10122 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 44 / Monday, March 9, 2009 / Notices 

companies employ a total of 35 people; 

however, the requested exemption 

would only apply to full-time, part-time 

and temporary ground support truck 

drivers employed by Redding/ 

Guardian—no more than 20 drivers. 

Together the two companies operate a 

total of 10 CMVs, which are the ground 

support vehicles. 

Redding/Guardian operate a fleet of 

helicopters on both ‘‘Exclusive Use’’ 

(EU) and ‘‘Call When Needed’’ (CWN) 

contracts, which call for a helicopter, 

ground support vehicle, pilot and 

driver/ground support technician. The 

ground support vehicles carry sufficient 

jet fuel to support their respective 

helicopters, and the primary role of the 

technicians is to support and re-fuel the 

helicopters. While the driving of the 

ground support vehicle is each 

individual’s secondary role, they are 

still subject to the FMCSRs—including 

the Part 395 HOS rules. 

Redding/Guardian states that their EU 

contracts—including helicopters and 

ground support vehicles—frequently 

necessitate sitting at a base for weeks at 

a time and never going anywhere or 

even flying; however, there may be daily 

extensions due to high fire danger. 

When these extensions do occur, a 

ground support technician driver may 

be ‘‘on-duty, not driving’’ for 14 hours 

in a day for several consecutive days at 

a time, which results in reaching the 70- 

hour/8-day limit in as little as 5 days. 

According to Redding/Guardian, this 

includes a considerable amount of time 

just ‘‘sitting around and waiting’’ for a 

helicopter dispatch or for the helicopter 

to land. In addition, their CWN contract 

vehicles will remain away from their 

primary base of operation for weeks at 

a time, generally remaining in one 

location, and available for dispatch 7 

days per week. 

While Redding/Guardian’s drivers are 

just waiting for a helicopter dispatch or 

for the helicopter to land, by being 

‘‘available’’ and in ‘‘readiness to work’’ 

they are considered to be ‘‘on-duty, not 

driving’’ and therefore subject to the 70- 

hour in 8-day rule. The applicants note 

that on average, their drivers drive once 

every few days for less than 100 miles, 

and for the CWN contracts, the ground 

support technician may never drive the 

fuel vehicle more than 5 miles in a day, 

and that is only to and from the local 

hotel accommodations. 

The problem arises as Redding/ 

Guardian’s drivers can basically run out 

of available hours in 5 days at 14 hours 

on duty per day—based on the 70-hour/ 

8-day rule. They are therefore unable to 

legally operate a CMV on a public road 

until they have gained enough available 

hours to drive. 

Redding/Guardian state that their 

ground-support technician-drivers are 

encouraged to stop driving at the onset 

of fatigue. They further claim that if 

their exemption request is granted, the 

CMV drivers will still not be allowed to 

exceed the 14-hour duty limit regulation 

(49 CFR 395.3(a)(2)). They reason that, 

based on the fact that their drivers are 

just ‘‘sitting around and waiting,’’ they 

are not becoming fatigued, which is the 

primary reason for the duty limits. 

Redding/Guardian contends that these 

drivers are not stressed or tired. 

Redding/Guardian believes the 

exemption would achieve a level of 

safety equivalent to, or greater than, the 

level of safety obtained under the 

current 70-hour/8-day rule because they 

are firmly committed to their goal of 

zero accidents or incidents and have 

implemented a Comprehensive Safety 

Program designed to prevent accidents 

or injuries. Both companies also have an 

approved ‘‘Safety Management System’’ 

that includes annual reviews of safetyrelated issues. 

A copy of the Redding/Guardian 

exemption application is available for 

review in the docket for this notice. 

Request for Comments 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

31315(b)(4) and 31136(e), FMCSA 

requests public comment on the 

Redding/Guardian application for an 

exemption from the ‘‘70-hour/8-day 

rule’’ in 49 CFR Part 395. The Agency 

will consider all comments received by 

close of business on April 8, 2009. 

Comments will be available for 

examination in the docket at the 

location listed under the ADDRESSES

section of this notice. The Agency will 

consider to the extent practicable 

comments received in the public docket 

after the closing date of the comment 

period. 

Issued On: March 3, 2009. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy and 

Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E9–4928 Filed 3–6–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket Number NHTSA–2009–0032] 

Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping 

Requirements 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: Request for public comment on 

proposed collection of information. 

SUMMARY: Before a Federal agency can 

collect certain information from the 

public, it must receive approval from 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). Under procedures established 

by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, before seeking OMB approval, 

Federal agencies must solicit public 

comment on proposed collections of 

information, including extensions and 

reinstatement of previously approved 

collections. 

This document describes one 

collection of information for which 

NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval 

concerning vehicle safety features for 

consumer information purposes (OMB 

Control number 2127–0629). 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before May 8, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

to the docket number identified in the 

heading of this document by 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, 

M–30, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, West Building, Ground 

Floor, Rm. W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

Regardless of how you submit your 

comments, you should mention the 

docket number of this document. 

You may call the Docket Management 

Facility at 202–366–9826. 

Instructions: For detailed instructions 

on submitting comments and additional 

information on the rulemaking process, 

see the Public Participation heading of 

the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

of this document. 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. 

Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search 

the electronic form of all comments 

received into any of our 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). 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 44 / Monday, March 9, 2009 / Notices 10123 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to the street 

address listed above. The Internet access 

to the docket will be at: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for accessing the dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Complete copies of each request for 

collection of information may be 

obtained at no charge from Johanna 

Lowrie, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, NHTSA, Room W43– 

410, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. Ms. Lowrie’s 

telephone number is (202) 366–5269. 

Please identify the relevant collection of 

information by referring to its OMB 

Control Number. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

before an agency submits a proposed 

collection of information to OMB for 

approval, it must first publish a 

document in the Federal Register 

providing a 60-day comment period and 

otherwise consult with members of the 

public and affected agencies concerning 

each proposed collection of information. 

The OMB has promulgated regulations 

describing what must be included in 

such a document. Under OMB’s 

regulation at 5 CFR 1320.8(d), an agency 

must ask for public comment on the 

following: 

(i) Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(ii) The accuracy of the agency’s 

estimate of the burden of the proposed 

collection of information, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; 

(iii) How to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; 

(iv) How to minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on those 

who are to respond, including the use 

of appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology, e.g. in 

submission of responses. 

In compliance with these 

requirements, NHTSA asks for public 

comments on the following proposed 

collections of information: 

Title: Vehicle Information for the 

General Public. 

OMB Control Number: 2127—0629. 

Affected Public: Manufacturers that 

sell motor vehicles under 10,000 lbs. in 

the United States. 

Abstract: NHTSA’s mission is to save 

lives, prevent injury, and reduce motor 

vehicle crashes. Providing consumer 

information on vehicle safety is an 

important means of improving vehicle 

safety through market forces. NHTSA 

provides consumers with vehicle safety 

information such as front and side crash 

results, rollover propensity, and the 

availability of a wide array of safety 

features provided on each vehicle 

model. NHTSA also uses this safety 

feature information when responding to 

public inquiries and analyzing 

rulemaking petitions which ask the 

agency to mandate certain safety 

features. 

The agency has attempted to 

coordinate and reduce the reporting 

burden associated with this information 

collection. Another information 

collection obtains data related to motor 

vehicle compliance with the agency’s 

Federal motor vehicle safety standards. 

Although the consumer information 

collection data is distinct and unique 

from the compliance data, respondents 

to both collections are the same. 

Consequently, the consumer 

information collection is closely 

coordinated with the compliance 

collection to enable responders to 

assemble the data most efficiently. The 

burden is further made easier by 

sending out electronic files to the 

respondents in which the data is 

entered and electronically returned to 

the agency. 

The consumer information collected 

is used on the agency’s http:// 

www.safercar.gov Web site, in the 

‘‘Buying a Safer Car’’ and ‘‘Buying a 

Safer Car for Child Passengers’’ 

brochures, in other consumer 

publications, as well as for internal 

agency analyses and responses to 

consumer inquiries. 

Estimated Annual Burden: 924 hours. 

Number of Respondents: 21. 

Comments are Invited On: Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; the accuracy of 

the Department’s estimate of the burden 

of the proposed information collection; 

ways to enhance the quality, utility and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3506(c); delegation of 

authority at 49 CFR 1.50. 

Issued on: March 3, 2009. 

Stephen R. Kratzke, 

Associate Administrator for Rulemaking. 

[FR Doc. E9–4852 Filed 3–6–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2009–0046] 

Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping 

Requirements 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Request for public comment. 

SUMMARY: Before a Federal agency can 

collect certain information from the 

public, it must receive approval from 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). Under procedures established 

by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, Federal agencies must solicit 

public comment on proposed 

collections of information, including 

extensions and reinstatement of 

previously approved collections. This 

document describes a request for 

emergency clearance for a collection of 

information associated with product 

plan information to assist the agency in 

establishing corporate average fuel 

economy standards for model years 

2012 through 2016 passenger cars and 

light trucks. The establishment of those 

standards is required by the Energy 

Policy and Conservation Act, as 

amended by the Energy Independence 

and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, Public 

Law 110–140. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before May 8, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Comments must refer to the 

docket notice number cited at the 

beginning of this notice, and be 

submitted to: Mr. Peter Feather, Fuel 

Economy Division Chief, Office of 

International Policy, Fuel Economy and 

Consumer Programs, at (202) 366–0846, 

facsimile (202) 493–2290, electronic 

mail: peter.feather@dot.gov. For legal 

issues, call Ms. Dorothy Nakama, Office 

of the Chief Counsel at (202) 366–2992. 

It is requested, but not required, that 

2 copies of the comment be provided. 

Commenters may also, but are not 

required to, submit their comments to 

the docket number identified in the 

heading of this document by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

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

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 


dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES