for rule making and reconsideration; denials of petitions for rule making and reconsideration; records of additional rule making proceedings under § 389.25; and final rules are maintained at Headquarters, Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety, Room 5306, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, D.C. 20591.

(b) Any person may examine docketed material, at any time during regular business hours after the docket is established, except material ordered withheld from the public under section 552(b) of title 5 of the United States Code, and may obtain a copy of it upon payment of a fee.

§389.7 Records.

Records of the Bureau relating to rule making proceedings are available for inspection as provided in section 552(b) of title 5 of the United States Code and Part 7 of the regulations of the Secretary of Transportation (Part 7 of this title; 32 FR 9284 et seq.).

Subpart B-Procedures for Adoption of Rules

§389.11 General.

Unless the Director, for good cause, finds that notice is impractical, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, and incorporates that finding and a brief statement of the reasons for it in the rule, a notice of proposed rule making is issued, and interested persons are invited to participate in the rule making proceedings involving rules under sections 204, 220, 224 of the Act.

§389.13 Initiation of rule making.

The Director initiates rule making on his own motion. However, in so doing, he may, in his discretion, consider the recommendations of his staff or other agencies of the United States or of other interested persons.

§ 389.15 Contents of notices of proposed rule making.

(a) Each notice of proposed rule making is published in the FEDERAL REGISTER, unless all persons subject to it are named and are personally served with a copy of it.

(b) Each notice, whether published in the FEDERAL REGISTER or personally served, includes:

(1) A statement of the time, place, and nature of the proposed rule making proceeding;

(2) A reference to the authority under which it is issued;

(3) A description of the subjects and issues involved or the substance and terms of the proposed rule;

(4) A statement of the time within which written comments must be submitted; and

(5) A statement of how and to what extent interested persons may participate in the proceeding.

§ 389.17 Participation by interested per

sons.

(a) Any interested person may participate in rule making proceedings by submitting comments in writing containing information, views, or arguments.

(b) In his discretion, the Director may invite any interested person to participate in the rule making procedures described in § 389.25.

§ 389.19 Petitions for extension of time to comment.

A petition for extension of the time to submit comments must be received in duplicate not later than three (3) days before expiration of the time stated in the notice. The filing of the petition does not automatically extend the time for petitioner's comments. Such a petition is granted only if the petitioner shows good cause for the extension, and if the extension is consistent with the public interest. If an extension is granted, it is granted to all persons, and it is published in the FEDERAL REGISTER.

§ 389.21 Contents of written comments.

All written comments must be in English and submitted in five (5) legible copies, unless the number of copies is specified in the notice. Any interested person must submit as part of his written comments all material that he considers relevant to any statement of fact made by him. Incorporation of material by reference is to be avoided. However, if such incorporation is necessary, the incorporated

material shall be identified with respect to document and page.

§ 389.23 Consideration of comments received.

All timely comments are considered before final action is taken on a rule making proposal. Late filed comments may be considered as far as practicable.

§ 389.25 Additional rule making proceedings.

The Director may initiate any further rule making proceedings that he finds necessary or desirable. For example, interested persons may be invited to make oral arguments, to participate in conferences between the Director or his representative at which minutes of the conference are kept, to appear at informal hearings presided over by officials designated by the Director at which a transcript or minutes are kept, or participate in any other proceeding to assure informed administrative action and to protect the public interest.

§ 389.27 Hearings.

(a) Sections 556 and 557 of title 5, United States Code, do not apply to hearings held under this part. Unless otherwise specified, hearings held under this part are informal, nonadversary, fact-finding procedures at which there are no formal pleadings or adverse parties. Any rule issued in a case in which an informal hearing is held is not necessarily based exclusively on the record of the hearing.

(b) The Director designates a representative to conduct any hearing held under this part. The Chief Counsel of the Federal Highway Administration designates a member of his staff to serve as legal officer at the hearing.

§ 389.29 Adoption of final rules.

Final rules are prepared by representatives of the office concerned and the Office of the Chief Counsel. The rule is then submitted to the Director for his consideration. If the Director adopts the rule, it is published in the FEDERAL REGISTER, unless all persons subject to it are named and are personally served with a copy of it.

§389.31 Petitions for rule making.

(a) Any interested person may petition the Director to establish, amend, or repeal a rule.

(b) Each petition filed under this section must:

(1) Be submitted in duplicate to the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety, Room 5306, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, D.C. 20591;

(2) Set forth the text or substance of the rule or amendment proposed, or specify the rule that the petitioner seeks to have repealed, as the case may be;

(3) Explain the interest of the petitioner in the action requested;

(4) Contain any information and arguments available to the petitioner to support the action sought.

§389.33 Processing of petition.

(a) General. Each petition received under § 389.31 is referred to the Director of the Bureau. Unless the Director otherwise specifies, no public hearing, argument, or other proceeding is held directly on a petition before its disposition under this section.

(b) Grants. If the Director determines that the petition contains adequate justification, he initiates rule making action under this Subpart B.

(c) Denials. If the Director determines that the petition does not justify rule making, he denies the petition.

(d) Notification. Whenever the Director determines that a petition should be granted or denied, the Office of the Chief Counsel prepares a notice of that grant or denial for issuance to the petitioner, and the Director issues it to the petitioner.

§389.35 Petitions for reconsideration.

(a) Any interested person may petition the Director for reconsideration of any rule issued under this part. The petition must be in English and submitted in five (5) legible copies to the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety, Room 5306, Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, D.C. 20591, and received not later than thirty (30) days after publication of the rule in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Petitions filed after that time will be considered as petitions filed under

§ 389.31. The petition must contain a brief statement of the complaint and an explanation as to why compliance with the rule is not practicable, is unreasonable, or is not in the public interest.

(b) If the petitioner requests the consideration of additional facts, he must state the reason they were not presented to the Director within the prescribed time.

(c) The Director does not consider repetitious petitions.

(d) Unless the Director otherwise provides, the filing of a petition under this section does not stay the effectiveness of the rule.

§389.37 Proceedings on petitions for reconsideration.

The Director may grant or deny, in whole or in part, any petition for reconsideration without further proceedings. In the event he determines to reconsider any rule, he may issue a final decision on reconsideration without further proceedings, or he may provide such opportunity to submit comment or information and data as he deems appropriate. Whenever the Director determines that a petition should be granted or denied, he prepares a notice of the grant or denial of a petition for reconsideration, for issuance to the petitioner, and issues it to the petitioner. The Director may consolidate petitions relating to the same rule.

§ 389.38 Saving provision.

All rules and notices of proposed rule making in effect on June 12, 1970, which have been issued or made on or before that date under the authority delegated under this part shall continue in effect until modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or repealed by the Director, by any court of competent jurisdiction, or by operation by law.

PART 390-FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY REGULATIONS:

GENERAL

Subpart A-Definitions

Sec. 390.1 Motor vehicle. 390.2 Vehicle.

documents.

AUTHORITY: Sec. 204, 49 Stat. 546, as amended; (49 U.S.C. 304) sec. 6, Department of Transportation Act (49 U.S.C. 1655) delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.48 and 389.4, unless otherwise noted.

SOURCE: 33 FR 19727, Dec. 25, 1968, unless otherwise noted.

CROSS REFERENCE: See § 390.40 for references to field offices.

Subpart A-Definitions

§ 390.1 Motor vehicle.

The term "motor vehicle" means any vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used upon the highways in the transportation of passengers or property, or any combination thereof determined by the Federal Highway Administration, but does not include any vehicle, locomotive, or car operated exclusively on a rail or rails, or a trolley bus operated by electric power derived from a fixed overhead wire, furnishing local passenger transportation similar to street-railway service.

The term "pole trailer" means any vehicle without motive power, possibly of variable wheel base, designed to be drawn by another vehicle, and attached to the towing vehicle by means of a "reach," or "pole," or by being "boomed" or otherwise secured to the towing vehicle, and ordinarily used for transporting long or irregular-shaped loads such as poles, pipes, or structural members capable generally of sustaining themselves as beams between the supporting connections.