28018 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 98 / Monday, May 21, 2001 / Notices

Issued on: May 15, 2001.

Brian M. McLaughlin,

Acting Deputy Administrator.

[FR Doc. 01–12619 Filed 5–18–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety

Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA–01–9332]

Exemption Application From the

Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen

and CSX Transportation, Inc.

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety

Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of application for

exemption; request for comments.

SUMMARY: The FMCSA has received a

joint application from the Brotherhood

of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) and CSX

Transportation, Inc. (CSX) for an

exemption from the hours-of-service

rules for drivers of commercial motor

vehicles engaged in interstate

commerce. Petitioners request an

exemption from the 60-hour in 7-day

and 70-hour in 8-day rules for CSX’s

signal construction gangs, comprised of

BRS members. The FMCSA seeks public

comment on the merits of the

application and whether the FMCSA

should grant or deny it.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before June 20, 2001.

ADDRESSES: You can mail or hand

deliver comments to the U.S.

Department of Transportation, Dockets

Management Facility, Room PL–401,

400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington,

DC 20590, or submit electronically at

http://dmses.dot.gov/submit. You

should include the docket number that

appears in the heading of this

document. You can examine and copy

all comments at the above address from

9 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through

Friday, except Federal Holidays. You

may also view comments on the Internet

at http://dms.dot.gov using the docket

number that appears in the heading of

this document. If you want us to notify

you that we received your comments,

please include a self-addressed,

stamped postcard, or you may print the

acknowledgment page that appears after

submitting comments electronically.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

David Miller, (202) 366–6408.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

BRS and CSX’s Application

The CSX is a private motor carrier of

property as defined by 49 CFR part 390

and a Class I railroad as defined by 49

CFR part 1201. The BRS and CSX filed

a joint application that asks the FMCSA

for either one of two actions. The

petitioners’ first (and preferred) request

is for an interpretation that the hours-ofservice (HOS) regulations (49 CFR Part

395) do not apply to CSX railroad signal

employees driving commercial motor

vehicles (CMVs) on public roads in

interstate commerce. The alternative

request is for an exemption from the

HOS rules that would allow CSX

railroad signal employees to work their

collectively-bargained schedule, i.e., 8

consecutive days on duty at up to 12

hours per day, followed by 6

consecutive days off duty. A copy of the

joint application for exemption is in the

docket.

The FMCSA disagrees with

petitioners’ argument that the HOS

regulations ‘‘are not intended to, and do

not, apply to railroad signal employees

who are subject to HOS requirements

promulgated by Congress specifically

for application to railroad signal

employees.’’ The 1976 amendment to

the Hours of Service Act of 1907 dealing

with railroad signal employees (49

U.S.C. 21104) was intended to protect

them from being required to work

excessive hours. Nothing in Sec. 21104

suggests that Congress intended it to

supersede the HOS regulations

applicable to highway operations of

CMVs, which were based on the Motor

Carrier Act of 1935 (49 U.S.C. 31502).

The language and legislative history of

section 21104 reveal no specific intent

to protect the public from potential risks

associated with the operation of CMVs

by railroad signal personnel who are onduty for many hours. The FMCSA’s

HOS regulations, on the other hand, are

designed to protect all users of the

public highways from fatigued CMV

drivers (49 CFR Part 395). Petitioners’

argument is not supported by any

authority.

Exemption Request

The agency will, however, consider

petitioners’ request for an exemption

from Part 395 to the extent needed to

allow railroad signal employees to work

their collectively-bargained schedule,

i.e., 8 consecutive days on duty at up to

12 hours per day, followed by 6

consecutive days off duty.

According to the joint application,

CSX employs about 1,765 signalmen

who are represented by the BRS. It is

unclear exactly how many of these

employees would be affected by the

exemption requested.

The petition states that CSX signal

employees are organized into 91

construction gangs. They drive private

vehicles from their homes to a hotel or

motel close to their next job site. From

there, CSX transports signal employees

to the job site in company vehicles

driven by other members of the crew.

These drivers typically spend two to

three hours per day driving, and the rest

of their time working on railroad signal

equipment. They also move their

vehicles between job sites, which

usually takes less than four hours.

Petitioners reported that ‘‘[d]uring

1999, members of CSX’s signal

construction gangs operated

approximately 133 vehicles prior to

June 1 and approximately 177 vehicles

after June 1, at an average annual rate of

200 days per vehicle or more than

30,000 vehicle days. During that period

of time there were no fatalities related

to operation of CMVs by members of

signal construction gangs. There were

no instances of personal injury and only

24 instances of property damage related

to operation of CMVs by members of

signal construction gangs. Eleven of

those instances involved CSX vehicles

being struck by outside parties. Others

involved such things as collisions with

deer. Thus, there is minimal risk in

authorizing a modest increase in the

work week for this small group of CSX

drivers. Any such risk that may exist is

more than offset by a very substantial

off-duty period between each work

week.’’

The BRS and CSX offered additional

arguments in support of an exemption.

The entire application is available in the

docket.

On December 15, 2000, the

Association of American Railroads

(AAR) filed with the FMCSA a ‘‘petition

* * * in support of the joint petition

filed September 12, 2000, by the

Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen and

CSX Transportation, Inc.’’ Since the

AAR document is not a separate request

for exemption, but rather a body of

arguments and data in support of the

previous petition, the FMCSA will treat

it as a comment. It is also available in

the docket.

Exemption Procedure

Drivers for motor carriers that do not

operate every day of the week are

prohibited from driving after being on

duty 60 hours in any 7-day period

(§ 395.3(b)(1)). Drivers for motor carriers

that operate every day of the week may

not drive after being on duty 70 hours

in any 8-day period (§ 395.3(b)(2)). The

BRS and CSX are applying for a 2-year

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 98 / Monday, May 21, 2001 / Notices 28019

exemption from both of these

requirements under 49 CFR Part 381,

subpart C (§§ 381.300 through 381.330).

Section 381.310 (c) and (d) require

applicants to submit a written statement

that:

1. Describes the reason the exemption

is needed, including the time period

during which it is needed;

2. Identifies the regulation from

which the applicant would like to be

exempted;

3. Provides an estimate of the total

number of drivers and CMVs that would

be operated under the terms and

conditions of the exemption;

4. Assesses the safety impacts the

exemption may have;

5. Explains how the applicant would

ensure that it could achieve a level of

safety that is equivalent to, or greater

than, the level of safety that would be

obtained by complying with the

regulation; and

6. Describes the impacts (e.g.,

inability to test innovative safety

management control systems, etc.) the

applicant could experience if the

exemption is not granted by the

FMCSA.

7. The application must include a

copy of all research reports, technical

papers, and other publications and

documents the applicant references.

An exemption is limited to two years

from its approval date, but it may be

renewed upon application to the

FMCSA. This document and the

material in the docket constitute all of

the relevant information known to the

agency.

Request for Comments

In accordance with 49 CFR Part 381,

the FMCSA is requesting public

comment on the exemption application

from the BRS and CSX.

We will consider all comments

received before the close of business on

the comment closing date of this notice.

We will file in the public docket

comments received after the comment

closing date and will consider them to

the extent practicable, but the FMCSA

may grant or deny the BRS and CSX

exemption at any time after the close of

the comment period.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 31136 and 31315; and

49 CFR 1.73.

Issued on: May 14, 2001.

Brian M. McLaughlin,

Acting Deputy Administrator.

[FR Doc. 01–12618 Filed 5–18–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

Announcing the Fifth Quarterly

Meeting of the Crash Injury Research

and Engineering Network

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Meeting announcement.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the

Fifth Quarterly Meeting of members of

the Crash Injury Research and

Engineering Network. CIREN is a

collaborative effort to conduct research

on crashes and injuries at nine Level 1

Trauma Centers which are linked by a

computer network. Researchers can

review data and share expertise, which

could lead to a better understanding of

crash injury mechanisms and the design

of safer vehicles.

DATES: The meeting is scheduled from 9

a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 21, 2001.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in

Room 6200–04 of the U.S. Department

of Transportation Building, which is

located at 400 Seventh Street, SW.,

Washington, DC.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

CIREN System has been established and

crash cases have been entered into the

database by each Center. CIREN cases

may be viewed from the NHTSA/CIREN

web site at: http://wwwnrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/include/

bio_and_trauma/ciren-final.htm.

NHTSA has held three Annual

Conferences where CIREN research

results were presented. Further

information about the three previous

CIREN conferences is also available

through the NHTSA website. NHTSA

held the first quarterly meeting on May

5, 2000, with a topic of lower extremity

injuries in motor vehicle crashes, the

second quarterly meeting on July 21,

2000, with a topic of side impact

crashes, the third quarterly meeting on

November 30, 2000, with a topic of

thoracic injuries in crashes and the

fourth quarterly meeting on March 16,

2001, with a topic of offset frontal

collisions. Information from the May 5,

July 21, and November 30, 2000,

meetings and the March 16, 2001

meeting are also available through the

NHTSA website.

NHTSA plans to continue holding

quarterly meetings on a regular basis to

disseminate CIREN information to

interested parties. This is the fifth such

meeting. The topic for this meeting is

CIREN Outreach Efforts. Subsequent

meetings have tentatively been

scheduled for September and December

2001. These quarterly meetings will be

in lieu of an annual CIREN conference.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mrs.

Donna Stemski, Office of HumanCentered Research, 400 Seventh Street,

SW., Room 6206, Washington, DC

20590, telephone: (202) 366–5662.

Issued on: May 14, 2001.

Raymond P. Owings,

Associate Administrator for Research and

Development, National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration.

[FR Doc. 01–12617 Filed 5–18–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–U

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

Docket No. NHTSA–2001–9562

Notice of Receipt of Petition for

Decision That Nonconforming 1992

Chevrolet Corvette Passenger Cars

Are Eligible for Importation

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration, DOT

ACTION: Notice of receipt of petition for

decision that nonconforming 1992

Chevrolet Corvette passenger cars are

eligible for importation.

SUMMARY: This document announces

receipt by the National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA) of a

petition for a decision that 1992

Chevrolet Corvette passenger cars that

were not originally manufactured to

comply with all applicable Federal

motor vehicle safety standards are

eligible for importation into the United

States because (1) they are substantially

similar to vehicles that were originally

manufactured for importation into and

sale in the United States and that were

certified by their manufacturer as

complying with the safety standards,

and (2) they are capable of being readily

altered to conform to the standards.

DATES: The closing date for comments

on the petition is June 20, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to

the docket number and notice number,

and be submitted to: Docket

Management, Room PL–401, 400

Seventh St., SW., Washington, DC

20590. [Docket hours are from 9 am to

5 pm].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

George Entwistle, Office of Vehicle

Safety Compliance, NHTSA (202–366–

5306).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: