[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 113 (Monday, June 14, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33661-33662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14223]
[[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: [email protected].
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