36034 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 114 / Tuesday, June 14, 2022 / Notices 

request. IITR further noted that the 

process authorized under the previous 

exemption is currently used by the 

industry as the standard method for 

securing light vehicles being towed and 

notes that ‘‘the practice allows for an 

efficient four-point cargo system that is 

more stringent than the two-point 

minimum system required by 49 CFR 

393.128.’’ 

IV. Equivalent Level of Safety Analysis 

FMCSA is not aware of any evidence 

showing that allowing the use of four 

tiedowns, at least two of which are 

adjustable, to secure automobiles, light 

trucks, and vans to prevent against 

lateral, forward, rearward, and vertical 

motion as required by 49 CFR 393.128 

in accordance with the conditions of the 

original exemption, has resulted in any 

degradation in safety. The Agency 

believes that extending the exemption 

for a period of five years, on the terms 

and conditions set forth in this 

exemption renewal decision, will likely 

achieve a level of safety that is 

equivalent to, or greater than the level 

achieved by a cargo securement system 

that uses two adjustable tiedowns when 

the cargo securement system meets all 

of the aggregate working load limit 

requirements of 49 CFR 393.106(d). 

V. Exemption Renewal Decision 

A. Grant of Exemption 

FMCSA provisionally renews the 

exemption for a period of five years 

subject to the terms and conditions of 

this decision and the absence of public 

comments that would cause the Agency 

to terminate the exemption as specified 

in this section. The exemption from the 

requirements of 49 CFR 393.112 is 

otherwise effective from May 17, 2022, 

through May 17, 2027, 11:59 p.m. EST, 

unless renewed or terminated earlier. 

B. Applicability of Exemption 

The exemption is restricted to towing 

companies and operators of car carrier 

type tow trucks that transport and are 

securing automobiles, light trucks, and 

vans using a total of four tiedowns—two 

fixed and two adjustable—instead of 

using a minimum of two tiedowns, both 

of which need to be adjustable. 

C. Terms and Conditions 

Drivers operating under the 

exemption must comply with all other 

applicable FMCRS (49 CFR 350–399). 

D. Preemption 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

31315(d), as implemented by 49 CFR 

381.600, during the period this 

exemption is in effect, no State shall 

enforce any law or regulation applicable 

to interstate commerce that conflicts 

with or is inconsistent with this 

exemption with respect to a firm or 

person operating under the exemption. 

States may, but are not required to, 

adopt the same exemption with respect 

to operations in intrastate commerce. 

E. Termination 

The exemption will be valid for five 

years unless rescinded earlier by 

FMCSA. The exemption will be 

rescinded if: (1) motor carriers and/or 

commercial motor vehicles fail 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 

objects of 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315. 

Interested parties possessing 

information that would demonstrate 

that companies operating under this 

exemption are not achieving the 

requisite statutory level of safety should 

immediately notify FMCSA. Such 

information may be reported via email 

to MCPSV@dot.gov. The Agency will 

evaluate any such information and, if 

safety is being compromised or if the 

continuation of the exemption is not 

consistent with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 

31315(b), will take immediate steps to 

revoke the exemption. 

VI. Request for Comments 

FMCSA requests public comment 

from all interested persons on FMCSA’s 

decision to provisionally renew this 

exemption. All comments received 

before the close of business on the 

comment closing date indicated at the 

beginning of this notice will be 

considered and will be available for 

examination in the docket at the 

location listed under the Address 

section of this notice. Comments 

received after the comment closing date 

will be filed in the public docket and 

will be considered to the extent 

practical. In addition to late comments, 

FMCSA will also continue to file, in the 

public docket, relevant information that 

becomes available after the comment 

closing date. Interested persons should 

continue to examine the public docket 

for new material. 

Robin Hutcheson, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2022–12739 Filed 6–13–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2022–0103] 

Commercial Driver’s License 

Standards: Stevens Transport, Inc.; 

Application for Exemption 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of application for 

exemption; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that 

Stevens Transport, Inc. (Stevens) has 

applied for an exemption from the 

provisions in our regulations that 

require a commercial learner’s permit 

(CLP) holder to be accompanied by a 

commercial driver’s license (CDL) 

holder with the proper CDL class and 

endorsements seated in the front seat of 

the vehicle while the CLP holder 

performs behind-the-wheel training on 

public roads or highways. The 

exemption would allow a CLP holder 

who has passed the skills test but not 

yet received the CDL document to drive 

a Stevens commercial motor vehicle 

(CMV) accompanied by a CDL holder 

who is not necessarily in the passenger 

seat, provided the driver has 

documentation of passing the skills test. 

FMCSA requests public comment on the 

applicant’s request for exemption. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before July 14, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Federal Docket 

Management System (FDMS) Number 

FMCSA–2022–0103 by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. See the Public 

Participation and Request for Comments 

section below for further information. 

• Mail: Dockets Operations, 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, 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. E.T., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

Each submission must include the 

Agency name and the docket number 

(FMCSA–2022–0103) for this notice. 

Note that DOT posts all comments 

received without change to 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information included in a 

comment. Please see the Privacy Act 

heading below. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 114 / Tuesday, June 14, 2022 / Notices 36035 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments, go to www.regulations.gov at 

any time or visit 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. To be sure someone is there to 

help you, please call (202) 366–9317 or 

(202) 366–9826 before visiting Dockets 

Operations. 

Privacy Act: In accordance with 49 

U.S.C. 31315(b), DOT solicits comments 

from the public to better inform its 

exemption process. DOT posts these 

comments, without edit, including any 

personal information the commenter 

provides, to www.regulations.gov, as 

described in the system of records 

notice DOT/ALL 14–FDMS, which can 

be reviewed at https://

www.transportation.gov/privacy. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Richard Clemente, Driver and Carrier 

Operations Division; Office of Carrier, 

Driver and Vehicle Safety Standards, 

FMCSA, at (202) 366–2722 or by email 

at MCPSD@dot.gov. If you have 

questions on viewing or submitting 

material to the docket, contact Dockets 

Operations at (202) 366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation and Request for 

Comments 

FMCSA encourages you to participate 

by submitting comments and related 

materials. 

Submitting Comments 

If you submit a comment, please 

include the docket number for this 

notice (FMCSA–2022–0103), indicate 

the specific section of this document to 

which the comment applies, and 

provide a reason for suggestions or 

recommendations. You may submit 

your comments and material online or 

by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but 

please use only one of these means. 

FMCSA recommends that you include 

your name and a mailing address, an 

email address, or a phone number in the 

body of your document so the Agency 

can contact you if it has questions 

regarding your submission. 

To submit your comment online, go to 

www.regulations.gov and put the docket 

number (‘‘FMCSA–2022–0103’’) in the 

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

When the new screen appears, click on 

the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ button and type 

your comment into the text box in the 

following screen. Choose whether you 

are submitting your comment as an 

individual or on behalf of a third party 

and then submit. If you submit your 

comments by mail or hand delivery, 

submit them in an unbound format, no 

larger than 81⁄2 by 11 inches, suitable for 

copying and electronic filing. If you 

submit comments by mail and would 

like to know that they reached the 

facility, please enclose a stamped, selfaddressed postcard or envelope. FMCSA 

will consider all comments and material 

received during the comment period. 

II. Legal Basis 

FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 

31136(e) and 31315(b) to grant 

exemptions from 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 

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 Agency must publish its decision 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 

specify the effective period and explain 

the terms and conditions of the 

exemption. The exemption may be 

renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)). 

III. Background 

Current Regulatory Requirements 

FMCSA’s commercial driver’s license 

(CDL) regulations prescribe minimum 

training conditions for behind-thewheel training of a commercial learner’s 

permit (CLP) holder in 49 CFR 383.25. 

Section 383.25(a)(1) requires that a CLP 

holder must at all times be accompanied 

by a CDL holder with the proper CDL 

class and endorsements. The CDL 

holder must be seated in the front seat 

of the commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 

while the CLP holder performs behindthe-wheel training on public roads or 

highways. 

Applicant’s Request 

Stevens Transport, Inc. (Stevens) 

requests an exemption from 49 CFR 

383.25(a)(1) to allow CLP holders who 

have successfully passed a CDL skills 

test and are thus eligible to receive a 

CDL, to drive a CMV without a CDL 

holder always present in the front 

passenger seat. The exemption will 

allow Stevens to immediately employ a 

qualified driver to transport freight 

while the driver’s CDL documentation is 

being processed by the driver’s State of 

domicile. Stevens recruits and develops 

driver candidates through the Stevens 

Driving Academy, and several affiliated 

commercial driving schools that provide 

CDL training in a number of States, 

including Colorado, Louisiana, Georgia, 

Florida, and Tennessee. Stevens 

graduates approximately 3,150 new 

drivers each year. Prior to the 

implementation of section 383.25(a)(1), 

the driver’s State of domicile routinely 

issued temporary CDLs to drivers who 

had successfully passed a CDL skills test 

in their state, which made it possible for 

Stevens to immediately designate a new 

driver as on duty, and direct that driver 

to their State of domicile to obtain CDL 

documentation without entering a 

second driver into an on-duty status. 

This translated into immediate 

productive freight movement for 

Stevens and compensation for the new 

driver. 

Stevens is currently not able to 

employ new drivers until their home 

States issue a CDL and must choose 

either to wait for the driver to obtain a 

CDL from their home State before 

starting on-duty freight operations or 

send the driver home in an 

unproductive non-driving capacity. The 

result for Stevens is supply chain 

inefficiency and a lost employment 

opportunity for a new driver. In 

addition, as States may take weeks to 

properly document and update the 

status of a new driver’s license after 

passing the CDL skills test, Stevens is 

again not able to employ the driver 

without requiring a second driver in the 

front seat of the CMV. This 

administrative waiting period has 

caused a significant burden on Stevens’s 

operations. Stevens requested a 2-year 

exemption. 

IV. Equivalent Level of Safety 

Stevens indicates that the exemption 

will result in a level of safety that is 

greater than the level of safety without 

the exemption, as the only difference 

between a CLP holder who has passed 

the CDL skills test and a CDL holder is 

that the latter has obtained a hard copy 

of the CDL document from the home 

state’s Department of Motor Vehicles 

(DMV). The practical result of the 

exemption, if granted, is that a CLP 

holder who has passed a CDL skills test 

would be able to drive without 

complying with 49 CFR 383.25(a)(1) and 

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36036 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 114 / Tuesday, June 14, 2022 / Notices 

1Law enforcement personnel can also submit 

information about blocked crossings to FRA 

through a separate portal, access to which is 

restricted to law enforcement personnel with 

usernames and passwords managed by FRA. 

job training. According to Stevens, this 

will allow them to hone their recently 

acquired driving skill set and put them 

to work as a productive employee. If the 

exemption is not granted, Stevens will 

not be able to immediately begin 

training and employing new drivers due 

in large measure to DMV delays in 

delivering CDL documents. Stevens 

believes it is the safer approach to allow 

these new drivers to begin practicing 

their driving skills immediately under 

the requested exemption. 

The exemption would apply only to 

those drivers who passed the CDL skills 

test, hold a CLP, and operate the CMV 

under supervision of a CDL holder who 

is somewhere in the vehicle. Stevens 

will ensure this level of safety by 

maintaining proper, up-to-date records 

for all drivers in possession of a CLP 

who have passed the CDL skills test. 

A copy of Stevens’ application for 

exemption is available for review in the 

docket for this notice. 

V. Request for Comments 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

31315(b), FMCSA requests public 

comment from all interested persons on 

Stevens’ application for an exemption 

from the requirement in 49 CFR 

383.25(a)(1). All comments received 

before the close of business on the 

comment closing date indicated at the 

beginning of this notice will be 

considered and will be available for 

examination in the docket at the 

location listed under the ADDRESSES

section of this notice. Comments 

received after the comment closing date 

will be filed in the public docket and 

will be considered to the extent 

practicable. In addition to late 

comments, FMCSA will continue to file, 

in the public docket, relevant 

information that becomes available after 

the comment closing date. Interested 

persons should continue to examine the 

public docket for new material. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2022–12810 Filed 6–13–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket No. FRA–2022–0054] 

Request for Information Regarding 

FRA’s Public Blocked Crossing Portal 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Request for information (RFI). 

SUMMARY: Section 22404 of the 

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, 

also known as the Bipartisan 

Infrastructure Law (BIL), requires FRA 

to maintain a blocked crossing portal to 

receive information from the public 

regarding blocked highway-rail grade 

crossings. Section 22404 of BIL also 

requires FRA to submit a report that 

describes the nature of blocked 

highway-rail grade crossings, FRA’s 

process for reviewing and using 

information received through the 

blocked crossing portal, FRA’s 

engagement with affected parties, and 

whether the blocked crossing portal 

continues to be an effective method to 

collect blocked crossing information 

and what changes could improve its 

effectiveness. This RFI is soliciting 

comments on how FRA’s engagement 

with affected parties and changes to the 

portal and related operations can 

improve the effectiveness of the portal. 

DATES: Written comments on this RFI 

must be received on or before August 

15, 2022. FRA will consider comments 

filed after this date to the extent 

practicable. 

ADDRESSES:

Comments: Comments related to this 

RFI may be submitted by going to 

https://www.regulations.gov and 

following the online instructions for 

submitting comments. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the agency name and docket 

number (FRA–2022–0054) for this RFI. 

Please note that comments submitted 

online via www.regulations.gov are not 

immediately posted to the docket. 

Several business days may elapse after 

a comment has been submitted online 

before it is posted to the docket. 

Privacy Act: DOT solicits comments 

from the public to better inform its 

regulatory process. DOT posts these 

comments, without edit, to 

www.regulations.gov, as described in 

the system of records notice, DOT/ALL– 

14 FDMS, accessible through 

www.dot.gov/privacy. To facilitate 

comment tracking and response, 

commenters are encouraged to provide 

their name, or the name of their 

organization; however, submission of 

names is completely optional. Whether 

or not commenters identify themselves, 

all timely comments will be fully 

considered. If you wish to provide 

comments containing proprietary or 

confidential information, please contact 

the agency for alternate submission 

instructions. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read comments received, please visit 

https://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the online instructions for accessing the 

docket. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information related to this RFI, 

please contact James Payne, Staff 

Director, Highway-Rail Crossing and 

Trespasser Programs Division 

(telephone: 202–493–6005, email: 

james.payne@dot.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2019, 

FRA created a dedicated blocked 

crossing portal website (https://

www.fra.dot.gov/blockedcrossings/) to 

allow the public to voluntarily submit 

information about blocked crossings to 

FRA.1 Users of FRA’s blocked crossing 

portal are asked to provide information 

about the location, date, time, duration, 

and immediate impacts of each blocked 

crossing incident. FRA uses the data 

collected to gain information about 

where and when blocked crossing 

incidents are occurring (as well as the 

duration and immediate impacts of 

these incidents). FRA does not, 

however, forward the information 

collected to a railroad, State, or local 

agency for response. 

In addition to mandating that FRA 

maintain an online portal and 

corresponding database to receive and 

store information about blocked 

highway-rail grade crossings, section 

22404(i) of BIL requires FRA to submit 

a report to Congress that discusses, 

among other things, whether FRA’s 

blocked crossing portal continues to be 

an effective method to collect blocked 

crossing information, as well as changes 

that could be made to improve its 

effectiveness. Specifically, section 

22404 of BIL requires FRA to submit a 

report that describes: (1) frequent and 

long-duration blocked highway-rail 

grade crossings, including the locations, 

dates, durations, and impacts resulting 

from such occurrences; (2) FRA’s 

process for verifying the accuracy of the 

complaints submitted to the blocked 

crossing portal; (3) FRA’s use of the data 

compiled by the blocked crossing portal 

to assess the underlying causes and 

overall impacts of blocked crossings; (4) 

FRA’s engagement with affected parties 

to identify and facilitate solutions to 

frequent and long-duration blocked 

highway-rail grade crossings identified 

by the blocked crossing portal; and (5) 

whether the blocked crossing portal 

continues to be an effective method to 

collect blocked crossing information 

and what changes could improve its 

effectiveness. 


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