[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 96 (Monday, May 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29781-29782]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10592]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2019-0184]


Hours of Service of Drivers: PTS Worldwide, Inc.; Application for 
Exemption

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

ACTION: Notice of final disposition; denial of application for 
exemption.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its decision to deny the exemption request 
from PTS Worldwide, Inc. (PTS). PTS sought an exemption from the hours-
of-service (HOS) requirement for drivers utilizing the sleeper-berth 
(S/B) exception. PTS transports highly sensitive cargo for the 
Department of Defense (DOD) and proposes that its team drivers be 
permitted to obtain 10 hours in the S/B in two periods, neither less 
than 4 hours long. This would allow the driver to split the required 10 
hours into segments of 4/6, 5/5, or 6/4 hours. FMCSA analyzed the 
exemption application and public comments, and determined that the 
application lacked evidence that would ensure an equivalent level of 
safety or greater would be achieved absent such exemption.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Clemente, FMCSA Driver and 
Carrier Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle 
Safety Standards; Telephone: 202-366-2722. 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

Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble 
as being available in the docket, go to www.regulations.gov and insert 
the docket number, FMCSA-2019-0184 in the ``Keyword'' box and click 
``Search.'' Next, click the ``Open Docket Folder'' button and choose 
the document to review. If you do not have access to the internet, you 
may view the docket online by visiting the Docket Management Facility 
in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the DOT West Building, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

II. Legal Basis

    FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315 to grant 
exemptions from certain Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations 
(FMCSRs). 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 safety analyses and public comments submitted, 
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 reasons for denying or granting the application 
and, if granted, the name of the person or class of persons receiving 
the exemption, and the regulatory provision from which the exemption is 
granted. The notice must also specify the effective period (up to 5 
years) and explain the terms and conditions of the exemption. The 
exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)).

III. Request for Exemption

    The Agency's HOS rules (49 CFR part 395) generally require 
operators of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) transporting property to 
obtain 10 consecutive hours off duty before they can drive again after 
they accumulate the maximum 11 hours of driving or reach the end of the 
14-hour duty period, whichever comes first (49 CFR 395.3). However, 
drivers whose CMV is equipped with a qualifying sleeper berth (S/B) may 
accumulate the equivalent of 10 consecutive hours off duty in two 
separate periods, one of at least 8 (but less than 10) consecutive 
hours in the S/B, and another of at least 2 consecutive hours off duty, 
whether in the S/B, off duty, or any combination thereof. It does not 
matter which of these two periods comes first. When the driver has 
obtained the two qualifying periods, the S/B rule provides the driver 
more on-duty and driving time.
    PTS (USDOT 1835654) transports sensitive Department of Defense 
(DOD) cargo, including ammunition and explosives, in interstate 
commerce. For security reasons, this transportation requires a team of 
two drivers. PTS seeks by exemption to allow its team drivers to split 
the equivalent of 10 hours off duty into two S/B periods, neither less 
than 4 hours long. This would allow splits of 4/6, 5/5, or 6/4 hours. 
The request is limited to team operations and is in no way a request to 
apply any such exemption to solo driver operations.
    PTS states that its team drivers travel over 1,100 miles per 24 
hours, and average 60 hours on duty per week. After 5 weeks on the 
road, PTS drivers receive a week off duty at home. PTS asserts that due 
to the nature of its business, these drivers would be more alert if 
allowed to take shorter rest periods in the S/B. It believes that the 
shorter period would allow PTS drivers to obtain nighttime hours in the 
S/B and thereby minimize driver fatigue. PTS states that its vehicle 
and driver safety record is better than the national average and that 
it has one of the best safety, security, and service records of

[[Page 29782]]

all DOD arms and ammunition transporters. All power units are equipped, 
and any new power units will be equipped, with on-board electronic 
recorders to track driving and on-duty time, and all power units are 
governed to 70 miles per hour.

IV. Method To Ensure an Equivalent or Greater Level of Safety

    To ensure an equivalent level of safety, PTS offers to split 10 
off-duty hours into two periods, neither less than 4 hours long. This 
would allow splits of 4/6, 5/5, or 6/4 hours. In addition, the PTS 
request would be limited to team driver operations. PTS' exemption 
application references a study concerning the effects on sleep that 
found sleeper-berth flexibility to be a better choice than consolidated 
daytime sleep when consolidated nighttime sleep is not possible. PTS 
referenced additional studies that identified sleeper berth flexibility 
as a contributor to normalizing sleeping patterns and reducing fatigue. 
PTS requests the exemption be granted for the maximum allowable period 
(5 years). A copy of PTS's application for exemption is available for 
review in the docket for this notice.

V. Public Comments

    On October 16, 2019, FMCSA published notice of this application and 
requested public comments (84 FR 55376). The Agency received 20 
comments. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) and Boyle 
Transportation strongly opposed the exemption request. CVSA commented 
that ``before FMCSA makes a determination on this exemption request, 
the Agency should conduct the originally planned pilot program on this 
issue and consider data collected in the pilot program in the decision. 
The pilot program is necessary to study the effects of various S/B 
splits on driver fatigue. Without the results of a pilot program or 
further study, it isn't possible for FMCSA to determine if PTS can 
maintain an equivalent level of safety under the proposed exemption.''
    Boyle Transportation stated that the exemption application would 
increase the risk of crashes, and that PTS has not shown how it would 
ensure an equivalent level of safety if granted the exemption. Boyle 
urged FMCSA to reject PTS' request because if granted it would create 
an increased risk of crashes among those professional drivers who elect 
to use a S/B split that affords them less than 8 hours of consolidated 
sleep. Boyle further added that such a practice is unacceptable given 
the inherent danger of much of the material being transported (Division 
1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 explosives) and the unsafe conditions it would 
create for other professional drivers, military service members and DOD 
civilians and contractors engaged in loading and unloading operations 
as well as the public.
    Conversely, the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) supported the 
PTS exemption request and stated the following: ``PTS believes, as have 
others studying HOS and S/B flexibility, that this would reduce fatigue 
and provide safer environment on the roadways.'' TCA fully concurred 
with that sentiment.
    Of the 17 other individuals who filed comments, 12 supported the 
request, 4 opposed it, and one had no position either for or against 
the request. One commenter stated that it would be irresponsible to 
allow PTS to experiment with the S/B provision while transporting 
Division 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 explosives as the issues associated with the 
lack of proper rest is exponentially compounded creating a significant 
risk to the public and the drivers operating the equipment transporting 
the ``sensitive'' DoD materials. A few individuals favored allowing all 
segments of the trucking industry to use the S/B splits PTS requested.

VI. FMCSA Safety Analysis and Decision

    FMCSA has evaluated PTS' application and the public comments and 
decided to deny the exemption. When the Agency established the rules 
mandating HOS, it relied upon research indicating that the rules 
improve CMV safety. These regulations put limits in place for when and 
how long an individual may drive, to ensure that drivers stay awake and 
alert while driving, and on a continuing basis to help reduce the 
possibility of driver fatigue.
    As CVSA and Boyle Transportation indicated, the PTS application 
does not provide an analysis of the safety impacts the requested 
exemption from the HOS regulations may cause. It also does not provide 
countermeasures to be undertaken to ensure that the exemption would 
likely achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the 
level that would be achieved by the current regulations. In fact, the 
countermeasures it described were simply the split S/B provisions PTS 
requested.
    The Agency cannot ensure that the exemption would achieve the 
requisite level of safety. The most recent research and data suggests 
that the longer sleeper berth period needs to be at least seven hours 
in duration, if all the other variables (e.g., daily driving time 
limits, weekly driving time limits, etc.) in the HOS regime remain 
unchanged. And PTS has not indicated in its application a plan to 
change any of those variable. PTS' application must be judged based on 
the exemption standards in 49 CFR part 381. As indicated above, PTS' 
application fails to meet those standards. The application is therefore 
denied.

James A. Mullen,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2020-10592 Filed 5-15-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P


