[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 113 (Monday, June 14, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33667-33669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14224]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2010-0177]
Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Application
for an Exemption From the Flatbed Carrier Safety Group
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: FMCSA requests public comment on an application for exemption
from the Flatbed Carrier Safety Group (FCSG) regarding the securement
of metal coils on a flatbed vehicle, in a sided vehicle, or in an
intermodal container loaded with eyes crosswise, grouped in rows, in
which the coils are loaded to contact each other in the longitudinal
direction. FCSG wants to use the pre-January 1, 2004 cargo securement
regulations for the transportation of groups of metal coils with eyes
crosswise.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 14, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT DMS Docket Number
FMCSA-2008-0224 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: 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: 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 this notice. 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 for further information.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or to Room W12-140,
DOT Building, New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m., 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
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19476) or you may visit http://www.regulations.gov.
Public participation: The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is
generally available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can get
electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the
``help'' section of the http://www.regulations.gov Web
[[Page 33668]]
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: Mr. Luke W. Loy, Vehicle and Roadside
Operations Division, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and Operations,
MC-PSV, (202) 366-0676; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration,
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
(TEA- 21) [Pub. L. 105-178, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 401] amended 49
U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e) to provide authority to grant exemptions from
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). On August 20,
2004, FMCSA published a final rule (69 FR 51589) implementing section
4007. Under this rule, FMCSA must publish a notice of each exemption
request in the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The Agency must
provide the public with 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 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 the current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). The decision of
the Agency must be published in the Federal Register (49 CFR
381.315(b)). If the Agency denies the request, it must state the reason
for doing so. If the decision is to grant the exemption, the notice
must specify the person or class of persons receiving the exemption and
the regulatory provision or provisions from which an 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 381.315(c) and 49 CFR
381.300(b)).
FCSG's Application for Exemption
On March 30, 2010, FCSG applied for an exemption from 49 CFR
393.120 to allow motor carriers to comply with the pre-January 1, 2004
cargo securement regulations (then at 49 CFR 393.100(c)) for the
transportation of groups of metal coils with eyes crosswise. A copy of
the application is included in the docket referenced at the beginning
of this notice.
On September 27, 2002, FMCSA published a final rule revising the
regulations concerning protection against shifting and falling cargo
for commercial motor vehicles engaged in interstate commerce (reference
67 FR 61212). The new rules were based on the North American Cargo
Securement Standard Model Regulations, the motor carrier industry's
best practices, and recommendations presented during a series of public
meetings involving U.S. and Canadian industry experts, Federal, State,
and Provincial enforcement officials, and other interested parties.
Motor carriers were required to ensure compliance with the rule by
January 1, 2004.
The September 2002 final rule established detailed requirements for
a number of specific commodities (logs; dressed lumber; metal coils;
paper rolls; concrete pipe; intermodal containers; automobiles, light
trucks and vans; heavy vehicles, equipment and machinery; flattened and
crushed vehicles; roll-on/roll-off containers; and large boulders)
that, during the public meetings concerning the development of the
model regulations, were identified to cause the most disagreement
between industry and enforcement agencies as to what is required for
proper securement. The commodity-specific requirements for these items
take precedence over the general rules when additional requirements are
given for a commodity listed in those sections. This means all cargo
securement systems must meet the general requirements, except to the
extent a commodity-specific rule imposes additional requirements that
prescribe in more detail the securement method to be used.
Currently, section 393.120 of the FMCSRs specifies requirements for
the securement of one or more metal coils which, individually or
grouped together, weigh 5,000 pounds or more. Metal coils can be
transported with eyes vertical, eyes lengthwise, or eyes crosswise.
(1) Section 393.120(b) specifies requirements for the securement of
coils transported with eyes vertical. Specific requirements are
provided for the securement of individual coils, and coils grouped in
rows.
(2) Section 393.120(d) specifies requirements for the securement of
coils transported with eyes lengthwise. Specific requirements are
provided for the securement of individual coils, and rows of coils.
(3) Section 393.120(c) specifies requirements for the securement of
coils transported with eyes crosswise as follows:
393.120(c) Securement of coils transported with eyes crosswise
on a flatbed vehicle, in a sided vehicle or intermodal container
with anchor points--(1) An individual coil. Each coil must be
secured by the following:
(c)(1)(i) A means (e.g., timbers, chocks or wedges, a cradle,
etc.) to prevent the coil from rolling. The means of preventing
rolling must support the coil off the deck, and must not be capable
of becoming unintentionally unfastened or loose while the vehicle is
in transit. If timbers, chocks or wedges are used, they must be held
in place by coil bunks or similar devices to prevent them from
coming loose. The use of nailed blocking or cleats as the sole means
to secure timbers, chocks or wedges, or a nailed wood cradle, is
prohibited;
(c)(1)(ii) At least one tiedown through its eye, restricting
against forward motion, and whenever practicable, making an angle no
more than 45 degrees with the floor of the vehicle or intermodal
container when viewed from the side of the vehicle or container; and
(c)(1)(iii) At least one tiedown through its eye, restricting
against rearward motion, and whenever practicable, making an angle
no more than 45 degrees with the floor of the vehicle or intermodal
container when viewed from the side of the vehicle or container.
(c)(2) Prohibition on crossing of tiedowns when coils are
transported with eyes crosswise. Attaching tiedowns diagonally
through the eye of a coil to form an X-pattern when viewed from
above the vehicle is prohibited.
Unlike the requirements for securing coils with eyes vertical
(section 393.120(b)) and eyes lengthwise (section 393.120(d)), section
393.120(c) only specifies requirements for the securement of individual
coils; there are no specific requirements for securing rows of coils.
As such, a motor carrier transporting a row of coils with eyes
crosswise must treat each coil as an individual coil, and secure each
in accordance with the requirements outlined in section 393.120(c) as
above.
Whereas the current commodity-specific regulations at section
393.120 for securing metal coils do not address the securement of
groups of coils loaded with eyes crosswise, FCSG notes that the cargo
securement regulations that were in place prior to January 1, 2004
directly addressed this specific loading configuration. Section
393.100(c) of the pre-January 2004 cargo securement rules reads as
follows:
393.100(c)(ii) Coils with eyes crosswise: Each coil or transverse
row of coils loaded side by side and having approximately the same
outside diameters must be secured by--
(a) A tiedown assembly through the eye of each coil, restricting
against forward motion and making an angle of less than 45[deg] with
the
[[Page 33669]]
horizontal when viewed from the side of the vehicle;
(b) A tiedown assembly through the eye of each coil, restricting
against rearward motion and making an angle of less than 45[deg]
with the horizontal when viewed from the side of the vehicle; and
(c) Timbers, having a nominal cross section of 4 x 4 inches or
more and a length which is at least 75 percent of the width of the
coil or row of coils, tightly placed against both the front and rear
sides of the coil or row of coils and restrained to prevent movement
of the coil or coils in the forward and rearward directions.
(d) If coils are loaded to contact each other in the
longitudinal direction and relative motion between coils, and
between coils and the vehicle, is prevented by tiedown assemblies
and timbers--
(1) Only the foremost and rearmost coils must be secured with
timbers; and
(2) A single tiedown assembly, restricting against forward
motion, may be used to secure any coil except the rearmost one,
which must be restrained against rearward motion. [Emphasis added]
FCSG states without the temporary exemption, adherence to the
existing regulations at 393.120(c) for the securement of rows of coils
loaded with eyes crosswise--i.e., treating each coil as an individual
coil--places a burden on the motor carrier to carry significantly more
coil bunks and timbers to secure each coil in a raised bunk off the
deck. If permitted to secure loads of coils with eyes crosswise in rows
in which the coils are loaded to contact each other in the longitudinal
direction, FCSG states that because the coils are grouped and secured
together, i.e., ``unitized,'' there is no additional safety benefit to
justify the additional coil bunks and timbers. FCSG states that
securing groups of coils in this manner allows the load to be unitized
in a secure manner while still meeting all of the aggregate working
load limit requirements of 49 CFR 393.106(d).
FCSG notes that it intends to work cooperatively with the North
American Cargo Securement Harmonization Forum to effect these changes
in the North American Cargo Securement Model Regulation, which is the
document that both the U.S. and Canada have committed to use to update
the cargo securement requirements in both the FMCSRs and the Canadian
National Safety Code. FCSG states that this will enable CMV operators
to continue to secure groups of coils with eyes crosswise in a manner
that unitizes adjacent coils and was previously deemed adequate and
secure prior to the January 2004 revisions to the cargo securement
regulations.
For the reasons stated above, FCSG requests that motor carriers be
permitted to secure metal coils loaded with eyes crosswise, in rows in
which the coils are loaded to contact each other in the longitudinal
direction, in accordance with the pre-January 2004 cargo securement
requirements (then 393.100(c)) instead of using the current
requirements of 393.120(c) which effectively require each coil in a row
of coils to be treated as an individual coil for the purposes of
securement. While the current commodity-specific regulations for the
securement of metal coils at 49 CFR 393.120 specify the securement
requirements for individual coils loaded with eyes crosswise, these
regulations do not provide guidance regarding the securement of coils
with eyes crosswise, grouped in rows, in which the coils are loaded to
contact each other in the longitudinal direction. FCSG is making this
request because it believes that utilization of the pre-January 2004
regulations--which specifically addressed coils transported with eyes
crosswise, grouped in rows, in which the coils are loaded to contact
each other in the longitudinal direction--will maintain a level of
safety that is equivalent to the level of safety achieved without the
exemption.
Request for Comments
In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), FMCSA requests
public comment from all interested persons on FCSG's application for an
exemption from 49 CFR 393.120. All comments received before the close
of business on the comment closing date indicated at the beginning of
this notice will be considered and will be available for examination in
the docket at the location listed under the ADDRESSES section of this
notice. Comments received after the comment closing date will be filed
in the public docket and will be considered to the extent practicable.
In addition to late comments, FMCSA will also continue to file, in the
public docket, relevant information that becomes available after the
comment closing date. Interested persons should continue to examine the
public docket for new material.
Issued on: June 4, 2010.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy and Program Development.
[FR Doc. 2010-14224 Filed 6-11-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P