Document ID: FMCSA-2019-0255-0002
Agency: fmcsa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Training Certification for Drivers of Longer Combination Vehicles
Posted Date: 2020-04-21T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 77 (Tuesday, April 21, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22244-22245]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08358]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2019-0255]

Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved 
Information Collection: Training Certification for Drivers of Longer 
Combination Vehicles

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA 
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
approval and invites public comment. FMCSA requests approval to renew 
the ICR titled ``Training Certification for Drivers of Longer 
Combination Vehicles (LCVs),'' OMB Control No. 2126-0026. This ICR 
relates to Agency requirements for drivers to be certified to operate 
LCVs, and associated reporting and recordkeeping requirements that 
motor carriers must satisfy before permitting their drivers to operate 
LCVs. Motor carriers, upon inquiry by authorized Federal, State or 
local officials, must produce an LCV Driver-Training Certificate for 
each of their LCV drivers.

DATES: Please send your comments by May 21, 2020. OMB must receive your 
comments by this date in order to act on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Pearlie Robinson, Driver and 
Carrier Operations Division, DOT, FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-4325. 
Email: MCPSD@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Training Certification for Drivers of LCVs.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0026.
    Type of Request: Renewal and correction of a currently-approved 
information collection.
    Respondents: LCV training providers who train new LCV drivers; 
drivers who complete LCV training each year; current LCV drivers who 
submit their LCV Driver-Training Certificate to prospective employers; 
and employers (motor carriers) receiving and maintaining copies of the 
LCV Driver-Training certificates of their drivers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 50,708, consisting of 218 LCV 
training providers, plus 218 newly-certified LCV drivers, plus 25,027 
currently-certified LCV drivers seeking new employment, plus 25,245 
motor carriers hiring certified and newly-certified LCV drivers seeking 
new employment.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes for training providers to

[[Page 22245]]

prepare LCV Driver-Training Certificates for drivers who successfully 
complete the LCV training; 5 minutes for newly-certified drivers, as 
well as 5 minutes for currently-certified drivers, to provide LCV 
Training Certification documents to motor carriers; and 5 minutes for 
motor carriers to retain the LCV training certifications.
    Expiration Date: May 31, 2020.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 4,244 hours. The total number of 
drivers who will be subjected to these requirements each year is 
25,245, which consists of 218 newly-certified LCV drivers seeking 
employment, and 25,027 currently-certified LCV drivers obtaining new 
employment. Also, there are 218 LCV training providers who will be 
required to prepare the training certificates for newly-certified 
drivers. Additionally, there are 25,245 (218 + 25,027) motor carriers 
who will hire the drivers. The total annual information collection 
burden is approximately 4,244 hours = 36 hours for preparation of LCV 
Driver-Training Certificates [218 training providers prepare 
certificates for drivers successfully completing training x 10 minutes 
/ 60 minutes/hour] + 18 hours for newly-certified LCV drivers to 
provide certification documents to motor carriers [218 drivers x 5 
minutes / 60 minutes/hour] + 2,086 hours for currently-certified LCV 
drivers to provide certification documents to motor carriers [25,027 
drivers x 5 minutes / 60 minutes/hour] + 2,104 hours for currently-
certified LCV drivers to provide certification documents to motor 
carriers [25,245 drivers x 5 minutes / 60 minutes/hour].
    Estimated Total Cost to Respondents: $135,734.

Background

    An LCV is any combination of a truck-tractor and two or more semi-
trailers or trailers that operates on the National System of Interstate 
and Defense Highways (according to 23 CFR 470.107) and has a gross 
vehicle weight greater than 80,000 pounds. To enhance the safety of LCV 
operations on our Nation's highways, Section 4007(b) of the Motor 
Carrier Act of 1991 directed the Secretary of Transportation to 
establish Federal minimum training requirements for drivers of LCVs 
[Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), Pub. 
L. 102-240, 105 Stat. 1914, 2152]. The Secretary of Transportation 
delegated responsibility for establishing these requirements to FMCSA 
(49 CFR 1.87), and on March 30, 2004, after appropriate notice and 
solicitation of public comment, FMCSA established the current training 
requirements for operators of LCVs (69 FR 16722). The regulations bar 
motor carriers from permitting their drivers to operate an LCV if they 
have not been properly trained in accordance with the requirements of 
49 CFR 380.113. Drivers receive an LCV Driver-Training Certificate upon 
successful completion of these training requirements. Motor carriers 
employing an LCV driver must verify the driver's qualifications to 
operate an LCV, and must maintain a copy of the LCV Driver-Training 
Certificate and present it to authorized Federal, State, or local 
officials upon request.

Renewal of This Information Collection (IC)

    The currently approved burden hour estimate associated with this 
IC, approved by OMB on May 19, 2017, is 5,565 hours. The Agency 
requests a reduction in the burden hour estimates from 5,565 hours to 
4,244 hours. The reduction in burden hour estimates and costs is the 
result of correcting an error; the incorrect growth rate from the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics was previously used to estimate the number 
of new drivers requiring LCV driver training certificates. As a result, 
FMCSA over-estimated the number of new drivers, annual burden hours, 
hours for preparing training certificates, number of drivers who 
undergo the hiring process, number of respondents, number of responses, 
and costs to respondents.
    Separately, the currently approved version of this IC incorrectly 
accounted for LCV driver training costs, estimated to be $7,035,160 
annually. Training is not considered to be an information collection 
burden. For this updated version of the ICR, the Agency is removing the 
costs associated with training. Instead, FMCSA has calculated the labor 
costs associated with the LCV driver training recordkeeping 
requirements. The annual cost burden is estimated to be $135,734.
    The expiration date of the current ICR is May 31, 2020. Through 
this request, FMCSA requests a renewal of the paperwork burden 
associated with the ICR titled ``Training Certification for Drivers of 
Longer Combination Vehicles (LCVs),'' OMB Control No. 2126-0026. This 
ICR corrects and updates all of the affected areas, as shown in the 
table below.

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                                                                      Current        Proposed
                            Estimate                                approved IC     updated IC      Difference
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Number of Drivers Engaged in the Operation of LCVs in the U.S...          44,095          38,503         (5,592)
Total Annual Burden.............................................           5,565           4,244         (1,321)
Number of New Drivers...........................................           2,360             218         (2,142)
Number of Hours for Preparing Training Certificates.............             394              36           (358)
Number of Drivers Who Undergo Hiring Process....................          31,022          25,245         (5,777)
Number of Respondents...........................................          59,684          50,708         (8,976)
Number of Responses.............................................          59,684          50,708         (8,976)
Labor Costs to Respondents......................................              $0        $135,734        $135,734
Annual Costs to Respondents.....................................      $7,035,160              $0    ($7,035,160)
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    On December 18, 2019, FMCSA published a Federal Register notice 
allowing for a 30-day comment period on this ICR. There were no 
comments submitted to the docket in response to that notice.
    Public Comments Invited:
    You are asked to comment on any aspect of this information 
collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed collection is necessary 
for FMCSA's performance; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) 
ways for FMCSA to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the 
collected information; and (4) ways that the burden could be minimized 
without reducing the quality of the collected information. The Agency 
will summarize or include your comments in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.

    Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.
Kenneth Riddle,
Acting Associate Administrator for Registration and Research.
[FR Doc. 2020-08358 Filed 4-20-20; 8:45 am]
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