[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 68 (Monday, April 9, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15214-15216]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07186]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2018-0007]

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption Applications; Vision

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

ACTION: Notice of applications for exemption; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces receipt of applications from 13 individuals
for an exemption from the vision requirement in the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to operate a commercial motor
vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce. If granted, the exemptions will
enable these individuals to operate CMVs in interstate commerce without
meeting the vision requirement in one eye.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 9, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Docket No. FMCSA-2018-0007 using any of the
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    Instructions: Each submission must include the Agency name and the
docket number(s) for this notice. Note that all comments received will
be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading below
for further information.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments, go to http://www.regulations.gov at any time 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. The FDMS is available 24 hours each day, 365
days each year. If you want acknowledgment that we received your
comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or postcard
or print the acknowledgement page that appears after submitting
comments online.
    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 http://www.regulations.gov, as described in
the system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed
at http://www.dot.gov/privacy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Christine A. Hydock, Chief,
Medical Programs Division,<PHONE_NUMBER>, [email protected], FMCSA,
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room W64-224,
Washington, DC 20590-0001. Office hours are 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<PHONE_NUMBER>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, FMCSA may grant an exemption
from the FMCSRs for a five-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
statute also allows the Agency to renew exemptions at the end of the
five-year period. FMCSA grants exemptions from the FMCSRs for a two-
year period to align with the maximum duration of a driver's medical
certification.
    The 13 individuals listed in this notice have requested an
exemption from the vision requirement in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10).
Accordingly, the Agency will evaluate the qualifications of each
applicant to determine whether granting an exemption will achieve the
required level of safety mandated by statute.
    The physical qualification standard for drivers regarding vision
found in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10) states that a person is physically
qualified to drive 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 at 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 standard
red, green, and amber.
    In July 1992, the Agency first published the criteria for the
Vision Waiver Program, which listed the conditions and reporting
standards that CMV drivers approved for participation would need to
meet (Qualification of Drivers; Vision Waivers, 57 FR 31458, July 16,
1992). The current Vision Exemption Program was established in 1998,
following the enactment of amendments to the statutes governing
exemptions made by Sec.  4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the
21st Century (TEA-21), Public Law 105-178, 112 Stat. 107, 401 (June 9,
1998). Vision exemptions are considered under the procedures
established in 49 CFR part 381 subpart C, on a case-by-case basis upon
application by CMV drivers who do not meet the vision standards of 49
CFR 391.41(b)(10).
    To qualify for an exemption from the vision requirement, FMCSA
requires a person to present verifiable evidence that he/she has driven
a commercial vehicle safely with the vision deficiency for the past
three years. Recent driving performance is especially important in
evaluating future safety, according to several research studies
designed to correlate past and future driving performance. Results of
these studies support the principle that the best predictor of future
performance by a driver is his/her past record of crashes and traffic
violations. Copies of the studies may be found at Docket Number FMCSA-
1998-3637.
    FMCSA believes it can properly apply the principle to monocular
drivers, because data from the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA)
former waiver study program clearly demonstrated the driving
performance of experienced monocular drivers in the program is better
than that of all CMV drivers collectively (See 61 FR 13338, 13345,
March 26, 1996). The fact that experienced monocular drivers
demonstrated safe driving records in the waiver program supports a
conclusion that other monocular drivers, meeting the same qualifying
conditions as those required by the waiver program, are also likely to
have adapted to their vision deficiency and will continue to operate
safely.
    The first major research correlating past and future performance
was done in England by Greenwood and Yule in 1920. Subsequent studies,
building on that model, concluded that crash rates for the same
individual exposed to certain risks for two different time periods vary
only slightly (See Bates

and Neyman, University of California Publications in Statistics, April
1952). Other studies demonstrated theories of predicting crash
proneness from crash history coupled with other factors. These
factors--such as age, sex, geographic location, mileage driven and
conviction history--are used every day by insurance companies and motor
vehicle bureaus to predict the probability of an individual
experiencing future crashes (See Weber, Donald C., ``Accident Rate
Potential: An Application of Multiple Regression Analysis of a Poisson
Process,'' Journal of American Statistical Association, June 1971). A
1964 California Driver Record Study prepared by the California
Department of Motor Vehicles concluded that the best overall crash
predictor for both concurrent and nonconcurrent events is the number of
single convictions. This study used three consecutive years of data,
comparing the experiences of drivers in the first two years with their
experiences in the final year.

II. Qualifications of Applicants

Ahmed Abukhatwa

    Mr. Abukhatwa, 25, has a prosthetic left eye due to a traumatic
incident in childhood. The visual acuity in his right eye is 20/20, and
in his left eye, no light perception. Following an examination in 2017,
his ophthalmologist stated, ``It is my medical opinion that Mr.
Abukhatwa has sufficient vision to perform the driving tasks required
to operate a commercial vehicle.'' Mr. Abukhatwa reported that he has
driven tractor-trailer combinations for three years, accumulating
240,000 miles. He holds a Class CA CDL from Michigan. His driving
record for the last three years shows no crashes and no convictions for
moving violations in a CMV.

James A. Barlow

    Mr. Barlow, 61, has complete loss of vision in his right eye due to
a traumatic incident in childhood. The visual acuity in his right eye
is no light perception, and in his left eye, 20/20. Following an
examination in 2017, his optometrist stated, ``In my opinion, James has
sufficient vision to operate a commercial vehicle with eyeglasses
correction.'' Mr. Barlow reported that he has driven straight trucks
for 30 years, accumulating 2.4 million miles, tractor-trailer
combinations for five years, accumulating 125,000 miles. He holds a
Class A CDL from Ohio. His driving record for the last three years
shows no crashes and no convictions for moving violations in a CMV.

Thomas R. Danser

    Mr. Danser, 56, has optic nerve damage in his right eye due to a
traumatic incident in 2012. The visual acuity in his right eye is 20/
320, and in his left eye, 20/20. Following an examination in 2017, his
optometrist stated, ``The tests indicate that Thomas is able to perform
the task [sic] necessary to operate a commercial vehicle.'' Mr. Danser
reported that he has driven straight trucks for one year, accumulating
25,000 miles, and tractor-trailer combinations for six years,
accumulating 420,000 miles. He holds a Class A CDL from Pennsylvania.
His driving record for the last three years shows no crashes and one
conviction for a moving violation in a CMV; failure to obey a traffic
signal.

Jerome DeFabo, Jr.

    Mr. DeFabo, 47, has had central retinal artery occlusion in his
left eye since 2016. The visual acuity in his right eye is 20/20, and
in his left eye, 20/100. Following an examination in 2018, his
optometrist stated, ``In my professional medical opinion Jerome has
more than sufficient vision to perform the driving tasks to operate a
commercial vehicle.'' Mr. DeFabo reported that he has driven straight
trucks for 20 years, accumulating 50,000 miles. He holds a Class B CDL
from Pennsylvania. His driving record for the last three years shows no
crashes and no convictions for moving violations in a CMV.

Jorge Gonzalez

    Mr. Gonzalez, 50, has had amblyopia in his right eye since
childhood. The visual acuity in his right eye is 20/400, and in his
left eye, 20/20. Following an examination in 2017, his ophthalmologist
stated, ``He has sufficient vision to operate any commercial vehicle;
he is fully capable of recognizing all the colors of traffic control
signals.'' Mr. Gonzalez reported that he has driven tractor-trailer
combinations for 20 years, accumulating 1.4 million miles. He holds a
Class A CDL from Florida. His driving record for the last three years
shows no crashes and no convictions for moving violations in a CMV.

Jimmy D. Johnson

    Mr. Johnson, 64, has had amblyopia in his right eye since
childhood. The visual acuity in his right eye is 20/200, and in his
left eye, 20/25. Following an examination in 2017, his optometrist
stated, ``Based on the above, Mr. Johnson has sufficient vision to
perform the driving tasks required to operate a commercial vehicle.''
Mr. Johnson reported that he has driven tractor-trailer combinations
for 22 years, accumulating 2.86 million miles. He holds an operator's
license from Mississippi. His driving record for the last three years
shows no crashes and no convictions for moving violations in a CMV.

Michael S. Mai

    Mr. Mai, 47, has complete loss of vision in his left eye due to a
traumatic incident in 2011. The visual acuity in his right eye is 20/
15, and in his left eye, no light perception. Following an examination
in 2017, his optometrist stated, ``In my medical opinion, Michael has
sufficient vision, with a best corrected acuity of 20/15 and sufficient
field of vision with 135[deg], to perform the driving tasks required to
operate a commercial vehicle; however, ultimately this decision has to
be made by the CDL examiner based on the above information provided.''
Mr. Mai reported that he has driven straight trucks for 23 years,
accumulating 851,000 miles, tractor-trailer combinations for 23 years,
accumulating 460,000 miles, and buses for 15 years, accumulating 30,000
miles. He holds a Class A CDL from Kansas. His driving record for the
last three years shows no crashes and no convictions for moving
violations in a CMV.

Jose M. Rios

    Mr. Rios, 50, has complete loss of vision in his left eye due to a
traumatic incident in childhood. The visual acuity in his right eye is
20/20, and in his left eye, no light perception. Following an
examination in 2017, his ophthalmologist stated, ``Mr. Rios vision is
sufficient enough for him to be able to operate a commercial vehicle.''
Mr. Rios reported that he has driven straight trucks for four years,
accumulating 26,000 miles. He holds an operator's license from New
York. His driving record for the last three years shows no crashes and
no convictions for moving violations in a CMV.

Michael B. Sauseda

    Mr. Sauseda, 46, has had a central vein occlusion in his right eye
since 2008. The visual acuity in his right eye is 20/125, and in his
left eye, 20/20. Following an examination in 2018, his ophthalmologist
stated, ``In my opinion, this patient does have sufficient vision to
perform driving tasks required to operate a commercial vehicle.'' Mr.
Sauseda reported that he has driven straight trucks for two years,
accumulating 30,000 miles, and tractor-trailer combinations for 15
years, accumulating 720,000 miles. He holds a

Class A CDL from Illinois. His driving record for the last three years
shows no crashes and no convictions for moving violations in a CMV.

Steven D. Schlichting

    Mr. Schlichting, 54, has had a retinal scar in his right eye since
birth. The visual acuity in his right eye is 20/150, and in his left
eye, 20/20. Following an examination in 2017, his optometrist stated,
``Mr. Schlichting has the necessary vision to drive a commercial
vehicle.'' Mr. Schlichting reported that he has driven straight trucks
for 16 years, accumulating 80,000 miles. He holds an operator's license
from Nebraska. His driving record for the last three years shows no
crashes and no convictions for moving violations in a CMV.

Jesse P. Schuster

    Mr. Schuster, 41, has a scleral laceration in his left eye due to a
traumatic incident in 2013. The visual acuity in his right eye is 20/
20, and in his left eye, light perception. Following an examination in
2017, his optometrist stated, ``He has sufficient vision to perform the
driving tasks required to operate a commercial vehicle.'' Mr. Schuster
reported that he has driven straight trucks for 21 years, accumulating
84,000 miles. He holds a Class B CDL from North Dakota. His driving
record for the last three years shows no crashes and no convictions for
moving violations in a CMV.

Joseph L. Smith

    Mr. Smith, 48, has had amblyopia in his right eye since childhood.
The visual acuity in his right eye is count fingers, and in his left
eye, 20/20. Following an examination in 2017, his optometrist stated,
``In my opinion, Mr. Joseph Smith still maintains sufficient vision to
operate a commercial motor vehicle.'' Mr. Smith reported that he has
driven straight trucks for five years, accumulating 7,500 miles, and
tractor-trailer combinations for 24 years, accumulating 2.88 million
miles. He holds a Class A CDL from West Virginia. His driving record
for the last three years shows no crashes and no convictions for moving
violations in a CMV.

Larry L. Stewart

    Mr. Stewart, 51, has had amblyopia in his right eye since
childhood. The visual acuity in his right eye is 20/80, and in his left
eye, 20/20. Following an examination in 2017, his optometrist stated,
``I believe based on the field and visual acuity, Mr. Stewart has
vision sufficient to operate a commercial vehicle.'' Mr. Stewart
reported that he has driven tractor-trailer combinations for three
years, accumulating 210,000 miles. He holds a Class A CDL from North
Carolina. His driving record for the last three years shows no crashes
and no convictions for moving violations in a CMV.

III. Request for Comments

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, FMCSA requests
public comment from all interested persons on the exemption petitions
described in this notice. We will consider all comments and material
received before the close of business on the closing date indicated in
the dates section of the notice.

IV. Submitting Comments

    You may submit your comments and material online or by fax, mail,
or hand delivery, but please use only one of these means. FMCSA
recommends that you include your name and a mailing address, an email
address, or a phone number in the body of your document so that FMCSA
can contact you if there are questions regarding your submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov and
in the search box insert the docket number FMCSA-2018-0007 and click
the search button. When the new screen appears, click on the blue
``Comment Now!'' button on the right hand side of the page. On the new
page, enter information required including the specific section of this
document to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for each
suggestion or recommendation. If you submit your comments by mail or
hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\
by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic filing. If you submit
comments by mail and would like to know that they reached the facility,
please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope.
    We will consider all comments and materials received during the
comment period. FMCSA may issue a final determination at any time after
the close of the comment period.

V. Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as any documents mentioned in this
preamble, go to http://www.regulations.gov and in the search box insert
the docket number FMCSA-2018-0007 and click ``Search.'' Next, click
``Open Docket Folder'' and you will find all documents and comments
related to this notice.

    Issued on: April 2, 2018.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-07186 Filed 4-6-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P