05-3616. Notice of Request for Clearance of a New Information Collection: Best Motor Carrier Safety Management Technology Practices

AGENCY:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the requirement in section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), this notice announces the intention of the FMCSA to request the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of a new information collection related to a study of how information technology is being used to improve safety management in the motor carrier industry. This study is one element in a larger, multi-year study of the safety and financial performance of the motor carrier industry by commodity segment. This Motor Carrier Industry Profile Study is being performed by the University of Maryland on behalf of the FMCSA.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before April 26, 2005.

ADDRESSES:

All signed, written comments should refer to the docket number that appears in the heading of this document and must be submitted to the Docket Clerk, U.S. DOT Dockets, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. All comments received will be available for examination at the above address between 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Those desiring notification of receipt of comments must include a self-addressed, stamped postcard or envelope.

Electronic Access: An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded using the Internet at the Office of the Federal Register's Home page at: http://www.nara.gov/​fedreg and the Government Printing Office's database at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/​nara. For Internet users, all comments received will be available for examination at the universal source location: http://dms.dot.gov. Please follow the instructions on-line for additional information and guidance.

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 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Dale Sienicki, Program Manager, Industry Profile Study, [phone], Office of Information Management, Analysis Division, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 400 7th Street SW., Suite 8214, Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Motor Carrier Industry Profile.

Background: The FMCSA is responsible for enhancing the safety of motor carrier operations and the nation's highway system through fair, uniform and consistent enforcement of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and applicable Hazardous Materials Regulations, and through other innovative programmatic approaches. A complicating factor is the sheer size and diversity of the motor carrier industry, and a less than thorough understanding of its diversity. Detailed information about the safety performance differences among segments, and the practices, policies, and programs undertaken by safety leaders within each segment will assist FMCSA in its policy and program development and improve the safety of the industry. This project is being conducted on behalf of FMCSA through a cooperative agreement with the University of Maryland's Smith School of Business.

This project is being conducted in three phases as follows:

Phase 1 (now completed) involved three analyses of the motor carrier industry segmented into its major components. The first analysis consisted of developing financial and operating performance profiles for each of the 13 for-hire commodity segments (Refrigerated; Bulk Materials—Non Tank; Tank Carriers, Moving/Household Goods; Building Materials; Heavy Equipment, General Freight Truck-Load (subdivided into small, medium and large-sized carriers), General Freight Less-Than-Truck-Load, and Other Specialized (subdivided into small, medium and large-sized carriers). The second analysis evaluated detailed safety performance data for 10 commodity segments, including Building Materials, Moving/Household Goods, General Freight (TL and LTL), Heavy Equipment, Produce, Intermodal, Passenger, Refrigerated (non-produce), Tank Carriers and Bulk Materials Carriers. Each commodity segment was subdivided into its for-hire and private components, and each of the 30 segments was evaluated on recent crash, vehicle, driver and safety management factors. The third analysis combined the financial and safety performance data from the first two analyses to create a profile of the financial and safety performance relationship. Correlation coefficients were calculated for various financial-safety performance measures, and each correlation coefficient was calculated for various financial-safety performance measures and tested for its statistical significance. Phase 1 results are located on the FMCSA Analysis and Information (A&I) online Web site (http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov) under “Analysis Results and Reports.”

The safety performance results from Phase 1 provided the basis for Phase 2 of this study (also complete).

Phase 2 of the study is an investigation of the safety programs, policies, and procedures undertaken by safety leaders in each commodity segment (commonly known as the “Best Practices” Study). Phase 2 included individual interviews with several safety leaders in each segment. Detailed information was collected on driver screening and hiring practices, pre-service and in-service training procedures, incentive awards programs and vehicle maintenance policies. Phase 2 results are also located on FMCSA's A&I Web site (http://ai.fmcsa.dot.gov) under Analysis Results and Reports.”

Phase 3: Results from Phase 2 are being shared with FMCSA safety investigators and disseminated to many carriers within the industry, including new entrants and poor performers. Specifically, copies of the “Best Practices” final report were provided to national-level industry associations and FMCSA field offices. Summarized brochures have been developed for distribution to the associations, FMCSA field offices, and new entrants upon initial registration with FMCSA. The hope is that these new motor carriers will incorporate these practices into their own safety management programs while they are still in the development stage. Additionally, FMCSA hopes to incorporate the results in material provided at compliance reviews, so that carriers who rate poorly have access to specific, concrete examples of how to revise or improve their safety management programs.

As part of Phase 3, FMCSA and the University of Maryland will seek more detailed information from the motor carrier industry on how technology is being used to improve safety management. FMCSA and the University of Maryland propose to send questionnaires to approximately 1,000 of the largest for-hire and private carriers in the United States. The University of Maryland will also post the questionnaires on-line so that the selected carriers can complete the survey via the Internet, if desired.

Respondents: The total number of respondents is 1,000. The respondents will be the ten largest for-hire and private motor carriers in each State.

Average Burden Per Response: The estimated average burden per response is 45 minutes. Estimated Total Annual Burden: The estimated total annual burden is 750 hours (1,000 questionnaires interviews × 45 minutes per response/60 minutes = 750 hours).

Frequency: Once.

Public Comments Invited: Interested parties are invited to send comments regarding any aspect of this information collection, including, but not limited to: (1) The necessity and utility of the information collection for the proper performance of the functions of the FMCSA; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways to minimize the collection burden without reducing the quality of the collected information. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB clearance of this information collection.

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended; Pub. L. 106-159, 113 Stat. 1748 (December 9, 1999); and 49 CFR 1.73.

Issued on: February 14, 2005.

Annette M. Sandberg,

Administrator.