[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 3 (Thursday, January 5, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 644-645]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-8303]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket Nos. FMCSA-99-5748, FMCSA-99-6156, FMCSA-2001-9258, FMCSA-2003-
16241]
Qualification of Drivers; Exemption Applications; Vision
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of renewal of exemption; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its decision to renew the exemptions from the
vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for
13 individuals. FMCSA has statutory authority to exempt individuals
from vision standards if the exemptions granted will not compromise
safety. The agency has concluded that granting these exemptions will
provide a level of safety that will be equivalent to, or greater than,
the level of safety maintained without the exemptions for these
commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.
DATES: This decision is effective January 3, 2006. Comments must be
received on or before February 6, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods.
Please label your comments with DOT DMS Docket Numbers FMCSA-99-5748,
FMCSA-99-6156, FMCSA-2001-9258, or FMCSA-2003-16241.
Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for
submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the
Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
All submissions must include the agency name and docket number for
this notice. Note that all comments received will be posted without
change to http://dms.dot.gov, including any personal information
provided. To read background documents or comments received, go to
http://dms.dot.gov or to Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
[[Page 645]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Mary D. Gunnels, Chief, Physical
Qualifications Division, (202) 366-4001, FMCSA, Department of
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Public Comments: The DMS is generally available 24 hours each day,
except when announced system maintenance requires a brief interruption
in service. You can get electronic submission and retrieval help
guidelines under the ``help'' section of the DMS web site. If you want
us to notify you that we received your comments, please include a self-
addressed, stamped envelope or postcard. An acknowledgement page
appears after submitting comments on-line and can be printed to
document submission of comments.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the
Department of Transportation's complete Privacy Act Statement in the
Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70;
Pages 19477-78) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.
Exemption Decision
Under 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), FMCSA may renew an exemption
from the vision requirements in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10), which applies to
drivers of CMVs in interstate commerce, for a two-year period if it
finds ``such exemption would likely achieve a level of safety that is
equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent
such exemption.'' The procedures for requesting an exemption (including
renewals) are set out in 49 CFR part 381. This notice addresses 13
individuals who have requested renewal of their exemptions in a timely
manner. FMCSA has evaluated these 13 applications for renewal on their
merits and decided to extend each exemption for a renewable two-year
period. They are: Woodrow E. Bohley, Kenneth E. Bross, Russell W.
Foster, Curtis N. Fulbright, George A. Hoffman, III, Richard L.
Loeffelholz, Herman C. Mash, Frank T. Miller, Martin Postma, Ezequiel
Ramirez, Robert G. Rascicot, Jon H. Wurtele, and Walter M. Yohn, Jr.
These exemptions are extended subject to the following conditions:
(1) That each individual have a physical examination every year (a) by
an ophthalmologist or optometrist who attests that the vision in the
better eye continues to meet the standard in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10), and
(b) by a medical examiner who attests that the individual is otherwise
physically qualified under 49 CFR 391.41; (2) that each individual
provide a copy of the ophthalmologist's or optometrist's report to the
medical examiner at the time of the annual medical examination; and (3)
that each individual provide a copy of the annual medical certification
to the employer for retention in the driver's qualification file and
retain a copy of the certification on his/her person while driving for
presentation to a duly authorized Federal, State, or local enforcement
official. Each exemption will be valid for two years unless rescinded
earlier by FMCSA. The exemption will be rescinded if: (1) The person
fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the exemption; (2) the
exemption has resulted in a lower level of safety than was maintained
before it was granted; or (3) continuation of the exemption would not
be consistent with the goals and objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31315 and
31136(e).
Basis for Renewing Exemptions
Under 49 U.S.C. 31315(b)(1), an exemption may be granted for no
longer than two years from its approval date and may be renewed upon
application for additional two year periods. In accordance with 49
U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), each of the 13 applicants has satisfied the
entry conditions for obtaining an exemption from the vision
requirements (64 FR 40404; 64 FR 66962; 66 FR 66969; 68 FR 69432; 64 FR
54948; 65 FR 159; 66 FR 17743; 66 FR 33990; 68 FR 35772; 68 FR 61857;
68 FR 75715). Each of these 13 applicants has requested timely renewal
of the exemption and has submitted evidence showing that the vision in
the better eye continues to meet the standard specified at 49 CFR
391.41(b)(10) and that the vision impairment is stable. In addition, a
review of each record of safety while driving with the respective
vision deficiencies over the past two years indicates each applicant
continues to meet the vision exemption standards. These factors provide
an adequate basis for predicting each driver's ability to continue to
drive safely in interstate commerce. Therefore, FMCSA concludes that
extending the exemption for each renewal applicant for a period of two
years is likely to achieve a level of safety equal to that existing
without the exemption.
Request for Comments
FMCSA will review comments received at any time concerning a
particular driver's safety record and determine if the continuation of
the exemption is consistent with the requirements at 49 U.S.C. 31315
and 31136(e). However, FMCSA requests that interested parties with
specific data concerning the safety records of these drivers submit
comments by February 6, 2006.
FMCSA believes that the requirements for a renewal of an exemption
under 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e) can be satisfied by initially
granting the renewal and then requesting and evaluating, if needed,
subsequently comments submitted by interested parties. As indicated
above, the agency previously published notices of final disposition
announcing its decision to exempt these 17 individuals from the vision
requirement in 49 CFR 931.41(b)(10). That final decision to grant the
exemption to each of these individuals was based on the merits of each
case and only after careful consideration of the comments received to
its notices of applications. Those notices of applications stated in
detail the qualifications, experience, and medical condition of each
applicant for an exemption from the vision requirements. That
information is available by consulting the above cited Federal Register
publications.
Interested parties or organizations possessing information that
would otherwise show that any, or all of these drivers, are not
currently achieving the statutory level of safety should immediately
notify FMCSA. The agency will evaluate any adverse evidence submitted
and, if safety is being compromised or if continuation of the exemption
would not be consistent with the goals and objectives of 49 U.S.C.
31315 and 31136(e), FMCSA will take immediate steps to revoke the
exemption of a driver.
Issued on: December 28, 2005.
Larry W. Minor,
Director, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and Operations.
[FR Doc. E5-8303 Filed 1-4-06; 8:45 am]
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