Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 37 / Thursday, February 26, 2009 / Notices 8841 

use direct observation with 15-minute 

interviews (.25 hour), the burden is 

calculated as follows: 

Laboratory studies: 15 studies × 200 

participants × 1 hour = 3,000 hours 

Field studies: 10 studies × 200 

participants × 1 hour = 2,000 hours 

Field studies (interview only): 5 studies 

× 200 participants × .25 hour = 250 

hours 

3-year total = 5,250 hours 

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 

5,250/3 = 1,750 hours 

Public Comments Invited: You are 

asked to comment on any aspect of 

these information collections, including: 

(1) Whether the proposed collections are 

necessary for FHWA’s performance; (2) 

the accuracy of the estimated burden; 

(3) ways for FHWA to enhance the 

quality, usefulness, and clarity of the 

collected information; and (4) ways that 

the burden could be minimized, 

including the use of electronic 

technology, without reducing the 

quality of the collected information. 

FHWA will respond to your comments 

and summarize or include them when 

requesting clearance from OMB for 

these information data collections. 

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; 

and 49 CFR 1.48. 

Issued on February 20, 2009. 

Judith Kane, 

Acting Chief, Management Programs & 

Analysis Division. 

[FR Doc. E9–4098 Filed 2–25–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2006–25756] 

Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) 

Standards: Granting of Exemption; 

Volvo Trucks North America (Volvo) 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of final disposition; 

granting of application for exemption. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its 

decision to grant Volvo Trucks North 

America, Inc.’s (Volvo) application for 

an exemption for one of its drivers to 

enable him to test-drive commercial 

motor vehicles (CMVs) in the United 

States without a commercial driver’s 

license (CDL) issued by one of the 

States. Volvo stated the exemption is 

needed to support a field test to meet 

future air quality standards and to testdrive Volvo prototype vehicles to verify 

results in ‘‘real world’’ environments. Its 

driver holds a valid CDL issued in 

Sweden but lacks the U.S. residency 

necessary to obtain a CDL issued by one 

of the States. FMCSA believes the 

knowledge and skills testing and 

training program that drivers must 

undergo to obtain a Swedish CDL 

ensures that their drivers will achieve a 

level of safety that is equivalent to, or 

greater than, the level of safety achieved 

without the exemption. 

DATES: This exemption is effective 

February 26, 2009 and expires February 

26, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Richard Clemente, Driver and Carrier 

Operations Division, Office of Bus and 

Truck Standards and Operations, MC– 

PSD, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

Telephone: 202–366–4325. E-mail: 

MCPSD@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), 

FMCSA may grant an exemption from 

the CDL requirements in 49 CFR 383.23 

for a 2-year period if it finds ‘‘* * * 

such exemption would likely achieve a 

level of safety that is equivalent to, or 

greater than, the level that would be 

achieved absent such exemption * * *’’ 

(49 CFR 381.305 (a)). FMCSA has 

evaluated Volvo’s application on its 

merits and decided to grant the 

exemption for its field test engineer, 

Michael Tellstrom, for a 2-year period. 

Volvo Application for an Exemption 

Volvo applied for an exemption from 

the 49 CFR 383.23 requirement that the 

operator of a CMV obtain a CDL issued 

by one of the States. This section of the 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations (FMCSRs) sets forth the 

standards that States must employ in 

issuing CDLs. An individual must be a 

resident of a State in order to qualify for 

a CDL. The Volvo driver-employee for 

whom this exemption is sought is a 

citizen and resident of Sweden; 

therefore, he cannot apply for a CDL in 

any State of the United States. A copy 

of the request for exemption from 

section 383.23 is in the docket 

identified at the beginning of this 

notice. 

Swedish Driver 

This exemption enables Michael 

Tellstrom to test-drive in the U.S. Volvo 

CMVs that are assembled, sold or 

primarily used in the U.S. Volvo 

currently employs this driver in 

Sweden, and wants him to be able to 

test-drive Volvo prototype vehicles at its 

test site and in the vicinity of Phoenix, 

Arizona, to verify vehicle results in 

‘‘real world’’ environments. He is a 

highly trained, experienced CMV 

operator with a valid Swedish-issued 

CDL. Because he was required to satisfy 

strict CDL testing standards in Sweden 

to obtain a CDL and has extensive 

training and experience operating 

CMVs, Volvo believes that the 

exemption will maintain a level of 

safety equivalent to the level of safety 

that would be obtained absent the 

exemption. 

Method To Ensure an Equivalent or 

Greater Level of Safety 

According to Volvo, drivers applying 

for a Swedish-issued CDL must undergo 

a training program and pass knowledge 

and skills tests. Volvo believes the 

knowledge and skills tests and training 

program that these drivers undergo to 

obtain a Swedish CDL ensure the 

exemption would provide a level of 

safety that is equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level of safety obtained by 

complying with the U.S. requirement for 

a CDL. In addition, Volvo has submitted 

a copy of the violation-free Swedish 

driving record of this driver. 

FMCSA had previously determined 

that the process for obtaining a 

Swedish-issued CDL adequately 

assesses the driver’s ability to operate 

CMVs in the U.S. Therefore, the process 

for obtaining a Swedish-issued CDL is 

considered to be comparable to, or as 

effective as, the requirements of 49 CFR 

part 383. 

Comments 

The Agency received no response to 

its request for public comments 

published in the Federal Register on 

January 16, 2009 (74 FR 3130). 

Terms and Conditions for the 

Exemption 

Based upon evaluation of the 

application for an exemption, FMCSA 

grants Volvo an exemption from the 

CDL requirement in 49 CFR 383.23 for 

its driver, Michael Tellstrom, to testdrive CMVs within the United States, 

subject to the following terms and 

conditions: (1) That this driver will be 

subject to drug and alcohol regulations, 

including testing, as provided in 49 CFR 

part 382, (2) that this driver is subject 

to the same driver disqualification rules 

under 49 CFR parts 383 and 391 that 

apply to other CMV drivers in the U.S., 

(3) that this driver keep a copy of the 

exemption on the vehicle at all times, 

(4) that Volvo notify FMCSA in writing 

of any accident, as defined in 49 CFR 

390.5, involving this driver, and (5) that 

8842 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 37 / Thursday, February 26, 2009 / Notices 

Volvo notify FMCSA in writing if this 

driver is convicted of a disqualifying 

offense described in section 383.51 or 

391.15 of the FMCSRs. 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 

and 31136(e), the exemption will be 

valid for 2 years unless revoked earlier 

by the FMCSA. The exemption will be 

revoked if: (1) The driver for Volvo 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 before it 

was granted, or (3) continuation of the 

exemption would not be consistent with 

the goals and objectives of 49 U.S.C. 

31315 and 31136. 

Issued on: February 19, 2009. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy and 

Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E9–4148 Filed 2–25–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2000–8398; FMCSA– 

2002–12294; FMCSA–2002–12844; FMCSA– 

2004–17984; FMCSA–2005–20027] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Vision 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of renewal of 

exemptions; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its 

decision to renew the exemptions from 

the vision requirement in the Federal 

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 12 

individuals. FMCSA has statutory 

authority to exempt individuals from 

the vision requirement if the 

exemptions granted will not 

compromise safety. The Agency has 

concluded that granting these 

exemption renewals will provide a level 

of safety that is equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level of safety maintained 

without the exemptions for these 

commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 

drivers. 

DATES: This decision is effective April 1, 

2009. Comments must be received on or 

before March 30, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

bearing the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA– 

2000–8398; FMCSA–2002–12294; 

FMCSA–2002–12844; FMCSA–2004– 

17984; FMCSA–2005–20027, using any 

of the following methods. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

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

on-line 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 or Courier: 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: 1–202–493–2251. 

Each submission must include the 

Agency name and the docket number for 

this Notice. Note that DOT posts all 

comments received without change to 

http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information included in a 

comment. Please see the Privacy Act 

heading below. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments, go to 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., 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 on-line. 

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 the DOT’s complete 

Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 

Register published on April 11, 2000 

(65 FR 19476). This information is also 

available at http://DocketInfo.dot.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Mary D. Gunnels, Director, Medical 

Programs, (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 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, 

FMCSA may renew an exemption from 

the vision requirements in 49 CFR 

391.41(b)(10), which applies to drivers 

of CMVs in interstate commerce, for a 

two-year period if it finds ‘‘such 

exemption would likely achieve a level 

of safety that is equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level that would be achieved 

absent such exemption.’’ The 

procedures for requesting an exemption 

(including renewals) are set out in 49 

CFR part 381. 

Exemption Decision 

This notice addresses 12 individuals 

who have requested a renewal of their 

exemption in accordance with FMCSA 

procedures. FMCSA has evaluated these 

12 applications for renewal on their 

merits and decided to extend each 

exemption for a renewable two-year 

period. They are: 

David F. Breuer, 

Wilford F. Christian, 

Richard S. Cummings, 

Joseph A. Dean, 

Jimmy C. Killian, 

Daniel L. Jacobs, 

Jimmy C. Killian, 

Jose M. Limon-Alvarado, 

Eugene R. Lydick, 

John W. Montgomery, 

Billy L. Riddle, 

Scottie Stewart, 

Artis Suitt. 

These exemptions are extended 

subject to the following conditions: (1) 

That each individual have a physical 

examination every year (a) by an 

ophthalmologist or optometrist who 

attests that the vision in the better eye 

continues to meet the standard in 49 

CFR 391.41(b)(10), and (b) by a medical 

examiner who attests that the individual 

is otherwise physically qualified under 

49 CFR 391.41; (2) that each individual 

provide a copy of the ophthalmologist’s 

or optometrist’s report to the medical 

examiner at the time of the annual 

medical examination; and (3) that each 

individual provide a copy of the annual 

medical certification to the employer for 

retention in the driver’s qualification 

file and retain a copy of the certification 

on his/her person while driving for 

presentation to a duly authorized 

Federal, State, or local enforcement 

official. Each exemption will be valid 

for two years unless rescinded earlier by 

FMCSA. The exemption will be 

rescinded if: (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 before it was granted; or 

(3) continuation of the exemption would 

not be consistent with the goals and 

objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 

31315. 

Basis for Renewing Exemptions 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31315(b)(1), an 

exemption may be granted for no longer