Safe Operation of Commercial Motor Vehicles by Motor Carriers and Drivers

NY-ADR

3/18/15 N.Y. St. Reg. TRN-11-15-00015-P
NEW YORK STATE REGISTER
VOLUME XXXVII, ISSUE 11
March 18, 2015
RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
PROPOSED RULE MAKING
NO HEARING(S) SCHEDULED
 
I.D No. TRN-11-15-00015-P
Safe Operation of Commercial Motor Vehicles by Motor Carriers and Drivers
PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:
Proposed Action:
This is a consensus rule making to repeal sections 820.0, 820.1, 820.2, 820.3, 820.4, 820.5 820.6, 820.7, 820.8, 820.9, 820.10, 820.11, 820.12 and 820.13; add new sections 820.0, 820.1, 820.2, 820.3, 820.4, 820.5 820.6, 820.7, 820.8, 820.9, 820.10, 820.11 and 820.12 to Title 17 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Transportation Law, sections 14(18), 14-f(1), 138, 140(2) and art. 9-A; Vehicle and Traffic Law, sections 509-x, 509-y and art. 19-B
Subject:
Safe operation of commercial motor vehicles by motor carriers and drivers.
Purpose:
To update applicable regulations in 17 NYCRR Part 820, added 12/12/2004.
Substance of proposed rule (Full text is posted at the following State website:https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/operating/ osss/truck/regulations):
17 NYCRR Part 820 contains requirements applicable to commercial motor carriers and drivers operating in New York State. The regulations provide notice of federal motor carrier regulations incorporated by reference. The incorporated federal regulations are 49 CFR Part 390 relating to general applicability and definitions (section 820.1), 49 CFR Parts 382 and 383 relating to license standards and drug/alcohol testing (section 820.2), 49 CFR Part 391 relating to driver qualifications (section 820.3), 49 CFR Part 392 relating to operation of commercial motor vehicles (section 820.4), 49 CFR Part 393 relating to parts and accessories necessary for safe operation (section 820.5), 49 CFR Part 395 relating to hours of service for drivers of commercial motor vehicles (section 820.6), 49 CFR Part 396 relating to repair and maintenance of commercial motor vehicles (section 820.7), and various sections and parts of 49 CFR (see text at URL https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/operating/osss/truck/regulations for full listing) relating to transportation of hazardous materials (section 820.8).
Existing regulations on farm plate vehicle safety requirements (section 820.9) are repealed. The regulation on the investigation of motor carrier files (formerly section 820.10 and renumbered to section 820.9) is amended to add cross-references to New York State Vehicle & Traffic Law Article 19-A and Transportation Law Article 9-B. The regulation on exemptions (formerly section 820.12 and renumbered to section 820.11) is amended to reflect amendments to Transportation Law section 214. The regulation on the inspection of motor vehicles in operation (formerly section 820.13 and renumbered to section 820.12) is amended to reflect a generic reference to forms that will be used. The regulation on incorporation by reference (formerly section 820.14 and renumbered to section 820.13) is amended to reflect the new section number.
The repeal of section 820.9 and other references to vehicles that are exempt from the regulations were necessitated by amendments to Transportation Law section 214 with which the amended regulations are to be made consistent.
Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
David E. Winans, Associate Counsel, New York State Department of Transportation, 50 Wolf Road, 6th Floor, Albany, NY 12232, (518) 457-2411, email: [email protected]
Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
Same as above.
Public comment will be received until:
45 days after publication of this notice.
Consensus Rule Making Determination
The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) engages in commercial motor vehicle enforcement activities under the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP). MCSAP provides federal financial assistance to states in order to reduce the number and severity of accidents and hazardous materials incidents involving commercial motor vehicles. The FMCSA has adopted standards for commercial motor vehicles and drivers that apply to any vehicle being operated in interstate commerce. These regulations, which appear in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), have been incorporated by reference into the NYSDOT regulations in Title 17 NYCRR.
Some vehicles, and some vehicles being operated under certain circumstances, are exempt from motor carrier regulations under both federal regulations and under Transportation Law Section 214. The motor carrier regulations in Part 820 need to be updated to reflect the exemptions and the updated applicability.
NYSDOT has determined that no person is likely to object to the amendment of 17 NYCRR parts 820 as herein proposed, as the purpose of the rulemaking is to bring the Part into compliance with the law, as amended, and to update addresses of state agencies. This rulemaking does not represent a change in NYSDOT policy or practice.
Job Impact Statement
1. Nature of impact: The proposed rule changes are being advanced for the purpose of updating the Department’s regulations related to safe operation of commercial motor vehicles. Most of the specific provisions are contained in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), several parts of which are incorporated by reference. The rule changes are not expected to have an impact on jobs, because the associated New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) enforcement activity will be consistent with past practice.
2. Categories and numbers affected: NYSDOT participates in motor carrier enforcement with police agencies, and on its own initiative, performs inspections of vehicles and drivers and motor carrier compliance reviews. These reviews and inspections are performed using the standards that are found in the CFR regulations historically incorporated by reference in 17 NYCRR. Neither the frequency of inspections nor the basis for NYSDOT enforcement action is expected to change in any way.
3. Regions of adverse impact: Inspections and reviews are conducted pursuant to Department policy and there is no variance in the methodology across regions. No adverse impact on jobs in any particular region or regions is anticipated.
4. Minimizing adverse impact: The purpose of performing motor carrier enforcement activities is the advancement of public safety through verification of compliance with state law and regulation pertaining to motor carrier safety; consequently, there are no adverse impacts.
End of Document