Document ID: FMCSA-2008-0078-0015
Agency: fmcsa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Commercial Drivers License Standards: Rotel North American Tours, LLC; Application for Renewal of Exemption; Request for Comments
Posted Date: 2010-06-14T04:00Z

[Federal Register: June 14, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 113)]
[Notices]               
[Page 33661-33662]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14jn10-92]                         

[[Page 33661]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2008-0078]

 
Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Standards; Rotel North American 
Tours, LLC; Application for Renewal of Exemption; Request for Comments

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

ACTION: Notice of application for renewal; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that Rotel North American Tours, LLC (Rotel), 
has applied for renewal of its current exemption permitting 22 named 
drivers, employed by Rotel and possessing German CDLs, to operate 
commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in the United States without a CDL 
issued by one of the States. Rotel asks that the current exemption, due 
to expire on July 30, 2010, be renewed subject to the terms and 
conditions of the current exemption for an additional period of 2 
years.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 14, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System Number FMCSA-2008-0078 by any of the following 
methods:
    Web site: Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
    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 or Courier: West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-
140, 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 2008-0078. 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.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to the street address listed above, or go to 
http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the online instructions for 
accessing the dockets.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of the 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://
DocketInfo.dot.gov.
    Public Participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available 
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain 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 self-addressed, 
stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that 
appears after submitting comments online. Comments received after the 
comment closing date will be included in the docket and considered to 
the extent practicable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Schultz, Jr., 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

    Section 4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century 
(Pub. L. 105-178, 112 Stat. 107, June 9, 1998) amended 49 U.S.C. 31315 
and 31136(e) to provide authority to grant exemptions from motor 
carrier safety regulations. Under its regulations, FMCSA must publish a 
notice of each exemption application 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 application.
    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 complying with 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 denying or, in the alternative, the 
specific person or class of persons receiving the exemption, and the 
regulatory provision or provisions from which the 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 381.300(b)).
    Rotel provides motorcoach tours in the U.S., Mexico and Canada for 
German and Austrian tourists. Rotel bus drivers operate the CMV during 
the day. They also prepare dinner and breakfast for the customers each 
day during the trip; Rotel CMVs incorporate cooking and sleeping 
facilities.
    Rotel states that none of the States of the U.S. will issue CDLs to 
Rotel's drivers because they are not State residents; until recent 
years, most States would issue non-resident CDLs to Rotel's drivers. 
Rotel asserts that without the exemption from the requirement that its 
drivers have a CDL issued by a State, it would have to terminate these 
tour operations. Complete details of Rotel's operations, including its 
original application for exemption dated August 27, 2007, can be found 
in the docket of this notice.
    On July 30, 2008, after notice and comment, FMCSA granted Rotel's 
request to allow 22 drivers, each holding a German CDL, to operate 
Rotel motor coaches in the U.S. without a CDL issued by one of the 
States as required by 49 CFR 383.23. FMCSA found that these drivers, 
operating specialty tour buses in the U.S., would ``likely achieve a 
level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level that 
would be achieved absent such exemption,'' in accordance with 49 CFR 
381.305. The two-year exemption expires on July 30, 2010.

Rotel's Request for Renewal

    By letter dated December 21, 2009, Rotel applied for renewal of its 
current exemption from the requirement that operators of CMVs obtain a 
CDL from one of the States. The letter is available in the docket for 
this notice. Rotel asks that the 22 individuals who are currently 
exempt continue to be exempt from the CDL licensing requirement of 49 
CFR 383.23 for an additional 2 years. Each of these individuals is a 
non-resident of the U.S., a holder of a valid German CDL, and an 
experienced CMV operator. The drivers are, as follows:

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Josef Dangl                     Rudolf Ramsl
Reinfried Dangl                 Paul Schl[ouml]gl
Herbert Erber                   Walter Schreiner
Helmut Erbersdobler             Josef Stockinger
Wilhelm Fuchs                   Josef Vogl

[[Page 33662]]

Peter Hess                      Klaus Weber
Michael Huber                   Markus W[ouml]lfl
Gerhard Kinateder               Norbert Zechmesiter
Hermann Lichtenauer             Klaus Endres
Franz Manzinger                 Sebastian Nicki
Fabian Maurer                   Karl-Heinz Schmitz
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    Rotel believes these drivers continue to possess sufficient 
knowledge, skills, and experience to ensure a level of safety that is 
equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety that would be 
obtained by complying with the requirement for a U.S. CDL. If the 
Agency determines that this application for renewal should be granted, 
the Rotel drivers would be subject to the terms and conditions of the 
current Rotel exemption.
    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b)(4) and 31136(e), FMCSA 
requests public comments on Rotel's request for renewal of its 
exemption to allow the 22 Rotel CDL drivers named above to continue to 
be exempt from 49 CFR 383.23 from July 31, 2010, through July 31, 2012. 
FMCSA will consider all comments received by close of business on July 
14, 2010. All comments will be available for examination in the docket 
at the location listed under the ADDRESSES section of this notice. The 
Agency will consider to the extent practicable comments received in the 
public docket after the closing date of the comment period.

    Issued on: June 4, 2010.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-14223 Filed 6-11-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P