The purpose of this information collection request (ICR) is to inform the Agency's development of a mandatory driver-training program primarily for individuals applying for the first commercial driver's license (CDL). This ICR would allow the State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs) to furnish this critical data and thereby inform the design of the CDL driver training program to be proposed by the Agency for comment. FMCSA is unaware of any other source for this data.
On September 18, 2014, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways sued the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (DC Circuit). The plaintiffs seek an order of mandamus compelling DOT to promulgate an entry-level driver training regulation by a date certain. In legislation signed into law on July 6, 2012 (âMoving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21)â), Congress mandated that FMCSA conduct rulemaking to put in place mandatory training for entry-level applicants for a commercial driversâ license (CDL) no later than October 1, 2013 (Sec. 32304). FMCSA decided that the complexity of this endeavor might best be addressed by a negotiated rulemaking (âReg Negâ) conducted under the provisions of the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. § 561 et seq.). On August 19, 2014, FMCSA published a Notice of Intent to Explore Negotiated Rulemaking (79 FR 49044) and hired a convener to speak with interested parties about the feasibility of conducting a negotiated rulemaking. Based upon the convenerâs recommendation, the Agency on December 10, 2014, published notice of its intent to establish an Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee to negotiate proposed regulations to implement section 32304. On February 12, 2015, the Agency published notice of the formation of an Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee (ELDTAC) as part of the negotiated rulemaking process. Although FMCSA is moving the Reg Neg ahead as a high priority, the Agency believes that the DC Circuit may require a greater showing that the Agency is proceeding in good faith and with deliberate speed to develop and propose the driver-training program. However, FMCSA does not have certain data that is crucial to that development: the number of individuals who would require entry-level CDL driver training annually. This data, which is not available from any sources other than individual State driver licensing agencies (SDLAs), would not only inform the design of the training program, but would allow the Agency to conduct the various regulatory analyses, such as cost/benefit analysis, that it must, by law, publish with any formal rulemaking proposal. In addition, the data would provide valuable information for the ongoing Reg Neg.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.