2011-16548. Regulatory Guidance: Applicability of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to Operators of Certain Farm Vehicles and Off-Road Agricultural Equipment

AGENCY:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice; extension of public comment period.

SUMMARY:

FMCSA extends the public comment period for its May 31, 2011, notice concerning regulatory guidance on the applicability of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to operators of certain farm vehicles and off-road agricultural equipment. The public comment period is extended from June 30, 2011, to August 1, 2011.

DATES:

Comments on the notice must be received on or before August 1, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket Management System Number FMCSA-2011-0146 by any of the following methods

• Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the Federal electronic docket site.
• Fax: [phone].
• Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
• Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room W12-140, DOT Building, 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. 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 http://www.regulations.gov at any time or to the ground floor, room W12-140, DOT Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Privacy Act: 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 Privacy Act System of Records Notice for the DOT Federal Docket Management System published in the Federal Register on January 17, 2008 (73 FR 3316) or you may visit http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/​2008/​pdf/​E8-785.pdf.

Public Participation: The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is generally 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 http://www.regulations.gov Web site and also at the DOT's http://docketsinfo.dot.gov 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas L. Yager, Chief, Driver and Carrier Operations Division, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and Operations, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Washington, DC 20590.

E-mail: [e-mail]. Phone [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On May 31, 2011 (76 FR 31279), FMCSA published a notice requesting public comment on: (1) Previously published regulatory guidance on the distinction between interstate and intrastate commerce in deciding whether operations of commercial motor vehicles within the boundaries of a single State are subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations; (2) proposed guidance on the relevance of the distinction between direct and indirect compensation in deciding whether farm vehicle drivers transporting agricultural commodities, farm supplies and equipment as part of a crop share agreement are subject to the commercial driver's license regulations; and, (3) proposed guidance to determine whether off-road farm equipment or implements of husbandry operated on public roads for limited distances are considered commercial motor vehicles. The Agency indicated the guidance would be used to help ensure uniform application of the safety regulations by enforcement personnel, motor carriers and commercial motor vehicle drivers.

Since the publication of the notice, the Agency has received a letter signed by 18 U.S. Senators and numerous requests from the agricultural industry to extend the comment period. The Senators and industry acknowledged the importance of the issues covered by the notice and requested additional time to provide farmers, many of whom have planting and harvesting responsibilities during this time of the year, additional time to review the notice and consider the likely impacts of the guidance on their operations. Copies of the requests for an extension of the comment period are included in the docket referenced at the beginning of this notice.

The FMCSA acknowledges the concerns of the U.S. Senators and farmers and extends the public comment period from June 30, 2011 to August 1, 2011. The Agency will consider all comments received by close of business on August 1, 2011. 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 27, 2011.

William Bronrott,

Deputy Administrator.