Federal Register #2026-13186

FAA Radar Data Pilot Program and FMCSA Regulatory Exemption Requests

This opportunity involves two Department of Transportation agencies—the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)—announcing regulatory pilot programs and exemption requests:

• Government Buyer

  • Department of Transportation (DOT)
  • Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Strategic Operations Group (AJR22)
  • Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Driver and Carrier Operations Division

• FAA Radar Data Pilot Program (RDPP)

  • FAA is launching a pilot program to provide up to three qualified U.S. State, Local, Tribal, or Territorial government entities with access to FAA National Airspace System (NAS) radar data feeds.
  • Purpose: For Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) services or technology testing.
  • Access is contingent on meeting security and need-to-know requirements, and formal agreements (Other Transaction Agreement and Interconnection Security Agreement).
  • The pilot program will sunset after a fixed period.

• FMCSA Exemption Requests

  • FMCSA is seeking public comment on two regulatory exemption requests:
  • National School Transportation Association (NSTA) requests renewal of an exemption allowing CDL applicants for school bus endorsements to skip the engine compartment portion of the pre-trip inspection test ("under-the-hood"), limited to intrastate school bus operation.
  • Lone Star Haz Mat Response, LLC requests an exemption to allow its field response drivers to exceed hours of service requirements when returning from hazardous materials incident responses.

• OEMs and Vendors

  • No specific OEMs or commercial vendors are named, as these are regulatory and data access initiatives, not product or service procurements.

• Unique or Notable Requirements

  • RDPP participants must be government entities and comply with strict security and legal agreements.
  • Exemptions are limited in scope (e.g., intrastate operation for school bus drivers, post-incident return trips for hazmat drivers).
  • No commercial products, part numbers, or quantities are specified.

Description

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requests public comment on the National School Transportation Association's application to renew an exemption allowing commercial driver's license (CDL) applicants seeking a school bus endorsement to forgo the engine compartment portion of the pre-trip vehicle inspection skills test, known as the "under-the-hood" testing requirement. Drivers issued a CDL under this exemption are restricted to intrastate operation of school buses only. The exemption aims to aid recruitment of school bus drivers and has been adopted by 15 states with no reported negative safety impact. FMCSA will review the application, safety analyses, and public comments before deciding to grant or deny the exemption.

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