Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 33 / Friday, February 16, 2024 / Notices 12411 

• Information gathered will not be 

used for the purpose of substantially 

informing influential policy decisions; 

and 

• Information gathered will yield 

qualitative information; the collections 

will not be designed or expected to 

yield statistically reliable results or used 

as though the results are generalizable to 

the population of study. 

Feedback collected under this generic 

clearance provides useful information, 

but it does not yield data that can be 

generalized to the overall population. 

This type of generic clearance for 

qualitative information will not be used 

for quantitative information collections 

that are designed to yield reliably 

actionable results, such as monitoring 

trends over time or documenting 

program performance. Such data uses 

require more rigorous designs that 

address: the target population to which 

generalizations will be made, the 

sampling frame, the sample design 

(including stratification and clustering), 

the precision requirements or power 

calculations that justify the proposed 

sample size, the expected response rate, 

methods for assessing potential 

nonresponse bias, the protocols for data 

collection, and any testing procedures 

that were or will be undertaken prior to 

fielding the study. Depending on the 

degree of influence the results are likely 

to have, such collections may still be 

eligible for submission for other generic 

mechanisms that are designed to yield 

quantitative results. 

As a general matter, information 

collections will not result in any new 

system of records containing privacy 

information and will not ask questions 

of a sensitive nature, such as sexual 

behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, 

and other matters that are commonly 

considered private. 

Title: Generic Clearance for the 

Collection of Qualitative Feedback on 

Agency Service Delivery. 

OMB Control Number: 2126–0049. 

Type of Request: Renewal of a 

currently approved ICR. 

Respondents: State and local agencies, 

the general public and stakeholders, 

original equipment manufacturers and 

suppliers to the commercial motor 

vehicle (CMV) industry, CMV fleet 

owners, CMV owner-operators, State 

CMV safety agencies, research 

organizations and contractors, news 

organizations, safety advocacy groups, 

and other Federal agencies. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

9,270. 

Estimated Time per Response: Range 

from 5 to 30 minutes. 

Expiration Date: August 31, 2024. 

Frequency of Response: Generally, on 

an annual basis. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

2,233 hours. 

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. 2024–03257 Filed 2–15–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2023–0143] 

Request for Information: Drivers’ 

Leasing Agreements for Commercial 

Motor Vehicles (CMVs) 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), Department 

of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice; request for information. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA requests information 

from the public, including commercial 

motor vehicle (CMV) drivers, to assist 

the Agency’s Truck Leasing Task Force 

(TLTF) in reviewing such leases to 

identify terms and conditions that may 

be unfair to drivers. The Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act, (IIJA), or 

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), 

requires the Secretary of Transportation, 

in consultation with the Secretary of 

Labor, to establish TLTF to examine the 

terms, conditions, and equitability of 

common truck leasing arrangements, 

particularly as they impact owneroperators and trucking businesses 

subject to such agreements. TLTF will 

examine these issues and submit a 

report to the Secretary of 

Transportation, the Secretary of Labor, 

and Congress on the TLTF’s identified 

issues and conclusions regarding truck 

leasing arrangements, including 

recommended best practices. Comments 

submitted in response to this notice will 

be shared with the TLTF prior to its 

next public meeting. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 18, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Docket Number FMCSA– 

2023–0143 using any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov/docket/ 

FMCSA-2023-0143/document. Follow 

the online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail: Dockets Operations, 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: Dockets 

Operations, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, West Building, Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 

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

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• Submissions Containing 

Confidential Business Information (CBI): 

Brian Dahlin, Chief, Regulatory 

Evaluation Division, Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 

20590. 

To avoid duplication, please use only 

one of these four methods. See the 

‘‘Confidential Business Information’’ 

portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section for instructions on 

submitting comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shannon L. Watson, Senior Advisor to 

the Associate Administrator for Policy 

and Deputy Designated Federal Officer, 

Truck Leasing Task Force (TLTF), 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590– 

0001; (202) 360–2925; TLTF@dot.gov. If 

you have questions on viewing or 

submitting material to the docket, 

contact Dockets Operations, (202) 366– 

9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Submitting Comments 

If you submit a comment, please 

include the docket number for this 

request for information (RFI) (FMCSA– 

2023–0143), indicate the specific 

section of this document to which your 

comment applies, and provide a reason 

for each suggestion or recommendation. 

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 


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12412 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 33 / Friday, February 16, 2024 / Notices 

number in the body of your document 

so that FMCSA can contact you if there 

are questions regarding your 

submission. 

To submit your comment online, go to 

https://www.regulations.gov/docket/ 

FMCSA-2023-0143/document, click on 

this RFI, click ‘‘Comment,’’ and type 

your comment into the text box on the 

following screen. 

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. FMCSA will consider 

all comments and material received 

during the comment period. 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

CBI is commercial or financial 

information that is both customarily and 

actually treated as private by its owner. 

Under the Freedom of Information Act 

(5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from 

public disclosure. If your comments 

responsive to the RFI contain 

commercial or financial information 

that is customarily treated as private, 

that you actually treat as private, it is 

important that you clearly designate the 

submitted comments as CBI. Please 

mark each page of your submission that 

constitutes CBI as ‘‘PROPIN’’ to indicate 

it contains proprietary information. 

FMCSA will treat such marked 

submissions as confidential under the 

Freedom of Information Act, and they 

will not be placed in the public docket 

of the RFI. Submissions containing CBI 

should be sent to Brian Dahlin, Chief, 

Regulatory Analysis Division, Office of 

Policy, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590– 

0001. Any comments FMCSA receives 

not specifically designated as CBI will 

be placed in the public docket. 

B. Viewing Comments and Documents 

To view comments, as well as any 

documents mentioned in this RFI as 

being available in the docket, go to 

https://www.regulations.gov/docket/ 

FMCSA-2023-0143/document and 

choose the document to review. To view 

comments, click this RFI, and click 

‘‘Browse Comments.’’ If you do not have 

access to the internet, you may view the 

docket online by visiting Dockets 

Operations on the ground floor of the 

DOT West Building, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, 

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

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

To be sure someone is there to help you, 

please call (202) 366–9317 or (202) 366– 

9826 before visiting Dockets Operations. 

C. Privacy Act 

DOT posts comments received, 

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.transportation.gov/privacy. The 

comments are posted without edit and 

are searchable by the name of the 

submitter. 

I. Background 

Congress established the TLTF as a 

statutory committee under the authority 

of section 23009 of the Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Public 

Law 117–58 (2021). The TLTF is a 

Federal advisory committee established 

in accordance with the provisions of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended, 5 U.S.C. app. 2. TLTF is 

tasked with examining and reviewing 

the terms, conditions, and equitability 

of common truck leasing arrangements, 

particularly as they impact owneroperators and trucking businesses 

subject to such agreements. Consistent 

with the above statutory authority, 

TLTF will also examine financing 

arrangements among motor carriers, 

entry-level drivers, driver training 

providers, and other involved entities, 

which may result in new drivers 

entering the trucking workforce 

encumbered by outsized debt and 

inequitable terms for repayment and 

will identify potential illegal practices 

to law enforcement or regulators, as 

appropriate. The Task Force will 

provide advice and recommendations to 

the Secretary of Transportation and 

Secretary of Labor through the 

Administrator of the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) 

or their designee. For more information 

about TLTF, please visit https://www.

fmcsa.dot.gov/tltf. 

During the TLTF’s public meeting on 

January 18, 2024, TLTF members 

identified questions they would like to 

ask CMV drivers who may have been 

subject to inequitable or predatory 

terms, as well as questions for drivers 

who have had positive CMV leasing 

experiences and what separated the 

good from the bad experiences. 

II. Request for Public Comments 

FMCSA requests information from the 

public about leasing arrangements they 

have personally experienced or of 

which they have knowledge. FMCSA is 

particularly interested in hearing from 

CMV drivers, lessors of CMVs, trucker 

organizations, social services 

organizations, consumer rights and 

advocacy organizations, plaintiffs’ 

attorneys, academics and researchers, 

representatives of labor organizations, 

and state and local government officials. 

The list of questions provided below are 

examples of the information the TLTF 

would find helpful in completing its 

work. Commenters are not required to 

answer every question and commenters 

should not view the list as a constraint 

on sharing information with the Agency 

and its TLTF. 

In addition to providing the 

information to the TLTF members, as 

mentioned above, FMCSA will share the 

information with the Consumer 

Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a 

U.S. government agency dedicated to 

making sure consumers are treated fairly 

by banks, lenders, and other financial 

institutions. The DOT has named the 

CFPB as a technical advisor to the 

TLTF. Please note that because the 

information is being submitted to a 

public docket accessible to all interested 

parties, individuals should redact 

personally identifiable information (PII), 

such as social security numbers, driver’s 

license number, personal address, etc. 

Lessees of CMVs 

1. If you signed a lease-purchase 

agreement for a CMV, could you provide 

copies of leasing documents and copies 

of documents for all other financial 

products associated with your work as 

a CMV lessee (i.e., training debt, 

maintenance debt, earned wage access, 

contact from debt collectors, etc.)? 

2. What were the actual terms of the 

lease (e.g., minimum weekly or monthly 

payments and their structure, start and 

completion dates, make/model/year of 

the truck, depreciation and 

amortization, mileage at the start and 

conclusion of the lease, maintenance 

responsibilities, etc.)? Was the leasepurchase agreement held by a carrier or 

a third-party entity? 

3. How was the lease-purchase 

agreement marketed to you? What were 

you told about the value of the truck 

and what earnings and work conditions 

you could expect? Were you evaluated 

for likelihood of repayment, through a 

credit or background check or some 

other method? What options existed for 

you to obtain the truck besides leasing 

it? Did other drivers have a different set 

of options? If so, why? 

4. What did you understand, or not 

understand, about the terms and 

conditions to which you agreed? These 

terms may include the history, 

condition, and maintenance needs of 

the truck you leased. Prior to signing 

your lease-purchase agreement, did you 

have time to read and understand the 

leasing contract? Did you know the cost 

of credit (e.g., interest rate or rent 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 33 / Friday, February 16, 2024 / Notices 12413 

charge) before signing the lease 

purchase agreement? Did you have a 

clear picture of your responsibility in 

the case of a major mechanical 

breakdown of the CMV? 

5. Were you able to negotiate the 

terms? Were you provided any 

information about other financing 

alternatives? Did other drivers have a 

different set of options and if so, why? 

6. Were you informed of how the 

motor carrier works with independent 

contractors vs. company drivers and 

lease-purchase drivers when business is 

slow? Are you treated similarly or is 

there a difference between the 

assignment of loads, etc.? 

7. Please elaborate on any additional 

restrictions placed on your use of the 

CMV or additional financial agreements 

imposed outside of the written lease 

agreement. Did they encompass takehome pay, driver access to loads, etc.? 

8. Please elaborate on any additional 

financial products associated with your 

work as a CMV lessee (e.g., training 

debt, maintenance debt, earned wage 

access, contact from debt collectors, 

etc.). For instance, if you took out 

maintenance debt, were you required to 

use the title of your CMV as security? 

9. Were you able to successfully 

complete the terms of your leasepurchase agreement? If you did not 

complete your lease, why? How much 

did you owe at the completion of your 

lease? Were any charges assessed related 

solely to your lease payment or were 

there other charges, such as repayment 

of a maintenance bill or loan? If there 

were other charges, please explain. 

10. If you owe a balance on your 

lease-purchase agreement, are you being 

contacted by the motor carrier, thirdparty debt collectors, or finance 

companies? Are there processes, 

policies, and procedures for taking and 

handling disputes about the debt? Has 

information about your debt been 

furnished to credit reporting companies 

or employment screening companies? 

Have you been threatened with a 

lawsuit to collect these debts? Do 

collection efforts cease when a driver 

files for bankruptcy or obtains 

bankruptcy discharge? 

11. How did your expectations about 

the benefits of the lease compare to the 

reality of working under that lease? 

What have the effects of your leasepurchase agreement been on your 

finances, employment experience, 

professional mobility, workplace health 

and safety, and family’s well-being? 

Lessors of CMVs 

1. If you are or were a lessor of CMVs, 

what best practices do, or did you 

implement or recommend to ensure that 

all leases of CMVs you provide are fair 

and just? Do you underwrite leases? If 

so, how? How do you determine the 

value of a CMV and the expected 

depreciation? If your lessees are pleased 

with the terms you provide, please 

expound on those terms. 

2. If you lease CMVs to drivers but do 

not own the CMV (e.g., the CMV is 

being financed by your company and 

then you lease it to a driver), how do 

you determine how much to charge the 

driver under the lease agreement and 

how do you ensure the driver can 

ultimately own the vehicle if there is a 

lease-purchase agreement? 

3. Do you have any specific 

agreements available to drayage drivers 

at ports relating to the Clean Truck 

Program or any similar program to 

decrease emissions from port 

operations? Do you have any data that 

would show the impact of truck leasing 

agreements on the net compensation of 

CMV drivers, including port drayage 

drivers? 

Sue Lawless, 

Acting Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03205 Filed 2–15–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2023–0172] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Approval of a New 

Information Collection Request: Impact 

of Driver Detention Time on Safety and 

Operations 

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 

review and approval. 

This notice invites comments on a 

proposed information collection titled 

Impact of Driver Detention Time on 

Safety and Operations. This research 

study will collect data on commercial 

motor vehicle (CMV) driver detention 

time representative of the major 

segments of the motor carrier industry, 

analyze that data to determine the 

frequency and severity of detention 

time, and assess the utility of existing 

intelligent transportation systems (ITS) 

solutions to measure detention time. 

Approximately 80 carriers and 2,500 

CMV drivers will provide data in the 

study. The study will provide a better 

understanding of the impact of driver 

detention time on driver safety and 

CMV operations and inform strategies 

that may be used to mitigate driver 

detention time. The number of public 

comments received in response to the 

60-day FR notice was 171. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received on or before March 18, 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: Dan 

Britton, Mathematical Statistician, 

Office of Research and Registration, 

DOT, FMCSA, 6th Floor, West Building, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001; 202–366– 

9980; dan.britton@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Impact of Driver Detention Time 

on Safety and Operations. 

OMB Control Number: 2126–00XX. 

Type of Request: New ICR. 

Respondents: CMV carriers and 

drivers. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 80 

CMV carriers and 2,500 CMV drivers. 

Estimated Time per Response: 30 

seconds (for drivers and CMV carrier 

operation team). 

Expiration Date: This is a new ICR. 

Frequency of Response: Once per 

delivery/pick-up. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

7,869.17 hours. 

Background 

‘‘Detention time’’ refers to the extra 

time CMV operators wait at shipping 

and receiving facilities due to delays not 

associated with the loading and 

unloading of cargo. Drivers are often not 

paid for this extra time. Although there 

is currently no standard definition of 

detention time, the CMV industry, the 

U.S. Government, and academic 

researchers in the United States have 

previously used dwell time—the total 

amount of time spent at a facility— 

exceeding 2 hours to define when 

detention time occurs. 

Detention time in the CMV industry is 

a longstanding issue and consistently 

ranks as one of the top problems for a 

large portion of CMV operators on an 


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