6552 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 23 / Monday, February 4, 2008 / Notices 

the next 3 years and the anticipated date 

a toll agreement will be executed; 

5. A description of the congestion or 

air quality problems sought to be 

addressed under the program; 

6. A description of the performance 

goals sought to be achieved under the 

program, which should include goals 

related to addressing the effects on 

travel, traffic, and air quality; the 

distribution of benefits and burdens on 

users of the facility; the use of 

alternative modes of transportation; and 

the use of revenues to transportation or 

impact mitigation needs; 

7. Plans for regular monitoring and 

reporting on the achievement of the 

project’s performance goals; 

8. An identification of the timing on 

when the facility will begin tolling 

motor vehicles and for how long a 

period tolling will be in effect; 

9. Description of the type of noncash 

technology and standards that will be 

applied to automate the tolling 

operations; and 

10. Description of tolling strategy 

considered, for instance, fixed or 

variable pricing. 

The formal application should be 

submitted directly through the State 

Department of Transportation to the 

appropriate FHWA Division 

Administrator. The FHWA Division will 

then forward the application to Mr. 

Wayne Berman, c/o the Office of 

Operations, HOTM, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, or 

via e-mail at wayne.berman@dot.gov. 

Upon finding that the application 

provides relevant information 

pertaining to the above listed factors, 

the FHWA will determine whether to 

accept the application and grant 

authority to toll motor vehicles on the 

facility. The FHWA’s determination will 

based, in part, upon availability of 

program slots and competition with 

other pending and anticipated project 

applications, including projects that 

further the objectives of the ‘‘Congestion 

Initiative’’ (see http:// 

www.fightgridlocknow.gov/), such as for 

the Corridors of the Future or the Urban 

Partnership Initiatives. Any applications 

received by the FHWA prior to the 

publication of this Notice need only 

address the minimum eligibility factors 

contained in section 1604(b)(4)(A) & (B) 

of SAFETEA–LU. For further questions 

about the formal application process, 

please contact Mr. Wayne Berman, 

Office of Operations at (202) 366–4069. 

Performance Goals and Monitoring 

Pursuant to section 1604(b)(7) of 

SAFETEA–LU, the Secretary, in 

cooperation with the State, public 

authority, private entity, and other 

program participants must develop 

performance goals for each project and 

publish such goals for public comment. 

These performance goals will first be 

proposed by the State, public authority, 

private entity, or other program 

participant in the formal application to 

participate in the program. These goals 

must include goals related to addressing 

the effects on travel, traffic, and air 

quality; the distribution of benefits and 

burdens on users of the facility; the use 

of alternative modes of transportation; 

and the use of revenues to 

transportation or impact mitigation 

needs. The FHWA will review the 

performance goals and provide feedback 

to the applicant if the FHWA has any 

questions or comments. Once satisfied 

with the project’s performance goals, the 

FHWA will publish these goals in the 

Federal Register and solicit public 

comment, as required in section 

1604(b). 

Additionally, section 1604(b)(7) of 

SAFETEA–LU requires the Secretary, in 

cooperation with the State, public 

authority, private entity, and other 

program participants, to establish a 

program for regular monitoring and 

reporting on the achievement of the 

performance goals. A description of the 

monitoring program should be included 

in the project’s application, and should 

include a process whereby the State, 

public authority, private entity, and 

other program participant will report on 

the project’s achievement of the 

performance goals by March 31 of each 

year. In the case where a private entity 

has been designated by the State to carry 

out the demonstration project, the 

private entity shall work with the State 

in evaluating the performance goals. 

Once the FHWA is satisfied with the 

monitoring and reporting program, the 

FHWA will publish a description of the 

program in the Federal Register and 

solicit public comment. 

The establishment of the performance 

goals and a monitoring program 

required by section 1604(b)(7) of 

SAFETEA–LU, including the 

publication of such goals and 

monitoring in the Federal Register and 

solicitation of public comment, does not 

need to occur prior to the FHWA’s 

approval of the State’s application. 

Authority: Section 1604(b) of Public Law 

109–59; 23 U.S.C. 315; 49 CFR 1.48. 

Issued on: January 24, 2008. 

J. Richard Capka, 

Federal Highway Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E8–1932 Filed 2–1–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2006–25756] 

Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) 

Standards; Volvo Trucks North 

America, Renewal of Exemption 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of renewal of exemption; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA renews Volvo Trucks 

North America’s (Volvo) exemption 

from the Agency’s requirement for 

certain drivers of commercial motor 

vehicles (CMVs) to hold a commercial 

driver’s license (CDL). Volvo requested 

that its exemption for eight Swedish 

engineers and technicians be renewed to 

enable these individuals to continue test 

driving CMVs in the United States for 

Volvo. All of the individuals hold a 

valid Swedish CDL. FMCSA believes 

the knowledge and skills testing and 

training program that drivers must 

undergo for a Swedish CDL ensures a 

level of safety that is equivalent to, or 

greater than, the level of safety that 

would be obtained by complying with 

the U.S. requirement for a CDL. 

DATES: This decision is effective 

February 4, 2008. Comments must be 

received on or before March 5, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Federal Docket 

Management System Number FMCSA–

2006–25756 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 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 

below. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 23 / Monday, February 4, 2008 / Notices 6553 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov at any time or to 

the ground floor, Room W12–140, DOT 

Building, New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m. e.t., 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 

19477–78) 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 selfaddressed, stamped envelope or 

postcard or print the acknowledgement 

page that appears after submitting 

comments online. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Richard Clemente, FMCSA Driver and 

Carrier Operations Division; Office of 

Bus and Truck Standards and 

Operations; Telephone: 202–366–4325. 

E-mail: MCPSD@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), 

FMCSA may renew an exemption from 

the commercial driver’s license (CDL) 

requirements in 49 CFR 383.23 for a 

maximum 2-year period if it finds ‘‘such 

exemption would likely achieve a level 

of safety that is equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level that would be achieved 

absent such exemption.’’ The 

procedures for requesting an exemption 

(including renewals) are prescribed in 

49 CFR part 381. FMCSA evaluated 

Volvo’s application for a renewal on its 

merits and decided to grant renewal of 

the exemption for eight of Volvo’s 

engineers and technicians for a 2-year 

period. 

Volvo Application for an Exemption 

Renewal 

Volvo Trucks North America (Volvo) 

applied for the renewal of an exemption 

from the commercial driver’s licensing 

rules, specifically 49 CFR 383.23, which 

establishes licensing requirements for 

drivers operating commercial motor 

vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. 

The exemption was originally granted 

on May 12, 2006 (71 FR 27780). Volvo 

is seeking a renewal of this exemption 

because the drivers it employs are 

citizens and residents of Sweden, and as 

such they cannot apply for a CDL from 

a State in the United States. A copy of 

the request for a renewal is in the docket 

identified at the beginning of this 

notice. 

The renewal of the exemption will 

enable the following drivers to operate 

CMVs in the U.S. and continue to 

support Volvo’s field tests to meet 

future clean air standards, to test drive 

prototype vehicles at their test site, and 

to deliver the vehicles, if necessary. 

These are eight of the eleven drivers 

included in the original exemption: 

Christer Milding, Jonas Gustafsson, 

Sten-Ake Sandberg, Daniel Kanebratt, 

Urban Walter, Fredrik Wattwil, Jonas 

Nilsson, and Bjorn Nyman. 

These drivers are a team of designers, 

currently employed by Volvo in 

Sweden, who want to continue driving 

CMVs in the U.S. to test and evaluate 

prototype and production CMVs in 

order to design safe and well-tested 

vehicles for use on U.S. highways. They 

are experienced CMV operators with 

valid Swedish-issued CDLs. It is 

estimated that each driver would 

continue to drive approximately 2,500 

miles per year on U.S. roads. Because 

each of the drivers was required to 

satisfy strict regulations in Sweden to 

obtain a CDL, and has extensive CMV 

training and experience, Volvo believes 

that the renewal of the exemption will 

continue to achieve a level of safety 

equivalent to the level of safety that 

would be obtained absent the 

exemption. 

Method To Ensure an Equivalent or 

Greater Level of Safety 

Drivers applying to obtain a Swedish 

CDL must take both a knowledge test 

and skills test before a license to operate 

CMVs is issued. This process is 

considered comparable to, or as 

effective as, the requirements of 49 CFR 

part 383 and adequately assesses the 

driver’s ability to operate CMVs in the 

U.S. 

Request for Comments 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

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

requests public comments on the 

renewal of Volvo’s exemption from the 

requirements of 49 CFR 383.23. The 

Agency requests that interested parties 

with specific data concerning the safety 

records of the drivers listed in this 

notice submit comments by March 5, 

2008. FMCSA will review all comments 

received by this date and determine 

whether the renewal of the exemption is 

consistent with the requirements of 49 

U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e). Comments 

received after the comment closing date 

will be filed in the public docket and 

will be considered to the extent 

practicable, but FMCSA may make its 

final decision at any time after the close 

of the comment period. 

FMCSA believes the requirements for 

a renewal of an exemption under 49 

U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e) can be 

satisfied by initially granting the 

renewal and then requesting and 

subsequently evaluating comments 

submitted by interested parties. As 

indicated above, the Agency previously 

published a notice of final disposition 

announcing its decision to exempt these 

eight Volvo drivers from the CDL 

requirement in 49 CFR 383.23. The 

decision to renew the exemption for 

these drivers was based on the merits of 

each driver’s demonstrated knowledge 

and skills about the safe operation of 

CMVs, and only after careful 

consideration of the comments 

submitted in response to the February 9, 

2006 original notice. The notice of 

application for exemption indicated that 

detailed information about the 

qualifications and experience of each of 

the drivers was provided in Volvo’s 

application and that a copy of the 

application is in the docket referenced 

at the beginning of this notice. 

Interested parties or organizations 

possessing information that would 

otherwise show that any or all of these 

drivers are not currently achieving the 

requisite statutory level of safety should 

immediately notify FMCSA. The 

Agency will evaluate any adverse 

information submitted and, if safety is 

being compromised or if the 

continuation of the exemption is not 

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

and 31136(e), FMCSA will take 

immediate steps to revoke the 

exemption of the driver(s) in question. 

Issued on: January 28, 2008. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy and 

Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E8–1931 Filed 2–1–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 


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