Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2015 / Notices 6159 

be mailed or delivered to Mr. Ray C. 

Funnye, Director, Departmnet of Public 

Services, Georgetown County at the 

following address: 108 Screven Street, 

Georgetown, South Carolina 29440. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rob 

Rau, Community Planner, Atlanta 

Airports District Office, 1701 Columbia 

Ave., Suite 2–260, College Park, Georgia 

30337–2747, (404) 305–7004. The 

application may be reviewed in person 

at this same location. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FAA 

is reviewing a request by Georgetown 

County to release eleven parcels 

(approximately 18.32 acres) of public 

property at the Georgetown County 

Airport. On June 4, 1947, the United 

States government through the War 

Assets Administration executed a Lease 

Termination Agreement which returned 

approximately 675 acres of land to 

Georgetown County with conditions. 

This property is to be used for public 

airport purposes on reasonable terms 

and without unjust discrimination and 

without grant of an exclusive right. 

These parcels are currently being used 

for places of worship, residential homes, 

educational and military facilities and 

industrial purposes. 

Any person may inspect the request 

in person at the FAA office listed above 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

In addition, any person may, upon 

request, inspect the request, notice and 

other documents germane to the request 

in person at the Georgetown County 

Airport. 

Issued in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 29, 

2015. 

Larry F. Clark, 

Manager, Atlanta Airports District Office, 

Southern Region. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02166 Filed 2–3–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2014–0325] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; New Information Collection 

Request: The Impact of Driver 

Compensation on Commercial Motor 

Vehicle Safety 

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 approval of a new ICR titled, 

‘‘The Impact of Driver Compensation on 

Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety,’’ to 

assess the current compensation 

practices of commercial vehicle drivers 

and the potential influence this may 

have on safe commercial vehicle 

operations. 

DATES: Please send your comments by 

March 6, 2015. 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–2014–0325. Interested persons 

are invited to submit written comments 

on the proposed information collection 

to the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget. Comments 

should be addressed to the attention of 

the Desk Officer, Department of 

Transportation/Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration, and sent via 

electronic mail to oira_submission@

omb.eop.gov, or faxed to (202) 395– 

6974, or mailed to the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Theresa Hallquist, Analysis, Research 

and Technology Division, Department of 

Transportation, FMCSA, West Building 

6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 

202–366–1064; email: 

theresa.hallquist@dot.gov. Office hours 

are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal 

Holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: The Impact of Driver 

Compensation on Commercial Motor 

Vehicle Safety. 

OMB Control Number: 21XX–00XX. 

Type of Request: New information 

collection. 

Respondents: Safety Managers, 

Operations Managers or Owner 

Operators of commercial motor carriers 

companies. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

2184. 

Estimated Time per Response: 

Minimum response = 0.27; Maximum 

response = 1.02 hours. 

Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new 

information collection. 

Frequency of Response: One 

questionnaire per participant. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1343 

hours (Group 1 is defined as very small 

and small carriers and Group 2 is 

defined as medium and large carriers. 

(1164 Group 1 respondents × 0.27 hours 

= 303 hours) + (1020 Group 2 

respondents × 1.02 hours = 1,040 

hours)). 

Background: The study will evaluate 

the relationship between property 

carrying motor carriers compensation 

methods and incidences of unsafe 

driving. In particular, the research team 

will determine if there is a potential 

relationship between method of driver 

compensation and safe driving behavior. 

This study will be conducted using an 

online questionnaire. Randomly 

selected non-passenger motor carriers 

will be notified by letter from the 

FMCSA that explains the study and 

elicits their participation. Participants 

will receive an email directing them to 

a Web site to complete the online 

questionnaire. This study will assist 

motor carriers and other stakeholders 

engaged in commercial vehicle safety by 

enabling them to make informed 

decisions regarding driver 

compensation as it relates to safe 

driving performance. The form MCSA– 

5887 will be used in an electronic 

format on the web to collect responses 

from study participants. The results of 

the study will be available to the public 

in 2015 and will be published on the 

FMCSA publications and reports Web 

site, www.fmcsa.dot.gov. No physical or 

psychological risks to individuals are 

anticipated as a result of the study, nor 

are risks to personally identifiable 

information. 

Comments From the Public: On 

August 29, 2014, FMCSA published a 

Federal Register notice (79 FR 51638) 

allowing for a 60-day comment period 

on this ICR. The Agency received fortyseven (47) unique public comments 

which have been reviewed and grouped 

by common themes. Note that there are 

49 comments indicated for the notice. 

Two of these comments are duplicate 

postings. Some comments addressed 

multiple themes but are grouped here 

only by their primary theme. These 

themes and the FMCSA responses are 

included below. Formal comments were 

received from the following 

organizations: the American Trucking 

Associations; Road Safe America; the 

AFL–CIO Amalgamated Transit Union; 

the AFL–CIO Transportation Trades 

Department; and the Owner-Operator 

Independent Driver Association. The 

FMCSA has responded in kind to these 

organizations with formal and direct 

communication; however, in addition, 

these comments have been assessed for 

common themes and are reflected in the 

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6160 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2015 / Notices 

agency’s responses below along with the 

entirety of the public comments. The 

full analysis of the public comments 

and their subsequent responses are 

illustrated in a document titled, 

FMCSA_Response_To_FRN2014–0325, 

which can be accessed and viewed in 

the supplemental section for this notice. 

The FMSCA responses to the public 

comments are as follows: 

Theme: Total compensation 

influences driver safety. 

FMCSA Response: There could be 

many factors that influence safe driving 

performance. Fatigue, as you point out 

is most certainly one of them as past 

research has shown. Although this 

research will focus on possible 

relationships between the various 

methods of compensating truck drivers 

and unsafe driving practices, data will 

be collected on total compensation 

allowing this variable to be assessed for 

influence on safe driving performance 

as well. 

Theme: Hourly pay is the best method 

of compensation to influence safe 

driving behavior. 

FMCSA Response: The proposed 

study will assess any relationship 

between all of the collected 

compensation methods and safe driving 

behavior. The study will address hourly 

pay as well as others to determine if a 

relationship between compensation 

method and unsafe driver behaviors 

exists. 

Theme: Pay by the mile/load 

compensation methods lead to unsafe 

driving behavior. 

FMCSA Response: The goal of the 

proposed study is to evaluate all 

compensation methods including pay 

by the mile or load, but the study will 

not focus on or emphasize one method 

over another and determine if there is 

any relationship to safe driving 

behavior. 

Theme: Driver experience, integrity, 

selection and training are factors in safe 

driving performance. 

FMCSA Response: Driver experience 

may very well be a relevant factor in 

safe driving performance. The proposed 

study will solicit driver total driving 

experience as a variable; however, the 

goal will be to assess that factor as it 

relates to method of compensation. The 

FMCSA may consider specifically 

studying driver experience, selection 

and training in future research efforts. 

Theme: Drivers should be 

compensated for ‘‘on-duty not driving 

time’’ to reduce fatigue. 

FMCSA Response: This study will 

solicit information on all of the 

variations in compensation methods for 

a commercial driver, including for onduty not driving time such as standing, 

waiting, loading and unloading. The 

goal of this study is to understand all of 

the elements of compensation and 

determine if there are any common 

factors that influence safe driving 

performance. Fatigue has been shown to 

be a factor in driver performance and 

has been linked to crash causation 

through other studies conducted in 

recent years. 

Theme: Fatigue influences driver 

safety performance. 

FMCSA Response: Public comments 

make several points about the Hours of 

Service rules that suggest they enable 

drivers to drive while fatigued. Past 

studies have shown that fatigue has 

played a factor in crashes. The proposed 

study does not assess the influence of 

the Hours of Service regulation with 

regards to safety but will use recent 

violations related to safe driving such as 

speeding as a measure of safe driving 

behavior. 

Theme: Drivers of non-commercial 

vehicles should be trained on safe 

interaction with commercial vehicles 

and should have hours of service 

regulations imposed on their driving 

behavior. 

FMCSA Response: FMCSA 

acknowledges the influence that the 

motoring public has on the roadways 

with regards to integration with 

commercial motor vehicles. To that end, 

FMCSA is actively engaged in outreach 

and education campaigns such as The 

No-Zone and Ticketing Aggressive Cars 

and Trucks (TACT) on a national and 

state level to increase the awareness of 

the public. Given that FMCSA’s 

authority does not extend to regulation 

of the general public, the agency cannot 

regulate their behaviors. 

Theme: The FMCSA should focus its 

efforts on issues directly related to its 

core mission (to reduce crashes, injuries 

and fatalities involving large trucks and 

buses) and not engage its resources with 

the business relationship between motor 

carriers and drivers. 

FMCSA Response: The FMCSA strives 

to pursue its mission using a strategic 

approach that not only includes 

enhancing and enforcing the Federal 

Motor Carrier Regulations but also 

reducing the number and severity of 

commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 

crashes and enhancing the efficiency of 

CMV operations by conducting 

systematic studies directed toward 

fuller scientific discovery, knowledge, 

or understanding (FMCSA Analysis, 

Research and Technology Mission 

Statement). Conducting research to 

understand the nature of an industry or 

entity and the means by which it 

conducts its business and operations is 

at the heart of any safety-conscious 

work environment including the motor 

carrier industry. The proposed study is 

within the FMCSA’s mission and is in 

the best interests of public safety and 

the motor carrier industry. 

Theme: The proposed study implies 

the FMCSA has a predisposition to 

eliminating all forms of pay except 

hourly. 

FMCSA Response: This study is 

designed to capture information on all 

methods of pay across the motor carrier 

industry independent of the type of 

operation and assess its potential 

relationship to safe driver behavior. 

This research is being conducted to 

determine whether there is a statistical 

relationship between method of driver 

compensation and safety. 

Theme: The proposed ICR needs to 

consider additional influential variables 

related to safety performance. 

FMCSA Response: The FMCSA 

acknowledges that many factors may 

affect safe driving performance such as 

driver experience, training, type of 

operation, as well as geographic location 

and so on. This study will focus on how 

compensation of any method or 

combination affects driver safety 

performance. Future research efforts 

may focus on other areas of carrier 

operations or driver performance. 

Theme: The FMCSA needs to improve 

the quality of investigative activities to 

foster safety through compliance. 

FMCSA Response: The proposed 

study does not address investigative 

activities and their relationship to safe 

driving behavior but may be considered 

for future research. The FMCSA is 

continuously improving its approach 

and quality of field activities through 

policy and training efforts. 

Theme: Passenger carrier companies 

and drivers and the impact of overtime 

exemptions should be included in the 

proposed research. 

FMCSA Response: The Motorcoach 

industry is a unique operating 

environment with a differing set of 

variables that may influence the 

research. The FMCSA recognizes the 

value of understanding the potential 

effects that compensation may have on 

safety as well as many other industry 

issues. The proposed study is focused 

on non-passenger commercial 

operations but will address overtime as 

a component of compensation packages. 

Future research efforts may be designed 

to include passenger carrier operations 

and their unique operational 

characteristics. 

Theme: The proposed research should 

include driver’s insights on how 

compensation impacts safety 

performance. Further, the study should 

be concerned with truthful reporting 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 23 / Wednesday, February 4, 2015 / Notices 6161 

1This action adopted as final rules the interim 

final rules issued by FMCSA’s predecessor in 1998 

(63 FR 67600 (Dec. 8, 2008)), and adopted by 

FMCSA in 2001 [66 FR 49867 (Oct. 1, 2001)]. 

and the quality of information from 

respondents. 

FMCSA Response: The proposed 

study will use current data from the 

FMCSA safety data systems collected 

from carrier investigations and roadside 

activities. This data is driver specific 

and will be used to compare safety 

performance to compensation methods. 

In the case where a motor carrier has 

only one method of pay, a direct 

relationship can be considered. 

However, in the case where multiple 

methods of pay are used by a single 

carrier, then the survey questionnaire 

will expand to solicit individual driver 

compensation characteristics and safety 

history. In this way, the research 

considers drivers and their contribution 

to the safety. Truthful reporting is 

always a concern in any research effort. 

The goal is to remove as much opinion 

and focus on verifiable, quantitative 

data. The FMCSA recognizes the need to 

validate collected information and will 

use all means available to crossreference data where possible. 

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 FMCSA to perform its 

functions; (2) the accuracy of the 

estimated burden; (3) ways for the 

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. 

Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87 

on: January 23, 2015. 

G. Kelly Regal, 

Associate Administrator for Office of 

Research and Information Technology and 

Chief Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02136 Filed 2–3–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2014–0107] 

Qualification of Drivers; Application for 

Exemptions; Hearing 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of applications for 

exemptions; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that 10 

individuals have applied for a medical 

exemption from the hearing requirement 

in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations (FMCSRs). In accordance 

with the statutory requirements 

concerning applications for exemptions, 

FMCSA requests public comments on 

these requests. The statute and 

implementing regulations concerning 

exemptions require that exemptions 

must provide an equivalent or greater 

level of safety than if they were not 

granted. If the Agency determines the 

exemptions would satisfy the statutory 

requirements and decides to grant 

theses requests after reviewing the 

public comments submitted in response 

to this notice, the exemptions would 

enable 10 individuals to operate CMVs 

in interstate commerce. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 6, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

bearing the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) Docket No. FMCSA– 

2014–0107 using any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

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

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• 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: 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. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

Instructions: Each submission must 

include the Agency name and the 

docket numbers for this notice. 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 below for 

further information. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments, go to http://

www.regulations.gov at any time or 

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 

FDMS is available 24 hours each day, 

365 days each year. If you want 

acknowledgment that we received your 

comments, please include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or 

postcard or print the acknowledgement 

page that appears after submitting 

comments online. 

Privacy Act: Anyone may search the 

electronic form of all comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or of the person signing the 

comment, if submitted on behalf of an 

association, business, labor union, etc.). 

You may review DOT’s Privacy Act 

Statement for the FDMS published in 

the Federal Register on January 17, 

2008 (73 FR 3316), or you may visit 

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/

E8-785.pdf. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Charles A. Horan, III, Director, Office of 

Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety, (202) 

366–4001, fmcsamedical@dot.gov, 

FMCSA, Department of Transportation, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room 

W64–224, Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

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

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration has authority to grant 

exemptions from many of the Federal 

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations 

(FMCSRs) under 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 

31136(e), as amended by Section 4007 

of the Transportation Equity Act for the 

21st Century (TEA- 21) (Pub. L. 105– 

178, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 107, 401). 

FMCSA has published in 49 CFR part 

381, subpart C final rules implementing 

the statutory changes in its exemption 

procedures made by section 4007, 69 FR 

51589 (August 20, 2004).1 Under the 

rules in part 381, subpart C, FMCSA 

must publish a notice of each exemption 

request in the Federal Register. 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 and any research reports, 

technical papers and other publications 

referenced in the application. The 

Agency must also provide an 

opportunity to submit public comment 

on the applications for exemption. 

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 

without the exemption. The decision of 

the Agency must be published in the 

Federal Register. 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 

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