T). 

Background 

Title 49 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR), section 390.15(b), 

requires motor carriers to make certain 

specified records and information 

pertaining to CMV accidents available to 

an authorized representative or special 

agent of FMCSA upon request or as part 

of an inquiry. Motor carriers are 

required to maintain an ‘‘accident 

register’’ consisting of information 

concerning all accidents involving their 

CMVs (§ 390.15(b) (see Definition: 

Accident above)). The following 

information must be recorded for each 

accident: date, location, driver name, 

number of injuries, number of fatalities, 

and whether certain dangerous 

hazardous materials were released. In 

addition, the motor carrier must 

maintain copies of all accident reports 

required by insurers or governmental 

entities. Motor carriers must maintain 

this information for 3 years after the 

date of the accident. Section 390.15 

does not require motor carriers to 

submit any information or records to 

FMCSA or any other party. 

This ICR supports the DOT strategic 

goal of safety. By requiring motor 

carriers to gather and record information 

concerning CMV accidents, FMCSA is 

strengthening its ability to assess the 

safety performance of motor carriers. 

This information is a valuable resource 

in Agency initiatives to prevent, and 

reduce the severity of, CMV crashes. 

The Agency has modified several of 

its estimates for this ICR. The estimated 

number of annual respondents have 

increased, while the number of 

responses, burden hours, and annual 

costs to respondents have decreased. 

Explanations for these changes are 

summarized below. 

The previously approved burden is 

55,425 burden hours. The Agency 

decreases its estimate to 48,760 burden 

hours. The text of § 390.15(b) is 

unchanged; the decrease in burden 

hours does not reflect changes in the 

requirements for accident 

recordkeeping. The adjustment in 

annual burden hours is due to an 

increase in the number of annual 

respondents from 89,270 to 93,280, and 

a decrease in the estimate of the number 

of reportable accidents from 184,749 to 

162,533 per year, using interstate and 

intrastate DOT-reportable motor carrier 

crash records in FMCSA’s Motor Carrier 

Management Information System for 

calendar years 2020 through 2022. 

This ICR includes estimated labor 

costs associated with maintaining the 

accident register. The estimated annual 

labor cost for industry resulting from the 

accident register reporting requirements 

is decreased from $1.86 million to $1.51 

million. 

Finally, the estimated annual cost 

associated with accident recordkeeping 

(outside of labor costs) is decreased 

from $106,785 to $93,944. In the current 

iteration of this ICR, FMCSA is 

assuming that (1) approximately 15 

percent of motor carriers are storing 

their Accident Registers electronically, 

at no extra cost, and (2) approximately 

85 percent of motor carriers are storing 

hard copy versions of their accident 

registers. FMCSA is further assuming 

that motor carriers that maintain paper 

records are storing their accident 

registers at their primary place of 

business, so that they have easy access 

to such records during an FMCSA 

investigation. 

On August 8, 2023, FMCSA published 

a notice in the Federal Register with a 

60-day public comment period 

announcing the proposed renewal of 

this ICR (88 FR 53579). The Agency 

received four comments. Two 

commenters, Philip Clark and an 

anonymous individual, submitted 

comments opposing the underlying 

regulatory requirement for an accident 

register. Michael Dolezal, a third 

individual, submitted comments that 

were neither in support of nor against 

the ICR renewal. The National Motor 

Freight Traffic Association, Inc. 

(NMFTA) submitted comments in favor 

of renewing this ICR, and suggested 

additional information be added to the 

accident register. 

None of the commenters addressed 

whether the proposed collection is 

necessary for the accuracy of the 

estimated burden; nor the ways the 

burden could be minimized without 

reducing the quality of the collected 

information. 

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 

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 collected 

information. The Agency will 

summarize or include your comments in 

the request for OMB’s clearance of this 

ICR. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 239 / Thursday, December 14, 2023 / Notices 86725 

Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 

1.87. 

Thomas P. Keane, 

Associate Administrator, Office of Research 

and Registration. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27456 Filed 12–13–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2023–0159] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Renewal of an Approved 

Information Collection: Inspection, 

Repair and Maintenance 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), Department 

of Transportation (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 its 

review and approval and invites public 

comment. The information collection 

concerns records of inspection, repair, 

and maintenance of commercial motor 

vehicles (CMVs). FMCSA is seeking to 

renew an ICR titled, ‘‘Inspection, Repair 

and Maintenance.’’ 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received on or before January 16, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this information 

collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 

30-day Review—Open for Public 

Comments’’ or by using the search 

function. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Jose R. Cestero, Vehicle and Roadside 

Operations Division, DOT, FMCSA, 

West Building, 6th Floor, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 

20590; 202–366–5541; jose.cestero@

dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Inspection, Repair and 

Maintenance. 

OMB Control Number: 2126–0003. 

Type of Request: Renewal of a 

currently approved information 

collection. 

Respondents: Motor carriers and CMV 

drivers. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

757,652 motor carriers and 5,646,722 

drivers. 

Estimated Time per Response: Varies 

according to the requirements for 

specific records. 

Expiration Date: December 31, 2023. 

Frequency of Response: Varies 

according to requirements for specific 

records. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

19,103,153 hours [14,602,802 hours for 

inspection, repair, and maintenance + 

3,516,342 hours for driver inspection 

reports + 161,528 hours for disposition 

of roadside inspection reports + 777,864 

hours for periodic inspections + 23,571 

hours for records of inspector 

qualifications + 21,046 hours for records 

of brake inspector qualifications]. 

Background 

The Secretary of Transportation 

(Secretary) is authorized under the 

provisions of 49 U.S.C. 31502 to 

prescribe requirements for, among other 

things, safety of operations of 

equipment of motor carriers that operate 

CMVs in interstate commerce. Under 49 

U.S.C. 31136, the Secretary also has 

authority to prescribe regulations to 

ensure that CMVs are maintained, 

equipped, loaded, and operated safely. 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31142 the Secretary 

must establish standards for annual or 

more frequent inspections of CMVs. The 

Secretary’s authority to establish 

improved standards or methods to 

ensure brakes and brake systems of 

CMVs are inspected by appropriate 

employees and maintained properly is 

provided under 49 U.S.C. 31137(g). 

Motor carriers must maintain, or 

require maintenance of, records 

documenting the inspection, repair and 

maintenance activities performed on 

their owned and leased vehicles. There 

are no prescribed forms. Electronic 

recordkeeping is allowed (see 49 Code 

of Federal Regulations (CFR) 390.31(d)). 

Documents requiring a signature must 

be capable of replication (e.g., 

photocopy, facsimile, etc.) in such form 

that will provide an opportunity for 

signature verification upon demand. 

Also, if electronic recordkeeping is 

used, all the relevant data on the 

original documents must be included in 

the electronic transmission for the 

records to be valid. 

Most motor carriers would keep some 

records without any regulatory 

requirements to do so. Records of 

inspection, repair, and maintenance; 

roadside inspection reports; driver 

vehicle inspection reports; the 

documentation of periodic inspections; 

the evidence of the qualifications of 

individuals performing periodic 

inspections; and the evidence of brake 

inspectors’ qualifications contain the 

minimum amount of information 

necessary to document that a motor 

carrier has established a system of 

inspection, repair, and maintenance for 

its equipment which meets the 

standards in 49 CFR part 396. 

FMCSA and its representatives use 

these records to verify motor carriers’ 

compliance with the inspection, repair, 

and maintenance standards in part 396. 

This ICR supports DOT’s strategic goal 

of safety. The ICR also ensures that 

motor carriers have adequate records to 

document the inspection, repair, and 

maintenance of their CMVs, and to 

ensure that adequate measures are taken 

to keep their CMVs in safe and proper 

operating condition at all times. 

Compliance with the inspection, repair, 

and maintenance regulations helps to 

reduce the likelihood of accidents 

attributable, in whole or in part, to the 

mechanical condition of the CMV. 

This ICR submittal includes updated 

data regarding the number of motor 

carriers subject to the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Regulations, vehicle 

counts, inspections, and other 

underlying data used to estimate the 

total burden hours. 

If the recordkeeping were required to 

be completed less frequently, it would 

greatly hinder the ability of FMCSA and 

State officials and representatives to 

ascertain that CMVs are satisfactorily 

maintained. The timely documentation 

of CMV inspection, repair, and 

maintenance enables FMCSA and State 

officials to evaluate the present state of 

a motor carrier’s CMV maintenance 

program and to check the current level 

of regulatory compliance at any point in 

a carrier’s maintenance schedule or 

program. 

FMCSA has identified periodic 

inspection standards of 22 States, the 

District of Columbia, the Alabama 

Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board, 10 

Canadian Provinces, and one Canadian 

Territory that are comparable to, or as 

effective as, the Federal periodic 

inspection requirements. FMCSA does 

not require Federal periodic inspections 

and the related recordkeeping for motor 

carriers that comply with these 

equivalent periodic inspection 

programs. FMCSA is not aware of any 

other duplicative standards or 

recordkeeping requirements that apply 

to motor carriers. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1