Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2018 / Notices 2869 

TRALA to consider whether to petition 

for reconsideration of FMCSA’s action 

on its exemption. 

TRALA described unique challenges 

faced by operators of short-term rentals, 

namely the lack of interoperability 

between ELD device platforms, a 

situation that requires rental companies 

to address how their customers’ drivers 

might record their HOS using ELDs as 

efficiently as possible. TRALA 

described several steps its members 

have taken since FMCSA’s October 11, 

2017, decision granting a partial 

exemption for rental trucks, including 

building cloud-based portal systems 

between ELD providers and purchasers 

of ELDs. Nevertheless, TRALA states 

that additional time is required and that 

a 90-day waiver would allow its 

members to continue working through 

the issues presented by the required 

technology and the need for individual 

customer-based compliance strategies. 

TRALA stated that the waiver would 

not result in any adverse impact on 

safety as drivers of rental vehicles 

would remain subject to HOS 

regulations and the requirement to keep 

paper records of duty status under 49 

CFR 395.3 and 395.8. Furthermore, 

TRALA stated that planned enforcement 

activities would not be compromised, 

given the decision that CMVs will not 

be placed out-of-service and carriers’ 

Safety Measurement System scores will 

not be impacted for failure to employ 

ELDs through April 1, 2018. 

Finally, TRALA explained why the 

waiver would not serve as a safe harbor 

for carriers seeking to avoid compliance 

with the HOS regulations, given the 

increased cost of operating under shortterm rental arrangements. 

FMCSA Determination 

Given the obstacles to ELD 

implementation unique to short-term 

CMV rentals and the impact on carriers 

renting trucks for a period not exceeding 

30 days, FMCSA finds it is in the public 

interest to grant a limited 3-month 

waiver from the requirement that 

carriers and drivers operating rental 

CMVs in interstate commerce employ 

ELDs effective December 18, 2017. This 

waiver will avoid business disruptions 

for carriers required to employ shortterm rentals, regardless of the reason, 

and allow businesses renting CMVs to 

continue their work to reconcile the 

ELD requirement with the needs of their 

individual customers. Given the brief 

time frame during which the waiver will 

be in effect and the terms and 

conditions applicable to drivers 

operating under its provisions, FMCSA 

finds that a level of safety is likely to be 

achieved that is equivalent to the level 

that would be obtained absent the 

waiver. Because this waiver applies to 

all short-term truck rentals not 

exceeding 30 days, during a time period 

both the previous exemption and this 

waiver are in effect, this waiver 

supersedes the exemption granted to 

TRALA on October 11, 2017 (82 FR 

47306) to the extent there is any 

inconsistency. 

Terms and Conditions of the Waiver 

(1) This waiver from the requirements 

of 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1)(i) is effective from 

January 19, 2018, through April 19, 

2018. 

(2) This exemption covers rental of 

any property-carrying CMV for a period 

of 30 days or less, regardless of the 

reason for the rental. Evidence that a 

carrier has replaced one rental CMV 

with another on 30-day cycles or 

attempted to renew a rental agreement 

for the same CMV for a period beyond 

30 days will be regarded as a violation 

of the waiver. 

(3) Carriers and drivers operating 

under this waiver must comply with all 

other applicable requirements of the 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations, including the preparation 

of paper records of duty status (RODS) 

for operations which are currently 

considered to be subject to the HOS 

rules and the record retention 

requirements associated with those 

RODs and supporting documents. 

(4) Motor carriers operating under this 

waiver must have a ‘‘satisfactory’’ safety 

rating from FMCSA or be unrated; motor 

carriers with ‘‘conditional’’ or 

‘‘unsatisfactory’’ safety ratings are 

prohibited from taking advantage of the 

waiver. 

(5) Carriers operating under this 

waiver must ensure that their drivers 

carry a copy of this Federal Register 

notice in the vehicle and present it to 

motor carrier safety enforcement 

officials upon request. 

(6) Crash Notification to FMCSA 

Carriers operating under this waiver 

must notify FMCSA within 5 business 

days of any accident (as defined in 49 

CFR 390.5), involving any of the motor 

carrier’s drivers operating under the 

terms of this waiver. The notification 

must include the following information: 

(a) Identity of Waiver: ‘‘TRALA,’’ 

(b) Date of the accident, 

(c) City or town, and State, in which 

the accident occurred, or closest to the 

accident scene, 

(d) Driver’s name and license number, 

(e) Co-driver’s name and license 

number (if applicable), 

(f) Vehicle number and State license 

number, 

(g) Number of individuals suffering 

physical injury, 

(h) Number of fatalities, 

(i) The police-reported cause of the 

accident, 

(j) Whether the driver was cited for 

violation of any traffic laws or motor 

carrier safety regulations, and 

(k) The total driving time and total onduty time period prior to the accident. 

Accident notifications must be 

emailed to MCPSD@dot.gov. 

(7) FMCSA expects that any drivers 

and their employing motor carrier 

operating under the terms and 

conditions of this waiver will maintain 

their safety record. Should any safety 

problems be discovered, however, 

FMCSA will take all steps necessary to 

protect the public interest. Use of this 

waiver is voluntary, and FMCSA will 

immediately revoke the waiver for any 

interstate driver or motor carrier for 

failure to comply with the terms and 

conditions of the waiver. 

Preemption of State Requirements 

Consistent with 49 U.S.C. 31315(d), 

this waiver preempts inconsistent State 

or local requirements applicable to 

interstate commerce. 

Issued on: January 12, 2018. 

Cathy F. Gautreaux, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00843 Filed 1–18–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2017–0298] 

Hours of Service of Drivers: 

Application for Exemption; Motion 

Picture Association of America 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of final disposition; grant 

of application for exemption. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA grants the Motion 

Picture Association of America (MPAA) 

a five-year exemption from the 

electronic logging device (ELD) 

requirements for all commercial motor 

vehicle (CMV) drivers providing 

transportation to or from a theatrical or 

television motion picture production 

site. MPAA requested this exemption to 

allow these drivers to complete paper 

records of duty status (RODS) instead of 

using an ELD device. FMCSA has 

determined that the unique aspects of 

these drivers’ operations, combined 

with additional oversight of their paper 

RODS, is equivalent to that which 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
2870 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2018 / Notices 

1www.regulations.gov, Docket Item FMCSA– 

2017–0298–0027, Filed by Alicia Leahy for MPAA 

on November 28, 2017. 

would result from the use of ELDs for 

their particular operations, and 

therefore provides an equivalent level of 

safety. 

DATES: This exemption is effective 

January 19, 2018 and expires January 

19, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information concerning this notice, 

contact Mr. Tom Yager, Chief, FMCSA 

Driver and Carrier Operations Division; 

Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle 

Safety Standards; Telephone: 614–942– 

6477. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. If you 

have questions on viewing or submitting 

material to the docket, contact Docket 

Services, telephone (202) 366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation 

Viewing Comments and Documents 

To view comments, as well as 

documents mentioned in this preamble 

as being available in the docket, go to 

www.regulations.gov and insert the 

docket number, ‘‘FMCSA–2017–0298 in 

the ‘‘Keyword’’ box and click ‘‘Search.’’ 

Next, click the ‘‘Open Docket Folder’’ 

button and choose the document to 

review. If you do not have access to the 

internet, you may view the docket 

online by visiting the Docket 

Management Facility in Room W12–140 

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., e.t., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

II. Legal Basis 

FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 

31136(e) and 31315 to grant exemptions 

from certain parts of the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). 

FMCSA must publish a notice of each 

exemption request in the Federal 

Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The 

Agency must provide the public an 

opportunity to inspect the information 

relevant to the application, including 

any safety analyses that have been 

conducted. The Agency must also 

provide an opportunity for public 

comment on the request. 

The Agency reviews safety analyses 

and public comments submitted, and 

determines whether granting the 

exemption would likely achieve a level 

of safety equivalent to, or greater than, 

the level that would be achieved by the 

current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). 

The decision of the Agency must be 

published in the Federal Register (49 

CFR 381.315(b)) with the reasons for 

denying or granting the application and, 

if granted, the name of the person or 

class of persons receiving the 

exemption, and the regulatory provision 

from which the exemption is granted. 

The notice must also specify the 

effective period and explain the terms 

and conditions of the exemption. The 

exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 

381.300(b)). 

III. Request for Exemption 

MPAA requested an exemption from 

the final rule on ELD requirements 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 16, 2015 (80 FR 78292). The 

exemption would allow all drivers of 

CMVs providing transportation of 

passengers and property to and from a 

theatrical or television motion picture 

production site to complete paper RODS 

instead of using an ELD device on or 

after December 18, 2017, the compliance 

date for the ELD rule. The term of the 

requested exemption is five years, 

subject to renewal. 

MPAA reported that approximately 

6,500 CMV drivers operate CMVs on a 

full- or part-time basis for the motion 

picture industry. According to HOS data 

developed by third party compliance 

services, these drivers spend on average 

less than four hours each day driving 

and drive about 40 miles per day. Their 

resulting RODs are often very complex, 

as are the driver HOS records that 

employing motor carriers must keep. 

Through close cooperation, the industry 

has been able to manage the extensive 

interchange of paper RODs that this 

work pattern requires. MPAA asserted 

that industry’s success in HOS 

management is based on a system that 

is driver-based rather than vehiclebased. 

According to MPAA, few production 

drivers qualify for the short-haul driver 

exception in 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1)(ii)(A) 

because they often exceed the 12-hour 

limit and therefore may be subject to the 

ELD requirements. Each time a 

production driver operates a CMV for a 

different studio or production company, 

the motor carrier and the driver must 

reconcile the driver’s HOS record for the 

past week. At present, cooperation 

between production companies, various 

Teamsters locals, and drivers can reduce 

the burden of this detailed 

reconciliation. And under the current 

rules, drivers themselves can manage 

the necessary paper RODS, carry them 

to each new CMV, and transfer paper 

copies to each new motor carrier as 

needed. When a roadside inspection 

occurs, a driver can produce paper 

RODS for review by the enforcement 

official. 

MPAA contends that the lack of 

interoperability among ELD platforms 

developed by various manufacturers 

means that motion picture company 

drivers will not be able to transfer HOS 

data from one carrier to other carriers. 

MPAA states 1 that the motion picture 

industry (MPI): 

‘‘. . . has developed a comprehensive 

database that contains HOS data, making it 

easier for motor carriers to keep track of 

drivers’ cumulative HOS and prevent HOS 

violations from occurring, all while 

protecting the confidentiality of each motor 

carrier’s private records. This is true even 

when the driver has worked for a separate 

USDOT# within the MPI within the prior 7- 

day period or same 24-hour period. This 

same level of safety, compliance, and 

visibility to the driver’s hours of service is 

impossible in the current ELD landscape. 

‘‘Current regulatory requirements designate 

that drivers submit logs within 13 days of the 

24-hour period to which the record pertains. 

49 CFR 395.8(a)(2)(ii). MPAA Member 

companies go above and beyond by requiring 

drivers to submit RODS within 24 hours of 

the duty period to which the record pertains, 

which is a 12-day reduction in the timeframe 

otherwise required.’’ 

‘‘The RODS are then reviewed by thirdparty auditing companies, resulting in 

accelerated reporting of HOS compliance and 

an independent assessment of accuracy. This 

allows any concerns that may be discovered 

in the review to be expeditiously addressed 

by the employing motor carrier that is 

ultimately responsible for enforcement of the 

regulations. Member companies’ current 

practices include reviewing driver payroll 

records and other supporting documentation 

such as fuel receipts, inspection reports, 

vehicle records and receipts, expense 

receipts, schedules, bill of lading, etc. to 

verify the accuracy of the paper logs’’ 

[emphasis in original]. 

A copy of MPAA’s application for 

exemption is available for review in the 

docket for this notice. 

V. Public Comments 

On October 27, 2017, FMCSA 

published notice of this application and 

requested public comments (82 FR 

49771). The Agency received 29 

comments. Eight respondents, including 

Teamsters Local 399 and the 

International Brotherhood of Teamsters 

(IBT), provided support for the 

exemption. Eleven respondents, 

including the Advocates for Highway 

and Auto Safety (Advocates) and the 

Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance 

(CVSA), opposed the exemption. Ten 

respondents commented about the ELD 

rule but did not comment on MPAA’s 

application. 

Among supporters of the application, 

Teamsters Local 399, which has 4,500 

members in the motion picture and 

television industry, stated that ‘‘[t]he 

AMPTP [Alliance of Motion Picture and 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2018 / Notices 2871 

2See Section 4133 of SAFETEA–LU (119 Stat. 

1744) (set out as a note to 49 U.S.C. 31136). 

Television Producers], it’s signatory 

Studios and Producers spend millions 

of dollars, year after year, decade after 

decade, keeping themselves and 

Teamster drivers in compliance 

throughout the United States. Paper logs 

for our industry have been practiced, 

preached and perfected with safe and 

accurate results for multiple Studios, 

Production Companies and thousands of 

drivers in the motion picture industry 

that are employed by them.’’ 

Among opponents of the application, 

Advocates concluded that MPAA ‘‘does 

not meet the statutory and regulatory 

requirements for the exemption. The 

Application fails to justify the need for 

the exemption, provide an analysis of 

the safety impacts the requested 

exemption may cause, or provide 

information on the specific 

countermeasures to be undertaken to 

ensure that the exemption will achieve 

an equivalent or greater level of safety 

than would be achieved absent the 

exemption.’’ 

CVSA registered its opposition by 

noting that ‘‘exemptions from federal 

safety regulations have the potential to 

undermine safety, while also 

complicating the enforcement process. 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations and the Hazardous 

Materials Regulations exist to ensure 

that those operating in the 

transportation industry are equipped to 

do it safely.’’ 

VI. FMCSA Response 

FMCSA has evaluated MPAA’s 

application and the public comments. 

The Agency disagrees with commenters’ 

remarks that MPAA has not justified the 

need for the exemption or provided 

specific countermeasures. MPAA has 

outlined their unique operational issues 

that justify not using ELDs and clearly 

explained the special handling of their 

RODs that ensures a high level of 

accuracy to provide the equivalent level 

of safety. 

We note at the outset that Congress 

has recognized the unique aspects of the 

motion picture industry’s operations 

and has provided statutory exceptions 

from some HOS regulations.2 The 

industry’s drivers generally operate 

short distances and normally spend 

much of their time off duty. Therefore, 

Congress has allowed these drivers 

longer work days and drive time 

compared to the normal hours-of-service 

rules. 

Because of the nature of their 

operations, motion picture industry 

drivers often will continue to use the 

same paper RODS from one carrier to 

another. In these unique circumstances, 

using an ELD system would provide 

little additional accuracy to the HOS 

data because most duty status 

information would be manually entered 

by the drivers and interoperability 

between the systems is not required. As 

MPAA states, the paper log provides 

continuity for the carrier and 

enforcement to evaluate compliance, 

regardless of the number of carriers for 

which the driver is operating in a given 

7-day or even 24-hour period. FMCSA 

acknowledges that, given the unique 

arrangements under which drivers in 

the motion picture industry routinely 

operate for multiple carriers over brief 

periods of time, paper RODS may prove 

more efficient than ELDs. 

In addition, MPAA members are 

required to submit their RODS within 

24 hours, rather than waiting for the 13- 

day period allowed by 49 CFR 395.8. 

According to MPAA, these ‘‘RODS are 

reviewed by a third-party auditing 

company, resulting in accelerated 

reporting of HOS compliance and an 

independent assessment of accuracy.’’ 

In view of the heightened scrutiny of 

HOS records to which drivers in the 

motion picture industry are subject to 

(as described in the MPAA statement in 

Section III, above), FMCSA believes that 

drivers operating under this exemption 

will achieve a level of safety equivalent 

to or greater than the level of safety that 

would be achieved through the use of 

ELDs [49 CFR 381.305(a)]. 

VII. Decision 

For the reasons addressed above, and 

subject to the terms and conditions set 

forth in Section VIII, FMCSA grants 

MPAA’s request for an exemption from 

the ELD requirement under 49 CFR 

395.8(a). 

VIII. Terms and Conditions of the 

Exemption 

1. Drivers operating under the 

exemption are exempt from the ELD 

requirement under 49 CFR 395.8(a). 

2. The exemption is effective January 

19, 2018 and, unless revoked at an 

earlier date, expires January 19, 2023. 

3. Drivers must have a copy of this 

notice or equivalent signed FMCSA 

exemption document in their possession 

while operating under the terms of the 

exemption. The exemption document 

must be presented to law enforcement 

officials upon request. 

4. Carriers operating under this 

exemption may not have an 

‘‘Unsatisfactory’’ rating with FMCSA or 

be subject to any imminent hazard or 

out of service orders. 

Preemption 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

31315(d), during the period this 

exemption is in effect, no State shall 

enforce any law or regulation that 

conflicts with or is inconsistent with 

this exemption with respect to a firm or 

person operating in interstate 

commerce. 

Notification to FMCSA 

Exempt motor carriers must notify 

FMCSA within 5 business days of any 

accident (as defined in 49 CFR 390.5), 

involving any of their CMVs operating 

under the terms of the exemption. The 

notification must include the following 

information: 

(a) Name of the exemption: ‘‘MPAA,’’ 

(b) Name of the operating motor 

carrier, 

(c) Date of the accident, 

(d) City or town, and State, in which 

the accident occurred, or closest to the 

accident scene, 

(e) Driver’s name and license number, 

(f) Vehicle number and State license 

number, 

(g) Number of individuals suffering 

physical injury, 

(h) Number of fatalities, 

(i) The police-reported cause of the 

accident, 

(j) Whether the driver was cited for 

violation of any traffic laws or motor 

carrier safety regulations, and 

(k) The driver’s total driving time and 

total on-duty time period prior to the 

accident. 

Reports filed under this provision 

shall be emailed to MCPSD@DOT.GOV. 

Termination 

FMCSA does not anticipate the 

drivers covered by this exemption to 

experience any deterioration of their 

safety record. Nevertheless, interested 

parties or organizations possessing 

information that would otherwise show 

that any or all of these motor carriers are 

not achieving the requisite statutory 

level of safety should immediately 

notify FMCSA. The Agency will 

evaluate any information submitted and, 

if safety is being compromised or if the 

continuation of the exemption is 

inconsistent with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b)(4) 

and 31136(e), FMCSA will immediately 

take steps to revoke the exemption of 

the company or companies and drivers 

in question. 

Issued on: January 12, 2018. 

Cathy F. Gautreaux, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00846 Filed 1–18–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 


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