46704 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 155 / Monday, August 11, 2008 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2008–0224] 

Parts and Accessories Necessary for 

Safe Operation; Application for an 

Exemption From Greyhound Lines, Inc. 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of application for 

exemption; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration (FMCSA) 

requests public comment on an 

application for exemption from 

Greyhound Lines, Inc. (Greyhound) 

regarding the placement of video event 

recorders at the top of the windshields 

on its buses. Greyhound wants to mount 

the recorders in an area of the 

windshield that is lower than what is 

currently permitted by the Agency’s 

regulations in order to obtain the most 

effective view of the driver, passengers 

or outside area to maximize the ability 

to improve driver safety and understand 

the root causes of collisions. Greyhound 

would use the video event recorders to 

increase safety through (1) Identification 

and remediation of risky driving 

behaviors such as distracted driving and 

drowsiness; (2) enhanced monitoring of 

passenger behavior; and (3) enhanced 

collision review and analysis. 

Greyhound believes this mounting 

position would maintain a level of 

safety that is equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level of safety achieved 

without the exemption. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before September 10, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by DOT DMS Docket Number 

FMCSA–2008–0224 by any of the 

following methods: 

• Web site: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on the Federal electronic docket site. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 

Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590–

0001. 

• Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, DOT Building, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. e.t., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the Agency name and docket 

number for this notice. For detailed 

instructions on submitting comments 

and additional information on the 

exemption process, see the ‘‘Public 

Participation’’ heading below. 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 for 

further information. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov or to Room W12–

140, DOT Building, New Jersey Avenue, 

SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

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 

19476) or you may visit http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Public participation: The http:// 

www.regulations.gov Web site is 

generally available 24 hours each day, 

365 days each year. You can get 

electronic submission and retrieval help 

and guidelines under the ‘‘help’’ section 

of the http://www.regulations.gov Web 

site and also at the DOT’s http:// 

docketsinfo.dot.gov Web site. If you 

want us to notify you that we received 

your comments, please include a self 

addressed, stamped envelope or 

postcard or print the acknowledgement 

page that appears after submitting 

comments online. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Luke W. Loy, Vehicle and Roadside 

Operations Division, Office of Bus and 

Truck Standards and Operations, MC–

PSV, (202) 366–0676; Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC 20590–0001. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 4007 of the Transportation 

Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA–

21) [Pub. L. 105–178, June 9, 1998, 112 

Stat. 401] amended 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 

31136(e) to provide authority to grant 

exemptions from the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). 

On August 20, 2004, FMCSA published 

a final rule (69 FR 51589) implementing 

section 4007. Under this rule, FMCSA 

must publish a notice of each exemption 

request in the Federal Register (49 CFR 

381.315(a)). The Agency must provide 

the public with 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 the safety 

analyses and the public comments 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)). If the Agency denies 

the request, it must state the reason for 

doing so. If the decision is to grant the 

exemption, the notice must specify the 

person or class of persons receiving the 

exemption and the regulatory provision 

or provisions from which an exemption 

is granted. The notice must also specify 

the effective period of the exemption 

(up to 2 years) and explain the terms 

and conditions of the exemption. The 

exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 

381.315(c) and 49 CFR 381.300(b)). 

Greyhound’s Application for 

Exemption 

On March 19, 2008, Greyhound 

applied for an exemption from 49 CFR 

393.60(e)(1) to allow it to install video 

event recorders on some or all its bus 

fleet—which totals approximately 1,650 

buses. A copy of the application is 

included in the docket referenced at the 

beginning of this notice. 

Section 393.60(e)(1) of the FMCSRs 

prohibits the obstruction of the driver’s 

field of view by devices mounted at the 

top of the windshield. Antennas, 

transponders and similar devices 

(devices) must not be mounted more 

than 152 mm (6 inches) below the upper 

edge of the windshield. These devices 

must be located outside the area swept 

by the windshield wipers and outside 

the driver’s sight lines to the road and 

highway signs and signals. 

Greyhound states that over the last 

several years, the structural and 

aesthetic design of buses has changed 

considerably to include larger 

windshields that encompass a larger 

percentage of the front area of a motor 

coach and that extend well beyond the 

driver’s useable sight line. As a result, 

manufacturers have voluntarily 

installed larger windshield wipers on 

these windshields that increase the 

swept area beyond that which is 

minimally required by Federal Motor 

Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 

104, ‘‘Windshield Wiping and Washing 

Systems.’’ FMVSS No. 104 establishes 

the requirements applicable to vehicle 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 155 / Monday, August 11, 2008 / Notices 46705 

and equipment manufacturers for 

windshield wiper system coverage for 

passenger cars, multi-purpose passenger 

vehicles, trucks and buses. 

Greyhound states that video event 

recorders, for optimal effectiveness, are 

mounted on the vehicle windshield on 

the interior of the vehicle in a position 

that enables the video-capture of what is 

happening in front of the vehicle as well 

as an internal video-capture of the 

driver and passengers. The view of what 

is happening in front of the vehicle 

requires that the forward lens of the 

recorder be in the swept area of the 

windshield for a clear view in inclement 

weather. Greyhound states: 

‘‘Section 393.60(e)(1) was designed to 

avoid placement of devices on the 

windshield that would obstruct a driver’s 

useful view of the roadway. However, 

because of the increase of the size of 

motorcoach windows and the corresponding 

increase in the area swept by the windshield 

wipers, video event recorders now must be 

mounted so high on the window as to limit 

the view of drivers, passengers, and collision 

events. Thus, the level of safety that can be 

produced by use of video event recorders is 

limited by the current regulation. By 

comparison, the proposed alternative will 

enable Greyhound to lower the placement of 

the video event recorders to a level, which 

will maximize the external and internal 

views of the recorders while still having 

them mounted high enough so as not to limit 

the field of vision of the driver.’’

Greyhound notes in its exemption 

application that the Commercial Vehicle 

Safety Alliance (CVSA) submitted a 

petition for rulemaking to FMCSA on 

October 18, 2007, to amend 49 CFR 

393.60(e). The CVSA petition requests 

that the FMCSRs be amended to permit 

video event recorders and similar 

devices that require a clear forward 

facing visual field to be mounted not 

more than 50 mm (2 inches) below the 

upper edge of the area swept by the 

windshield wipers, provided that they 

are located outside the driver’s sight 

lines to the road and highway signs and 

signals. In its exemption application, 

Greyhound proposes to comply with the 

language proposed by the CVSA petition 

during the period of the exemption, if 

granted. A copy of the CVSA petition 

has been placed in the docket 

referenced at the beginning of this 

notice. 

Request for Comments 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 

and 31136(e), FMCSA requests public 

comment from all interested persons on 

Greyhound’s application for an 

exemption from 49 CFR 393.116(a)(3). 

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 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. 

Issued on: August 1, 2008. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy and 

Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E8–18495 Filed 8–8–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Open Meeting of the Financial Literacy 

and Education Commission 

AGENCY: Departmental Offices, Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice of open meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

fifteenth meeting of the Financial 

Literacy and Education Commission, 

established by the Financial Literacy 

and Education Improvement Act (Title 

V of the Fair and Accurate Credit 

Transactions Act of 2003). 

DATES: The fifteenth meeting of the 

Financial Literacy and Education 

Commission will be held on Tuesday, 

September 16, 2008, beginning at 10 

a.m. 

ADDRESSES: The Financial Literacy and 

Education Commission meeting will be 

held in the Cash Room at the 

Department of the Treasury, located at 

1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20220. To be cleared 

for admittance to the Treasury building, 

attendees must RSVP with their name as 

shown on a government-issued ID, 

organization represented (if any), phone 

number, date of birth, Social Security 

number and country of citizenship. This 

information can be provided in an email to the Treasury Department at 

FLECrsvp@do.treas.gov or by a 

telephone voice message at (202) 622–

1783 (not a toll-free number) no later 

than 12 noon (EDT) Thursday, 

September 11, 2008. For admittance to 

the Treasury building on the day of the 

meeting, attendees must present a 

government-issued ID, such as a driver’s 

license or passport, which includes a 

photo and date of birth. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

additional information, contact William 

F. Sullivan by e-mail at 

william.sullivan@do.treas.gov or by 

telephone at (202) 622–4826 (not a toll 

free number). Additional information 

regarding the Financial Literacy and 

Education Commission and the 

Department of the Treasury’s Office of 

Financial Education may be obtained 

through the Office of Financial 

Education’s Web site at http:// 

www.treas.gov/financialeducation. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Financial Literacy and Education 

Improvement Act, which is Title V of 

the Fair and Accurate Credit 

Transactions Act of 2003 (the ‘‘FACT 

Act’’) (Pub. L. 108–159), established the 

Financial Literacy and Education 

Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) to 

improve the financial literacy and 

education of persons in the United 

States. The Commission is composed of 

the Secretary of the Treasury and the 

heads of the Office of the Comptroller of 

the Currency, the Office of Thrift 

Supervision, the Federal Reserve, the 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 

the National Credit Union 

Administration, the Securities and 

Exchange Commission, the Departments 

of Education, Agriculture, Defense, 

Health and Human Services, Housing 

and Urban Development, Labor, and 

Veterans Affairs, the Federal Trade 

Commission, the General Services 

Administration, the Small Business 

Administration, the Social Security 

Administration, the Commodity Futures 

Trading Commission, and the Office of 

Personnel Management. The 

Commission is required to hold 

meetings that are open to the public 

every four months. The FACT Act was 

enacted on December 4, 2003. 

The fifteenth meeting of the 

Commission, which will be open to the 

public, will be held in the Cash Room 

at the Department of the Treasury, 

located at 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC 20220. The room 

will accommodate 80 members of the 

public. Seating is available on a firstcome, first-seated basis. Participation in 

the discussion at the meeting will be 

limited to Commission members, their 

staffs, and special guest presenters. 

Dated: August 4, 2008. 

Taiya Smith, 

Executive Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–18414 Filed 8–8–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–25–P 


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