Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 202 / Friday, October 20, 2017 / Notices 48887 

usage by wash and fuel employees on 

UPS property. Specifically, UPS 

proposes that vehicle movements of less 

than 1 mile by these exempt employees, 

entirely on UPS property, be annotated 

on an ELD as ‘‘on property—other.’’ 

UPS states that these miles could be 

easily identified using geo-fencing and 

time-card information for road drivers 

and other employees. 

Public Comments 

The Agency received one comment in 

support of an alternative approach to 

tracking vehicle usage by non-driver 

employees when the company uses 

portable, driver-based ELDs. 

YRCW stated that ‘‘[s]imilar to UPS, 

YRCW companies have exempt 

employees who move vehicles short 

distances for fueling, washing and 

maintenance. As UPS notes these miles 

are within a company facility and could 

easily be captured by geo-fencing 

applications.’’ 

FMCSA Decision 

Because UPS wash and fuel 

employees do not operate CMVs on 

public roads they are not subject to the 

HOS regulations. Accordingly, the UPS 

wash and fuel employees do not need to 

use ELDs, and no temporary exemption 

is necessary. 

Terms and Conditions for the 

Exemptions 

Based on its evaluation of the UPS 

application for exemption, FMCSA has 

decided to grant the following 

exemptions: 

1. All motor carriers and drivers using 

portable, driver-based ELDs are exempt 

from the requirements of section 

395.26(c) and section 395.26(g) unless 

the driver is in the CMV with the engine 

powered. When a driver using a 

portable, driver-based ELD changes duty 

status or logs in/logs out of the ELD 

away from the vehicle and without the 

vehicle powered, the driver is required 

to annotate the ELD record to indicate 

the appropriate duty status in 

accordance with section 395.30. When 

the driver is in the CMV, and the CMV 

is powered, the portable, driver-based 

ELD is required to automatically record 

the data elements specified in section 

395.26. 

2. A motor carrier is permitted to 

configure an ELD so that a driver can 

select ‘‘yard moves’’ in accordance with 

section 395.28(a)(1)(ii) without 

complying with Section 4.3.2.2.2(e) of 

Appendix A to Subpart B of part 395, 

which requires a driver’s yard-move 

status to reset to none if the ELD or 

CMV’s engine goes through a power-off 

cycle (ELD or CMV’s engine turns off 

and then on). However, the ELD must 

switch from ‘‘yard move’’ status to 

‘‘driving’’ status if (1) the driver inputs 

the ‘‘driving’’ mode; (2) the vehicle 

exceeds a speed of 20 mph; or (3) the 

vehicle exits a geo-fenced motor carrier 

facility. For the reasons discussed 

above, FMCSA believes that the level of 

safety that will be achieved with the 

exemptions will likely be equivalent to, 

or greater than, the level of safety 

achieved without the exemptions. 

FMCSA hereby grants the exemptions 

for a 5-year period, beginning October 

20, 2017 and ending October 20, 2022. 

The exemptions will be valid for five 

years unless rescinded earlier by 

FMCSA. The exemptions will be 

rescinded if: (1) Motor carriers and/or 

drivers fail to comply with the terms 

and conditions of the exemptions; (2) 

the exemptions have resulted in a lower 

level of safety than was maintained 

before they were granted; or (3) 

continuation of the exemptions would 

not be consistent with the goals and 

objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 

31315(b). 

Interested parties possessing 

information that would demonstrate 

that motor carriers or drivers 

participating in either of the exemptions 

are not achieving the requisite statutory 

level of safety should immediately 

notify FMCSA. 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 

311315(b), will take immediate steps to 

revoke the exemption. 

Preemption 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

31313(d), as implemented by 49 CFR 

381.600, during the period these 

exemptions are in effect, no State shall 

enforce any law or regulation applicable 

to interstate commerce that conflicts 

with or is inconsistent with the 

exemptions with respect to a firm or 

person operating under the exemptions. 

States may, but are not required to, 

adopt the same exemptions with respect 

to operations in intrastate commerce. 

Issued on: September 29, 2017. 

Daphne Y. Jefferson, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2017–22833 Filed 10–19–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2013–0275] 

Hours of Service of Drivers: U.S. 

Department of Defense (DOD); 

Application for Renewal of Exemption 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of renewal of exemption; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its 

decision to renew the U.S. Department 

of Defense (DOD) Military Surface 

Deployment and Distribution 

Command’s (SDDC) exemption from the 

minimum 30-minute rest break 

provision of the Agency’s hours-ofservice (HOS) regulations for 

commercial motor vehicle (CMV) 

drivers contracted by SDDC for special 

activities. SDDC currently holds an 

exemption valid through October 27, 

2018. The exemption renewal is for five 

years and allows SDDC contracteddrivers to use 30 minutes or more of 

attendance time to meet the HOS rest 

break requirements, provided they do 

not perform any other work during the 

break. The terms and conditions of the 

current exemption remain in place for 

the five-year period. 

DATES: The renewed exemption is 

effective through October 21, 2023. 

Comments must be received on or 

before November 20, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Federal Docket 

Management System Number FMCSA– 

2013–0275 by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

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. 

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 

www.regulations.gov, including any 


srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with NOTICES
48888 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 202 / Friday, October 20, 2017 / Notices 

personal information provided. Please 

see the Privacy Act heading below. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to 

www.regulations.gov at any time and in 

the box labeled ‘‘SEARCH for’’ enter 

FMCSA–2013–0275 and click on the tab 

labeled ‘‘SEARCH.’’ 

Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 

U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments 

from the public to better inform its 

rulemaking 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 www.dot.gov/privacy. 

Public Participation: The Federal 

eRulemaking Portal is 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 Federal 

eRulemaking Portal 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. 

Thomas 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 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–2013–0275), 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–2013–0275’’ in the 

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

When the new screen appears, click on 

‘‘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 

and may continue this exemption or not 

based on your comments. 

II. Legal Basis 

FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 

31136(e) and 31315 to grant exemptions 

from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations. 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 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)) with the reason for the 

grant or denial, and, if granted, the 

specific person or class of persons 

receiving the exemption, and the 

regulatory provision or provisions from 

which exemption is granted. The notice 

must also specify the effective period of 

the exemption (up to 5 years), and 

explain the terms and conditions of the 

exemption. The exemption may be 

renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)). 

III. Background 

On December 27, 2011 (76 FR 81133), 

FMCSA published a final rule amending 

its HOS regulations for drivers of 

property-carrying CMVs. The final rule 

adopted several changes to the HOS 

regulations including a new provision 

requiring drivers to take a rest break of 

at least 30 minutes during the work day 

under certain circumstances. 

FMCSA did not specify when drivers 

must take the break, but the rule 

requires that they wait no longer than 8 

hours after the last off-duty period of 30 

minutes or more to take it if they want 

to drive a CMV. Drivers who already 

take shorter breaks during the work day 

could comply with the rule by 

extending one of those breaks to 30 

minutes. The new requirement took 

effect on July 1, 2013. 

IV. Application for Renewal Exemption 

The SDDC manages the motor carrier 

industry contracts for the DOD. Certain 

motor carriers under contract to the 

SDDC provide protective services while 

transporting weapons, munitions, and 

sensitive/classified cargo. 

SDDC’s initial exemption application 

for relief from the HOS rest break 

requirement was submitted in 2013; a 

copy of the application is in the docket 

identified at the beginning of this 

notice. That application describes fully 

the nature of the operations of SDDC’s 

contracted drivers. FMCSA published a 

notice granting the exemption request 

on October 28, 2013 (effective October 

22), and made it valid through October 

21, 2015 (78 FR 64265). The Agency 

renewed the exemption on October 7, 

2015 (80 FR 60740), with an expiration 

date of October 21, 2017. However, 

section 5206(b)(2)(A) of the Fixing 

America’s Surface Transportation 

(FAST) Act extended any HOS 

exemption in effect on the date of 

enactment of that Act for a period of 5 

years from the date the exemption was 

granted. Because section 1003 of the 

FAST Act made the provisions of 

Division A (which includes section 

5206) retroactively effective to October 

1, 2015, the original SDDC exemption, 

valid through October 21, 2015, was 

extended by operation of law for 5 years 

from the date it was granted, in other 

words through October 21, 2018. 

The SDDC requests renewal of a 

limited exemption from the HOS 

regulation pertaining to rest breaks [49 

CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii)] to allow SDDCcontracted drivers providing dual 

driver-protective services to be treated 

the same as drivers transporting 

explosives. As provided in § 395.1(q), 

operators of CMVs carrying Division 1.1, 

1.2, or 1.3 explosives subject to the 

requirement for a minimum 30-minute 

rest break in Section 395.3(a)(3)(ii) may 

use 30 minutes or more of ‘‘attendance 

time’’ to meet the requirement for a rest 

break. 

V. Method To Ensure an Equivalent or 

Greater Level of Safety 

SDDC states that it requires 

continuous attendance and surveillance 

of such shipments until they reach their 

final destination. SDDC states that it has 


srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 202 / Friday, October 20, 2017 / Notices 48889 

instituted several technical and 

administrative controls to ensure the 

efficient transportation of cargo 

requiring protective services, controls 

that would remain in effect under the 

requested exemption. They include the 

following: 

• Conducting review of carrier 

compliance requirements and 

procedures for moving hazardous cargo. 

• Evaluating carrier authority to 

operate on United States roadways. 

• Evaluating carrier compliance with 

the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration’s Compliance Safety 

Accountability Program Safety 

Measurement System standards. 

• Providing over-the-road vehicle 

surveillance. 

• Inspecting carrier facilities and 

corporate headquarters for compliance 

with DOD and DOT standards. 

Further details regarding SDDC’s 

safety controls can be found in its initial 

application for exemption. The 

application can be accessed in the 

docket identified at the beginning of this 

notice. SDDC asserts that granting the 

exemption would allow driver teams to 

manage their en route rest periods 

efficiently and also perform mandated 

shipment security surveillance, 

resulting in both safe driving 

performance and greater security of 

cargo during long-distance trips. 

SDDC anticipates no safety impacts 

from this exemption and believes that 

its contract employee drivers should be 

allowed to follow the requirements in 

§ 395.1(q) when transporting shipments 

of sensitive DOD cargo. SDDC believes 

that shipments made under the 

requested exemption would achieve a 

level of safety and security that is at 

least equivalent to that which would be 

obtained by following the normal break 

requirement in § 395.3(a)(3)(ii). 

SDDC indicated that approximately 

1,942 power units and 3,000 drivers 

would be covered by the exemption. 

The renewed exemption is effective for 

5 years, the maximum period allowed 

by § 381.300. 

VI. Terms of the Exemption 

1. Drivers authorized by SDDC to 

utilize the exemption renewal, must 

have a copy of the 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. 

2. All motor carriers operating under 

this exemption must have a 

‘‘Satisfactory’’ safety rating with 

FMCSA, or be ‘‘unrated;’’ motor carriers 

with ‘‘Conditional’’ or ‘‘Unsatisfactory’’ 

FMCSA safety ratings are prohibited 

from using this exemption. 

Period of the Exemption 

The exemption from the requirements 

of 49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii) is effective from 

12:01 a.m., October 22, 2018, through 

11:59 p.m., October 21, 2023. 

Extent of the Exemption 

The exemption is restricted to SDDC’s 

contract driver-employees transporting 

security-sensitive materials. This 

exemption is limited to the provisions 

of 49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii) and allows 

contract driver-employees transporting 

security-sensitive materials to be treated 

the same as drivers transporting 

explosives, as provided in Section 

395.1(q). These drivers are required to 

comply with all other applicable 

provisions of the FMCSRs. 

Preemption 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

31313(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. 

FMCSA Accident Notification 

SDDC must notify FMCSA within 5 

business days of any accidents (as 

defined by 49 CFR 390.5) involving the 

operation of any of its CMVs while 

utilizing this exemption. The 

notification must be by email to 

MCPSD@DOT.GOV, and include the 

following information: 

a. Name of the Exemption: ‘‘SDDC’’, 

b. Date of the accident, 

c. City or town, and State, in which 

the accident occurred, or which is 

closest to the scene of the accident, 

d. Driver’s name and driver’s license 

State, number, and class, 

e. Co-Driver’s name and driver’s 

license State, number, and class, 

f. Vehicle company number and 

power unit license plate State and 

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 the total 

on-duty time of the CMV driver at the 

time of the accident. 

In addition, if there are any injuries or 

fatalities, the carrier must forward the 

police accident report to MCPSD@

DOT.GOV as soon as available. 

Termination 

The FMCSA does not believe the 

drivers covered by this exemption will 

experience any deterioration of their 

safety record. However, should this 

occur, FMCSA will take all steps 

necessary to protect the public interest, 

including revocation or restriction of the 

exemption. The FMCSA will 

immediately revoke or restrict the 

exemption for failure to comply with its 

terms and conditions. 

Issued on: October 16, 2017. 

Daphne Y. Jefferson, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2017–22832 Filed 10–19–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2014–0406] 

Commercial Driver’s License 

Standards: Application for Exemption; 

C.R. England 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of final disposition; grant 

of application for exemption. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its 

decision to re-affirm renewal of an 

exemption granted to C.R. England from 

the regulation that requires 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. Under this 

exemption, a CLP holder who has 

documentation of passing the CDL skills 

test may drive a commercial motor 

vehicle (CMV) for C.R. England without 

being accompanied by a CDL holder in 

the front seat of the vehicle. The 

exemption enables CLP holders to drive 

as part of a team like other C.R. England 

team drivers. FMCSA has analyzed the 

public comments in response to the 

exemption renewal and has determined 

that the renewed exemption, subject to 

the terms and conditions imposed, will 

likely achieve a level of safety that is 

equivalent to, or greater than, the level 

that would be achieved absent such 

exemption. 


srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with NOTICES