[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 48 (Thursday, March 12, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13069-13070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05645]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Driver Qualifications; Regulatory Guidance Concerning the Use of
Computerized Employer Notification Systems for the Annual Inquiry and
Review of Driving Records
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
ACTION: Notice of regulatory guidance.
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SUMMARY: FMCSA provides regulatory guidance concerning the use of
State-operated employer notification systems (ENS) for the annual
inquiry and review of driving records required by 49 CFR 391.25. The
guidance explains the use of State-operated ENS that provide motor
carriers with a department of motor vehicle report for every State in
which the driver held either an operator's license, a commercial
driver's license (CDL), or permit when a driver is enrolled in the
system. Many State driver licensing agencies (SDLAs) provide ENS that
either automatically update requestors (push-system) on license status,
crashes and convictions of laws or regulations governing the operation
of motor vehicles or allow the requestor to regularly query the record
(pull-system) for this information. The use of these systems to check
the driving record, at least annually, satisfies the requirement for an
annual review of each driver's record. This includes when a third-party
is used to accumulate the records for a motor carrier. This revises the
Agency guidance issued in 2003 that referenced to a specific third-
party vendor.
DATES: This guidance is effective March 12, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Thomas L. Yager, Chief, Driver and
Carrier Operations Division, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and
Operations, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE., Washington, DC 20590, Telephone
202-366-4325, Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Legal Basis
The Secretary of Transportation has statutory authority to set
minimum standards for commercial motor vehicle safety. These minimum
standards must ensure that: (1) CMVs are maintained, equipped, loaded,
and operated safely; (2) the responsibilities imposed on operators of
CMVs do not impair their ability to operate the vehicles safely; (3)
the physical condition of CMV operators is adequate to enable them to
operate the vehicles safely; (4) the operation of CMVs does not have a
deleterious effect on the physical condition of the operators; and (5)
an operator of a commercial motor vehicle is not coerced by a motor
carrier, shipper, receiver, or transportation intermediary to operate a
commercial motor vehicle in violation of a regulation (49 U.S.C.
31136(a)(1)-(5), as amended). The Secretary also has broad power in
carrying out motor carrier safety statutes and regulations to
``prescribe recordkeeping and reporting requirements'' and to ``perform
other acts the Secretary considers appropriate'' (49 U.S.C. 31133(a)(8)
and (10)).
The Administrator of FMCSA has been delegated authority under 49
CFR 1.87(f) to carry out the functions vested in the Secretary of
Transportation by 49 U.S.C. chapter 311, subchapters I, III and IV,
relating to commercial motor vehicle programs and safety regulation.
Background
On January 13, 2003, FMCSA issued a letter to a company providing
regulatory guidance concerning the use of computerized employer
notification systems for the annual inquiry and review of driving
records required by 49 CFR 391.25. The guidance explained that the use
of a specific third-party computerized ENS that provides motor carriers
with a department of motor vehicle report for every State in which the
driver held either an operator's license, a CDL, or permit when a
driver is enrolled in the system, and provides an update anytime the
State licensing agency enters new information about license status,
crashes and convictions of laws or regulations governing the operation
of motor vehicles satisfies the requirement for an annual review of
each driver's record. However, the guidance referenced a specific
vendor providing such services to the motor carrier industry.
The regulatory guidance issued to the specific company was
subsequently posted to FMCSA's Web site as question #4 to 49 CFR 391.25
(See http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/391.25?guidance). The 2003 guidance reads as follows:
Question 4: Does the use of a third-party computerized system that
provides motor carriers with a complete department of motor vehicle
report for every State in which the driver held a commercial motor
vehicle operator's license or permit when a driver is enrolled in the
system, and then automatically provides an update anytime the State
licensing agency enters new information on the driving record, satisfy
the requirements of Sec. 391.25?
Guidance: Yes. Since motor carriers would be provided with a
complete department of motor vehicle report for every State in which
the driver held a commercial motor vehicle operator's license or permit
when a driver is enrolled in the system, and then provided with an
update any time the State licensing agency enters new information on
the driving record, the requirements of Sec. 391.25(a) would be
satisfied. When the motor carrier manager reviews the information on
the driving record, and the License Monitor system records the identity
of the manager who conducted the review, the requirements of Sec.
391.25(b) and (c) would be satisfied.
With regard to the requirement that the response from each State
agency, and a note identifying the person who performed the review, may
be maintained in the driver's qualification files, motor carriers may
satisfy the record keeping requirement by using computerized records in
accordance with 49 CFR 390.31. Section [390.31] allows all records that
do not require signatures to be maintained through the use of computer
technology provided the motor carrier can produce, upon demand, a
computer printout of the required data. Therefore, motor carriers using
an automated computer system would not be required to maintain paper
copies of the driving records, or a note identifying the person who
performed the review, in each individual driver qualification file
provided a computer printout can be produced upon demand of a Federal
or State enforcement official.
[[Page 13070]]
Because the guidance made reference to one vendor, License Monitor,
it was not considered helpful by some in the industry for motor
carriers using systems other than the one operated by License Monitor.
The American Trucking Associations raised the issue with FMCSA and the
Agency agrees that the guidance should be revised to provide generic
guidance rather than vendor-specific guidance. In addition, since 2003,
several SDLAs have implemented ENS systems that provide the driver
record information to employers.
FMCSA's Decision
In consideration of the above, FMCSA has determined that the
current regulatory guidance should be revised to make clear that any
State-operated ENS may be used to satisfy the requirements of 49 CFR
391.25, even if the information is accumulated by a third party. The
FMCSA revises Question 4 to 49 CFR 391.25 to read as follows:
Qualification of Drivers, Annual Inquiry and Review of Driving Record;
Regulatory Guidance for 49 CFR 391.25
Question 4: Does the use of an employer notification system that
provides motor carriers with a department of motor vehicle report for
every State in which the driver held either an operator's license, a
commercial driver's license (CDL), or permit when a driver is enrolled
in the system and provides information about license status, crashes
and convictions of laws or regulations governing the operation of motor
vehicles on the driving record satisfy the requirement for an annual
review of each driver's record?
Guidance: Yes. Since motor carriers would be provided with a
department of motor vehicle report for every State in which the driver
held a commercial motor vehicle operator's license or permit when a
driver is enrolled in the system and the State licensing agency
includes information about crashes and convictions of laws or
regulations governing the operation of motor vehicles on the driving
record, the requirements of Sec. 391.25(a) would be satisfied.
Generally, the requirements of Sec. 391.25(b) and (c) would be
satisfied if the employer notification system records the identity of
the motor carrier's representative who conducted the review when the
carrier's representative reviews the information on the driving record.
The use of an employer notification system would meet the
requirements if either the motor carrier automatically receives updates
from the State (push-system) or can regularly access the system to
check for updates (pull-system), as long as the check occurs at least
once per year. In addition, receipt of these reports meets the
requirement for the annual check even if it is provided to the motor
carrier by a third-party.
With regard to the requirement that the response from each State
agency, and a note identifying the person who performed the review, may
be maintained in the driver's qualification files, motor carriers may
satisfy the recordkeeping requirement by using computerized records in
accordance with FMCSA's Regulatory Guidance Concerning Electronic
Documents and Signatures, 75 FR 411, January 4, 2011. Therefore, motor
carriers using an automated employer notification computer system would
not be required to maintain paper copies of the driving records, or a
note identifying the person who performed the review, in each
individual driver qualification file provided documentation consistent
with FMCSA's January 4, 2011, guidance can be produced upon demand of a
Federal or State enforcement official.
Issued on: March 2, 2015.
T.F. Scott Darling, III,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2015-05645 Filed 3-11-15; 8:45 am]
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