Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 20, 2023 / Notices 88213 

1For purposes of this General Directive, transit 

worker means any employee, contractor, or 

volunteer working on behalf of a transit agency, 

who comes into contact with the public while 

performing their duties. 

II. Background 

On October 31, 2023, FMCSA 

published a notice announcing its 

decision to renew exemptions for 13 

individuals from the hearing standard in 

49 CFR 391.41(b)(11) to operate a CMV 

in interstate commerce and requested 

comments from the public (88 FR 

74560). The public comment period 

ended on November 30, 2023, and no 

comments were received. 

FMCSA has evaluated the eligibility 

of these applicants and determined that 

renewing these exemptions would likely 

achieve a level of safety that is 

equivalent to, or greater than, the level 

that would be achieved by complying 

with § 391.41(b)(11). 

The physical qualification standard 

for drivers regarding hearing found in 

§ 391.41(b)(11) states that a person is 

physically qualified to drive a CMV if 

that person first perceives a forced 

whispered voice in the better ear at not 

less than 5 feet with or without the use 

of a hearing aid or, if tested by use of 

an audiometric device, does not have an 

average hearing loss in the better ear 

greater than 40 decibels at 500 Hz, 1,000 

Hz, and 2,000 Hz with or without a 

hearing aid when the audiometric 

device is calibrated to American 

National Standard (formerly ASA 

Standard) Z24.5—1951. 

This standard was adopted in 1970 

and was revised in 1971 to allow drivers 

to be qualified under this standard 

while wearing a hearing aid (35 FR 

6458, 6463 (Apr. 22, 1970) and 36 FR 

12857 (July 8, 1971), respectively). 

III. Discussion of Comments 

FMCSA received no comments in this 

proceeding. 

IV. Conclusion 

Based upon its evaluation of the 13 

renewal exemption applications, 

FMCSA announces its decision to 

exempt the following drivers from the 

hearing requirement in § 391.41(b)(11). 

As of November 19, 2023, and in 

accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 

31315(b), the following 13 individuals 

have satisfied the renewal conditions for 

obtaining an exemption from the 

hearing requirement in the FMCSRs for 

interstate CMV drivers (88 FR 74561): 

Jeffrey Barbuto (NH) 

Wayne Crowl (IN) 

Debbie Gaskill (GA) 

Jason Gensler (OH) 

Emil Iontchev (IL) 

Jerrell McCrary (NC) 

Danny McGowan (WV) 

Matthew Moore (TX) 

Abdiwahab Olow (MN) 

Stuart Randles (FL) 

Anthony Saive (TN) 

Jennifer Valentine (TX) 

Donald Weyand (MI) 

The drivers were included in docket 

numbers FMCSA–2014–0383, FMCSA– 

2014–0385, FMCSA–2014–0387, 

FMCSA–2018–0139, FMCSA–2019– 

0109, FMCSA–2019–0110, or FMCSA– 

2021–0015. Their exemptions were 

applicable as of November 19, 2023 and 

will expire on November 19, 2025. 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

31315(b), each exemption will be valid 

for 2 years from the effective date unless 

revoked earlier by FMCSA. The 

exemption will be revoked if the 

following occurs: (1) the person fails to 

comply with the terms and conditions 

of the exemption; (2) the exemption has 

resulted in a lower level of safety than 

was maintained prior to being granted; 

or (3) continuation of the exemption 

would not be consistent with the goals 

and objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31136, 49 

U.S.C. chapter 313, or the FMCSRs. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27994 Filed 12–19–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

[Docket No. FTA–2023–0032] 

Proposed General Directive 24–1: 

Required Actions Regarding Assaults 

on Transit Workers 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), Department of Transportation 

(DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed general 

directive; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) is proposing a 

General Directive to address the 

significant and continuing nationallevel safety risk related to assaults on 

transit workers. The General Directive 

would require each transit agency 

subject to FTA’s Public Transportation 

Agency Safety Plans (PTASP) regulation 

to conduct a safety risk assessment, 

identify safety risk mitigations or 

strategies, and provide information to 

FTA on how it is assessing, mitigating, 

and monitoring the safety risk 

associated with assaults on transit 

workers. As required by the Bipartisan 

Infrastructure Law, each transit agency 

serving a large urbanized area must 

involve the joint labor-management 

Safety Committee when identifying 

safety risk mitigations. 

DATES: Comments should be filed by 

February 20, 2024. FTA will consider 

comments received after that date to the 

extent practicable. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

identified by docket number FTA– 

2023–0032, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for sending comments. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• 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/Courier: West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name (Federal 

Transit Administration and Docket 

Number (FTA–2023–0032). All 

comments received will be posted 

without change to https://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. 

Docket: For internet access to the 

docket to read background documents 

and comments received, go to https://

www.regulations.gov. Background 

documents and comments received may 

also be viewed at the U.S. Department 

of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. 

SE, Docket Operations, M–30, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001, between 9 

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

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

program matters, contact Stewart Mader, 

Office of Transit Safety and Oversight, 

(202) 366–9677 or stewart.mader@

dot.gov. For legal matters, contact 

Heather Ueyama, Office of Chief 

Counsel, (202) 366–7374 or 

heather.ueyama@dot.gov. 

Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FTA is 

seeking comment on a proposed General 

Directive to address the significant and 

continuing nationwide safety risk 

associated with assaults on transit 

workers.1 This General Directive is part 

of FTA’s ongoing comprehensive efforts 

to improve transit worker safety. FTA is 

also undertaking other actions related to 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
88214 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 20, 2023 / Notices 

2A major event reported as an assault, defined in 

the NTD at the time the data was collected is an 

unlawful attack by one person upon another, or 

homicide where a transit worker received 

immediate medical attention away from the scene 

or died within 30 days of the event. This includes 

NTD reporters that are required to report detailed 

safety and security data to the NTD (full reporters). 

Full reporters include all rail transit agencies and 

all urban transit providers with more than 30 

vehicles operated in maximum service. Full 

reporters account for approximately 86% of all 

public transit service reported to the NTD (as 

measured by vehicle revenue miles). 

3https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/ 

files/Final_TRACS_Assaults_Report_14-01_07_06_

15_pdf_rv6.pdf. 

4https://www.cutr.usf.edu/wp-content/uploads/ 

2012/10/TCRP-Synthesis-93-Report.pdf. 

5https://www.osha.gov/workplace-violence. 

6https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/96-100/ 

default.html. 

7https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FTA-2021- 

0012/comments. 

8FTA has defined hazard to mean any real or 

potential condition that can cause injury, illness, or 

death; damage to or loss of the facilities, equipment, 

rolling stock, or infrastructure of a public 

transportation system; or damage to the 

environment. 49 CFR 673.5. A national-level hazard 

is one that exists at transit agencies across the 

country. 

9https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-andguidance/safety/public-transportation-agencysafety-program/sample-safety-risk. 

10https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-andguidance/safety/public-transportation-agencysafety-program/sample-safety-risk-0. 

transit worker safety, including funding 

research, sponsoring training, soliciting 

public input, providing technical 

assistance. FTA intends to use 

information submitted to it pursuant to 

the General Directive and other FTA 

initiatives to inform future FTA actions, 

including rulemakings such as the 

planned Transit Worker and Public 

Safety rule. 

Assaults on Transit Workers: NationalLevel Hazard 

From 2008 to 2021, the National 

Transit Database (NTD) documented an 

average of 241 assaults on transit 

workers major events 2 per year, 

including 192 per year occurring on 

transit vehicles, 44 per year occurring in 

transit revenue facilities, and five per 

year occurring in other non-public 

locations, such as maintenance shops 

and yards. The number of reported 

assaults on transit workers per 100 

million vehicle revenue miles (VRM) 

increased by an average of eight percent 

per year from 2008 to 2021—a 121 

percent total increase from the 2008 rate 

of assaults on transit workers. 

The NTD data collected and 

published in this period does not reflect 

the number and rate of all assaults on 

transit workers because it does not 

include assaults on transit workers that 

did not require medical attention. In the 

past, NTD reporting requirements 

focused on the most serious events that 

met the NTD ‘‘major event’’ reporting 

threshold, as defined by the NTD 

reporting manual. The Bipartisan 

Infrastructure Law, enacted as the 

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 

(Pub. L. 117–58), significantly expands 

the data that FTA will collect through 

the NTD on assaults on transit workers. 

To implement this requirement, FTA 

recently finalized new NTD reporting 

requirements regarding assaults on 

transit workers on February 23, 2023, 

(88 FR 11506) and has begun collecting 

expanded data. 

While FTA does not collect data on 

precursor events to assaults, industry 

experts cite anecdotal evidence that 

assaults on operators are a product of 

direct interaction with the public 3 and 

that disputes over fares and other policy 

enforcement activities are a significant 

contributor to assaults on operators.4

The Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration states that workers who 

exchange money as part of their job 

duties, work in customer service or 

public service, and work alone are at 

higher risk for workplace violence.5

Similarly, the National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health found 

that risk factors for workplace assault 

include interaction with the public, 

exchanging money, delivering 

passengers, having a mobile workplace, 

working alone, working late or early 

hours, and working in high-crime areas 

or community settings.6 Many transit 

workers who perform their duties on 

transit vehicles and in revenue facilities, 

such as vehicle operators, station agents, 

and maintenance workers, perform their 

duties in such conditions. 

Respondents to FTA’s 2021 Request 

for Information (RFI) on transit worker 

safety 7 proposed numerous actions 

applicable across various types of 

agencies to protect transit workers from 

assault. These proposals included 

reducing bus operator involvement in 

fare and other policy enforcement; 

increasing frontline worker training on 

customer service, policy enforcement, 

and de-escalation; and changing bus 

designs to use barriers, among other 

mitigations. Responses also indicated 

that any new requirements for safety 

risk mitigations should be broad and 

flexible enough to work for transit 

agencies of all sizes and across all 

modes. 

Based on this information, FTA has 

determined that there is a national-level 

hazard 8 that transit workers must 

interact with the public, and, at times, 

must clarify or enforce agency policies, 

which presents a risk of transit workers 

being assaulted on transit vehicles and 

in revenue facilities. 

Previous FTA Efforts To Address 

Assaults on Transit Workers 

In a 2019 Federal Register notice (84 

FR 24196) FTA highlighted that in cases 

where a transit agency identifies 

hazards associated with assaults on 

transit operators, the PTASP regulation 

(49 CFR part 673) requires the agency to 

use the SMS Safety Risk Management 

(SRM) processes documented in its 

Agency Safety Plan (ASP) to assess the 

associated safety risk and, based on the 

results of the safety risk assessment, 

identify safety risk mitigations or 

strategies as necessary to address the 

safety risk. 

In 2021, concerned about the 

continued rise in reported assaults on 

transit workers, FTA analyzed through 

its internal SRM process the hazard that 

transit workers must interact with the 

public, and, at times, must clarify or 

enforce agency policies. FTA conducted 

a safety risk assessment to determine the 

likelihood and severity of two potential 

consequences of this hazard: assaults on 

transit workers on board transit 

vehicles, and assaults on transit workers 

in revenue facilities. 

The SRM process helps FTA 

determine effective and appropriate risk 

mitigations, such as technical assistance 

or regulatory responses, to support 

transit agencies in cultivating safer 

environments for their workers and 

riders. To support this SRM process, 

FTA established a likelihood scale, 

severity scale, and risk matrix for 

conducting a safety risk assessment for 

each identified potential consequence of 

a hazard. FTA uses these scales and risk 

matrix to determine a risk rating that 

helps FTA, if needed, develop its 

recommendations for safety risk 

mitigation. 

FTA’s Sample Safety Risk Assessment 

Matrices for Bus Transit Agencies 9 and 

Sample Safety Risk Assessment 

Matrices for Rail Transit Agencies 10

illustrate how a safety risk assessment 

matrix provides a structured approach 

to assess the likelihood and severity of 

the consequences of identified hazards, 

determine if the safety risk is acceptable 

with existing mitigations, or if 

additional action is needed, and 

prioritize hazards based on the safety 

risk of their potential consequences. 

FTA’s risk matrix is depicted in Figure 

1 below. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 20, 2023 / Notices 88215 

11 2020 NTD safety and security data was 

preliminary and subject to revision at the time of 

FTA’s review. Therefore, the analysis results 

presented here do not include 2020 data. 

12The number of injuries (2,232) exceeds the 

number of assault major events (2,225) because an 

assault event can result in multiple injuries. 

13 2020 NTD safety and security data was 

preliminary and subject to revision at the time of 

FTA’s review. Therefore, the analysis results 

presented here do not include 2020 data. 

Potential Consequence 1: Transit 

Workers Are Assaulted on Transit 

Vehicles 

The first potential consequence of the 

hazard discussed above is that transit 

workers are assaulted on transit 

vehicles. To assess likelihood, FTA 

reviewed NTD major event reports from 

2008 through 2020 that involved 

assaults on transit workers on transit 

vehicles throughout the country. Over 

the twelve-year period of 2008–2019,11

there were 2,225 major event reports 

matching the potential consequence, an 

average of 185 events per year. 1,805 (81 

percent) of these occurred at bus modes, 

with the remaining 420 (19 percent) at 

rail modes. Due to the frequency of 

occurrence, the FTA determined a 

likelihood rating of Very High (5). 

To assess severity, FTA reviewed the 

severity of the events referenced in the 

likelihood analysis. These events 

resulted in three fatalities and 2,232 

injuries.12 All three fatalities and 1,806 

(81 percent) of injuries resulted from 

assaults on transit workers on buses, 

while the remaining 426 injuries (19 

percent) resulted from assaults on 

transit workers on rail vehicles. NTD 

event data from 2017 and later include 

information on the severity of injuries 

when rail modes reported assaults; over 

98 percent of injuries from these 

assaults were minor. Because of this, 

FTA determined a severity rating of C. 

While there have been some instances of 

worker homicides and severe injuries in 

vehicles, the majority of these events 

result in a minor injury. 

Potential Consequence 2: Transit 

Workers Are Assaulted in Revenue 

Facilities 

The second potential consequence of 

the hazard discussed above is that 

transit workers are assaulted in revenue 

facilities. To assess likelihood, FTA 

reviewed NTD major event reports from 

2008 through 2020 that involved 

assaults on transit workers in revenue 

facilities throughout the country. Over 

the twelve-year period of 2008–2019,13

there were 674 major event reports 

matching this potential consequence, an 

average of 56.17 events per year. 549 (81 

percent) of these occurred at rail modes, 

with the remaining 125 (19 percent) at 

bus modes. Due to the rate of 

occurrence, FTA determined a 

likelihood rating of Very High (5). 

To assess severity, FTA reviewed the 

severity of the events referenced in the 

likelihood analysis. These events 

resulted in two fatalities and 732 

injuries. A single fatality and 599 (82 

percent) of injuries resulted from 

assaults on transit workers in rail 

revenue facilities, while the remaining 

133 injuries (18 percent) and one fatality 

resulted from assaults on transit workers 

in bus revenue facilities. NTD event 

data from 2017 and later include 

information on the severity of injuries 

from assaults on transit workers in rail 

revenue facilities; over 95 percent of 

injuries from these assaults were minor. 

Because of this, FTA determined a 

severity rating of C. While there have 

been some instances of transit worker 

homicides and severe injuries in 

revenue facilities, the majority of these 

events resulted in a minor injury. 

Based on the risk ratings of the two 

identified potential consequences, FTA 

determined an overall risk rating of 5C, 

as noted in Figure 2. This risk rating 

reflects that the safety risk associated 

with assaults on transit workers is high. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1EN20DE23.009</GPH>

Figure 1: Risk Matrix used in FTA Safety Risk Assessment 

Very High 

4 High 

Likelihood 3 Moderate 

2 Low 

1 Very Low 

Negligible 

A 

Could cause May cause May cause 

minor injury, severe injury minor first 

or minor or major aid property property 

damage damage treatment 

B C D 

Severity 

May cause 

death or 

permanent 

injury or 

destruction of 

property 

E 
88216 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 20, 2023 / Notices 

14https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-andguidance/safety/fta-special-directives#SDTWA. 15 49 CFR 673.25(c). 

In addition, as part of FTA’s overall 

goal of reducing assaults on transit 

workers, FTA analyzed data on assaults 

on transit workers reported to the NTD 

between 2016 and 2021. Through this 

analysis, FTA determined that nine 

transit agencies accounted for 79% of all 

assaults on transit workers reported to 

the NTD. FTA issued Special 

Directives 14 to these agencies on 

October 4, 2023, to determine whether 

and how these agencies are addressing 

safety risk related to assaults on transit 

workers using their SMS processes and 

to determine if additional FTA 

intervention is necessary to mitigate the 

safety risk related to assaults on transit 

workers. 

FTA reviewed and analyzed the 

information received from these 

agencies. Of the nine agencies that 

received the Special Directives, only 

four reported the completion of a safety 

risk assessment prior to issuance of the 

Special Directives. This is troubling 

because, as noted above, FTA has 

previously alerted transit agencies of the 

need to address the risk of assaults on 

transit operators when identified 

through SMS. If these agencies have not 

completed a safety risk assessment, FTA 

is concerned that other transit agencies 

may not have done so either, despite the 

presence of the risk of assaults on transit 

workers on the systems they operate. 

Safety risk assessment is a required 

step of a transit agency’s SRM process.15

Moreover, safety risk assessment is a 

critical tool to understand the risk 

associated with assaults on transit 

workers and to help each agency and 

joint-labor management Safety 

Committee prioritize and develop safety 

risk mitigations. The importance of the 

safety risk assessment step of SRM is 

further underscored by its use by FTA 

to assess national-level safety risk. Now, 

based on the available safety data, FTA’s 

determination of a 5C risk rating 

reflecting a high nationwide risk of 

assaults on transit workers, and the 

results of the Special Directives, FTA 

has concluded that additional FTA 

intervention is necessary to address the 

safety risk related to assaults on transit 

workers nationwide. 

Purpose of General Directive 

As discussed above, FTA has 

determined that there is a national-level 

hazard that transit workers must interact 

with the public, and, at times, must 

clarify or enforce agency policies. FTA 

has identified that the potential 

consequences of this hazard are that 

transit workers may be assaulted on 

transit vehicles and in revenue facilities. 

Pursuant to 49 CFR 673.25(b), a transit 

agency must consider, as a source for 

hazard identification, data and 

information provided by FTA. 

FTA has determined that the nationallevel hazard and potential consequences 

discussed above constitute an unsafe 

condition or practice presenting a risk of 

death or personal injury for transit 

workers. Accordingly, pursuant to 49 

CFR 670.25, FTA proposes issuing a 

General Directive that directs agencies 

to take action to address the identified 

national-level hazard and the potential 

consequences. 

FTA proposes that the General 

Directive require each transit agency 

that is required to have an Agency 

Safety Plan (ASP) under the PTASP 

regulation (49 CFR part 673) to use the 

Safety Risk Management (SRM) 

processes documented in its ASP to 

conduct a safety risk assessment related 

to assaults on transit workers on the 

public transportation system it operates. 

FTA is proposing that if a transit agency 

has conducted a safety risk assessment 

related to assaults on transit workers in 

the twelve months preceding the date of 

issuance of the final General Directive, 

and if the transit agency continues to 

believe that the results of that safety risk 

assessment are relevant, the transit 

agency need not conduct a new 

assessment. FTA also proposes to 

require each transit agency to use the 

SRM processes documented in its ASP 

to identify safety risk mitigations or 

strategies necessary as a result of the 

agency’s safety risk assessment. As 

required by the Bipartisan Infrastructure 

Law at 49 U.S.C. 5329(d)(5), each transit 

agency serving a large urbanized area 

must involve the joint labormanagement Safety Committee when 

identifying safety risk mitigations to 

reduce the likelihood and severity of 

consequences identified through the 

agency’s safety risk assessment. The 

General Directive would also require 

each transit agency to provide 

information to FTA on how it is 

assessing, mitigating, and monitoring 

the safety risk associated with assaults 

on transit workers within 60 days of 

issuance of the final General Directive. 

FTA notes that this proposed directive 

is intended to work in conjunction with 

OSHA protections and is not intended 

to preempt OSHA’s standards or other 

enforcement authority. 

FTA is proposing this approach as it 

is grounded in SMS principles and 

methods, which FTA has adopted as the 

basis for enhancing public 

transportation safety. See 49 CFR 670.3. 

Further, FTA believes this approach 

will ensure that each transit agency is 

taking a formal look at the safety risk 

related to assaults on transit workers on 

their system. FTA also believes this 

approach will contribute to transit 

agencies and their joint labormanagement Safety Committees 

identifying scalable and effective 

mitigations across the range of services 

they provide and situations that 

contribute to the risk of assaults on 

transit workers. FTA proposes that each 

transit agency provides FTA 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1EN20DE23.010</GPH>

Figure 2: FTA Risk Rating for Assaults on Transit Workers 

t~s\t~~rSc~~;;;~t•t,wJit }~t~'l:~"'1 the pu~licartd, a~tirn~!?(fllust . •.•• 

ct.arify·or,.,toreeagencv;policie~~ . 
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 20, 2023 / Notices 88217 

information on how it is assessing, 

mitigating, and monitoring the safety 

risk associated with assaults on transit 

workers, which FTA may use to inform 

future Federal action to protect transit 

workers. 

FTA is proposing to issue this General 

Directive to all transit agencies required 

to have an ASP under the PTASP 

regulation because FTA has determined 

that the hazard that transit workers must 

interact with the public, and, at times, 

must clarify or enforce agency policies, 

exists at transit agencies of all sizes and 

across all modes of public 

transportation, not just those in large 

urbanized areas. 

The proposed General Directive 

contains proposed binding obligations, 

which 49 U.S.C. 5334(k) defines as ‘‘a 

substantive policy statement, rule, or 

guidance document issued by the 

Federal Transit Administration that 

grants rights, imposes obligations, 

produces significant effects on private 

interests, or effects a significant change 

in existing policy.’’ Under 49 U.S.C. 

5334(k) FTA may issue binding 

obligations if it follows notice and 

comment rulemaking procedures under 

5 U.S.C. 553. 

FTA requests public comment on this 

proposed General Directive, which is 

available on the FTA website at https:// 

www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-andguidance/safety/fta-general-directives 

and in Docket No. FTA–2023–0032. 

Following an analysis of the public 

comments, FTA will publish a notice in 

the Federal Register that includes both 

a response to comments and announces 

a final General Directive or a statement 

rescinding or revising the proposed 

General Directive. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 5329; 49 CFR 

1.91, 670.25. 

Veronica Vanterpool, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28002 Filed 12–19–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–57–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket ID Number: DOT–OST–2018–0068] 

Agency Request for Emergency 

Clearance To Extend Information 

Collection Request Related to 

Traveling by Air With Service Animals 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), 

Department of Transportation 

(Department or DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of request for emergency 

OMB approval. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces DOT’s intention to 

seek emergency clearance to extend the 

information collection request (ICR) 

under Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) Control Number 2105–0576, 

‘‘U.S. Department of Transportation 

Service Animal Air Transportation 

Form’’ and ‘‘U.S. Department of 

Transportation Service Animal Relief 

Attestation Form.’’ We are seeking 

emergency clearance to temporarily 

extend the ICR to ensure that airlines 

may continue to collect service animal 

forms from passengers with disabilities, 

which provide assurances to the airline 

that the service animal does not pose a 

safety threat to passengers and crew 

onboard aircraft. DOT requests that 

OMB approve this extension request 

within 7 days. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before December 27, 

2023. 

ADDRESSES: You may file comments 

identified by the docket number DOT– 

OST–2018–0068 by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the online instructions for submitting 

comments. (You may access comments 

received for this notice at http://

www.regulations.gov by searching 

docket DOT–OST–2018–0068.) 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building 

Ground Floor Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001; 

• Hand delivery: West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Ave. SE, between 9 a.m. and 

5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. The telephone number 

is 202–366–9329. 

Instructions: You must include the 

agency name and docket number DOT– 

OST–2010–0054 at the beginning of 

your comment. All comments received 

will be posted without change to 

https://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information provided. 

Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search 

the electronic form of all comments 

received in any of DOT’s dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 

19477–78). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Maegan Johnson or Livaughn Chapman, 

Jr., Office of Aviation Consumer 

Protection, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, 

telephone number (202) 366–9342 

(voice), (202) 366–7152 (fax); 

maegan.johnson@dot.gov or 

livaughn.chapman@dot.gov (email). 

Arrangements to receive this document 

in an alternative format may be made by 

contacting the above-named 

individuals. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

OMB Control Number: 2105–0576. 

Title: Traveling by Air with Service 

Animals. 

Type of Request: Request for 

emergency extension of existing 

information collections. 

Background: The U.S. Department of 

Transportation (Department or DOT) 

published a final rule to amend the 

Department’s Air Carrier Access Act 

(ACAA) regulation on the transport of 

service animals by air in the Federal 

Register on December 10, 2020 (85 FR 

79742). 14 CFR 382.75 allows airlines to 

require passengers traveling with 

service animals to provide airlines with 

the following two forms of 

documentation developed by the 

Department as a condition of travel. The 

first form published in the rule, the U.S. 

Department of Transportation Service 

Animal Air Transportation Form 

(‘‘Behavior and Health Attestation 

Form’’), is designed to ensure and 

inform airlines of the service animal’s 

good health, disability-related task 

training, and good behavior; to educate 

passengers traveling with service 

animals on how service animals in air 

transportation are expected to behave; 

and to inform passengers traveling with 

service animals of the consequences of 

service animal misbehavior. The second 

form published in the rule, the U.S. 

Department of Transportation Service 

Animal Relief Attestation Form (‘‘Relief 

Attestation Form’’), may only be 

required by airlines when a passenger is 

traveling with service animals on a 

flight segment scheduled to take 8 hours 

or more. The purpose of this form is to 

provide assurances to airlines that the 

service animal will not need to relieve 

itself on the flight or that the animal can 

relieve itself in a way that does not 

create a health or sanitation issue, and 

to educate passengers of the 

consequences should an animal relieve 

itself on the aircraft in an unsanitary 

way. 

The Behavior and Health Attestation 

Form and the Relief Attestation Form 

are the only forms that airlines are 

permitted to require from passengers 

traveling with service animals as a 

condition of transport, except in rare 


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