Qualification of Drivers; Exemption Applications; Vision, 18648-18649 [2018-08913]

Agencies

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 82 (Friday, April 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18648-18649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08913]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2017-0026]


Qualification of Drivers; Exemption Applications; Vision

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of final disposition.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its decision to exempt 18 individuals from the 
vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations 
(FMCSRs) to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate 
commerce. They are unable to meet the vision requirement in one eye for 
various reasons. The exemptions enable these individuals to operate 
CMVs in interstate commerce without meeting the vision requirement in 
one eye.

DATES: The exemptions were applicable on February 16, 2018. The 
exemptions expire on February 16, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Christine A. Hydock, Chief, 
Medical Programs Division, (202) 366-4001, [email protected], FMCSA, 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room W64-224, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001. Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., 
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. If you have 
questions regarding viewing or submitting material to the docket, 
contact Docket Services, telephone (202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Electronic Access

    You may see all the comments online through the Federal Document 
Management System (FDMS) at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments, go to https://www.regulations.gov and/or Room W12-140 on the 
ground level of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.
    Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits 
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT 
posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information 
the commenter provides, to https://www.regulations.gov, as described in 
the system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed 
at https://www.dot.gov/privacy.

II. Background

    On January 16, 2018, FMCSA published a notice announcing receipt of 
applications from 18 individuals requesting an exemption from vision 
requirement in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10) and requested comments from the 
public (83 FR 2311). The public comment period ended on February 15, 
2018, and one comment was received.
    FMCSA has evaluated the eligibility of these applicants and 
determined that granting the exemptions to these individuals would 
achieve a level of safety equivalent to or greater than the level that 
would be achieved by complying with the current regulation 49 CFR 
391.41(b)(10).
    The physical qualification standard for drivers regarding vision 
found in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10) states that a person is physically 
qualified to driver a CMV if that person has distant visual acuity of 
at least 20/40 (Snellen) in each eye without corrective lenses or 
visual acuity separately corrected to 20/40 (Snellen) or better with 
corrective lenses, distant binocular acuity of a least 20/40 (Snellen) 
in both eyes with or without corrective lenses, field of vision of at 
least 70[deg] in the horizontal meridian in each eye, and the ability 
to recognize the colors of traffic signals and devices showing red, 
green, and amber.

III. Discussion of Comments

    FMCSA received one comment in this proceeding. Vanessa Jones 
commented that drivers with a visual deficiency should have to take a 
specific driving test to demonstrate safe operation with the deficiency 
rather than relying on a review of the driving record to determine 
their level of safety. In addition, she indicated that vision exempted 
drivers should not be seen by an optometrist and instead should be seen 
by a specialized eye doctor.
    FMCSA conducts a thorough review of a 3-year Commercial and 
Personal Driving record in conjunction with actual driving experience 
with their vision deficiency to determine if an equivalent or greater 
level of safety is likely to be achieved by granting the exemptions as 
would be without the exemptions. Drivers are not granted a Commercial 
Driver's License (CDL) by the Federal Government but by their State. 
Each state has specific skill testing requirements that must be met.
    FMCSA has utilized a Medical Expert Panel consisting of a team of 
Medical Doctors who have extensively researched and recommended the 
process that the Agency follows to qualify these drivers. FMCSA 
requires all individuals applying for a vision

[[Page 18649]]

exemption to be evaluated by an optometrist or ophthalmologist. Both 
optometrists and ophthalmologists are medically qualified to evaluate 
the applicant's eye conditions when applying to the vision exemption 
program. The examination includes identifying and defining the nature 
of the vision deficiency, how long the deficiency has been present, 
stability, visual acuity, field of vision, and color vision.

IV. Basis for Exemption Determination

    Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, FMCSA may grant an exemption 
from the vision standard in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10) if the exemption is 
likely to achieve an equivalent or greater level of safety than would 
be achieved without the exemption. The exemption allows applicants to 
operate CMVs in interstate commerce.
    The Agency's decision regarding these exemption applications is 
based on medical reports about the applicants' vision as well as their 
driving records and experience driving with the vision deficiency. The 
qualifications, experience, and medical condition of each applicant 
were stated and discussed in detail in the January 16, 2018, Federal 
Register notice (83 FR 2311) and will not be repeated in this notice.
    FMCSA recognizes that some drivers do not meet the vision 
requirement but have adapted their driving to accommodate their 
limitation and demonstrated their ability to drive safely. The 18 
exemption applicants listed in this notice are in this category. They 
are unable to meet the vision requirement in one eye for various 
reasons, including amblyopia, aphakia, cataracts, central scarring, 
complete loss of vision, glaucoma, macular scarring, retinal 
detachment, retinal scarring. In most cases, their eye conditions were 
not recently developed. Nine of the applicants were either born with 
their vision impairments or have had them since childhood. The nine 
individuals that sustained their vision conditions as adults have had 
it for a range of 4 to 26 years. Although each applicant has one eye 
which does not meet the vision requirement in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10), 
each has at least 20/40 corrected vision in the other eye, and in a 
doctor's opinion, has sufficient vision to perform all the tasks 
necessary to operate a CMV.
    Doctors' opinions are supported by the applicants' possession of a 
valid license to operate a CMV. By meeting State licensing 
requirements, the applicants demonstrated their ability to operate a 
CMV, with their limited vision in intrastate commerce, even though 
their vision disqualified them from driving in interstate commerce. We 
believe that the applicants' intrastate driving experience and history 
provide an adequate basis for predicting their ability to drive safely 
in interstate commerce. Intrastate driving, like interstate operations, 
involves substantial driving on highways on the interstate system and 
on other roads built to interstate standards. Moreover, driving in 
congested urban areas exposes the driver to more pedestrian and 
vehicular traffic than exists on interstate highways. Faster reaction 
to traffic and traffic signals is generally required because distances 
between them are more compact. These conditions tax visual capacity and 
driver response just as intensely as interstate driving conditions.
    The applicants in this notice have driven CMVs with their limited 
vision in careers ranging for 3 to 70 years. In the past three years, 
one driver was involved in a crash, and two drivers were convicted of 
moving violations in CMVs. All the applicants achieved a record of 
safety while driving with their vision impairment, demonstrating the 
likelihood that they have adapted their driving skills to accommodate 
their condition. As the applicants' ample driving histories with their 
vision deficiencies are good predictors of future performance, FMCSA 
concludes their ability to drive safely can be projected into the 
future.
    Consequently, FMCSA finds that in each case exempting these 
applicants from the vision requirement in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10) is 
likely to achieve a level of safety equal to that existing without the 
exemption.

V. Conditions and Requirements

    The terms and conditions of the exemption are provided to the 
applicants in the exemption document and includes the following: (1) 
Each driver must be physically examined 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 certified Medical Examiner who attests that the individual is 
otherwise physically qualified under 49 CFR 391.41; (2) each driver 
must 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) each driver must provide a copy of the annual medical certification 
to the employer for retention in the driver's qualification file, or 
keep a copy in his/her driver's qualification file if he/she is self-
employed. The driver must also have a copy of the exemption when 
driving, for presentation to a duly authorized Federal, State, or local 
enforcement official.

VI. Preemption

    During the period the exemption is in effect, no State shall 
enforce any law or regulation that conflicts with this exemption with 
respect to a person operating under the exemption.

VII. Conclusion

    Based upon its evaluation of the 18 exemption applications, FMCSA 
exempts the following drivers from the vision requirement, 49 CFR 
391.41(b)(10), subject to the requirements cited above:

Michael H. Eheler, II (WI)
Roberto Espinosa (FL)
Lee J. Gaffney (OH)
Mark S. Hale (AL)
Raymundo Maldonado (TX)
Mickey D. McCoy (TN)
Colin D. McGregor (WI)
Thomas B. Miller (VA)
Ryan J. Plank (PA)
Donald J. Poague (GA)
Jose R. Ponce (TX)
Ronald F. Prezzia (IL)
Jorge A. Rodriguez (CA)
Jimmy W. Rowland (FL)
Aaron R. Rupe (IL)
Charles L. Sauls (FL)
Gery M. Shoultz (IN)
Juan D. Zertuche, Jr. (TX)

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, each exemption 
will be valid for two years from the effective date unless revoked 
earlier by FMCSA. The exemption will be revoked if the following 
occurs: (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 prior to being granted; or (3) continuation 
of the exemption would not be consistent with the goals and objectives 
of 49 U.S.C. 31136 and 31315.

    Issued on: April 23, 2018.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-08913 Filed 4-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P