Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 27, 2004 / Notices 62741

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket Nos. FMCSA–98–3637, FMCSA–99–

6156, FMCSA–2000–7006, FMCSA–2000–

7165, FMCSA–2002–12294] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Vision

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of renewal of exemption; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This notice publishes the 

FMCSA decision to renew the 

exemptions from the vision requirement 

in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations for 16 individuals. The 

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 

November 9, 2004. Comments from 

interested persons should be submitted 

by November 26, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by DOT DMS Docket 

Numbers FMCSA–98–3637, FMCSA–

99–6156, FMCSA–2000–7006, FMCSA–

2000–7165, and FMCSA–2002–12294 by 

any of the following methods: 

• 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. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the agency name and docket 

numbers for this notice. For detailed 

instructions on submitting comments 

and additional information on the 

rulemaking process, see the Public 

Participation heading of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. Note that all comments 

received will be posted without change 

to http://dms.dot.gov, including any 

personal information provided. Please 

see the Privacy Act heading under 

Regulatory Notices. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http://

dms.dot.gov at any time 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Maggi Gunnels, Office of Bus and Truck 

Standards and Operations, (202) 366–

2987, 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 Participation: The DMS is 

available 24 hours each day, 365 days 

each year. 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 selfaddressed, stamped envelope or 

postcard or print the acknowledgement 

page that appears after submitting 

comments on-line. 

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), 

the FMCSA may renew an exemption 

from the vision requirement 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 16 

individuals who have requested renewal 

of their exemptions in a timely manner. 

The FMCSA has evaluated these 16 

applications for renewal on their merits 

and decided to extend each exemption 

for a renewable two year period. They 

are:

Benny J. Burke 

Milton Coleman 

Gary R. Evans 

Harlan L. Gunter 

Steven H. Heidorn 

Danny E. Hillier 

Gary L. Killian 

Stephen C. Perdue 

Doyle R. Roundtree 

Garry R. Setters 

Jimmy E. Settle 

Jesse M. Sikes 

Kenneth E. Suter, Jr. 

Denny V. Traylor 

Noel S. Wangerin 

Hubert Whittenburg

These exemptions are extended 

subject to the following conditions: (1) 

That each individual have a physical 

exam 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 

the 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 16 applicants has 

satisfied the entry conditions for 

obtaining an exemption from the vision 

requirements (63 FR 30285, 63 FR 

62742 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 207 / Wednesday, October 27, 2004 / Notices 

54519, 67 FR 67234, 64 FR 54948, 65 FR 

159, 65 FR 20245, 65 FR 57230, 67 FR 

57266, 65 FR 33406, 65 FR 57234, 67 FR 

46016, 67 FR 57267). Each of these 16 

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, the 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. 

Comments 

The 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, the FMCSA requests 

that interested parties with specific data 

concerning the safety records of these 

drivers submit comments by November 

26, 2004. 

In the past the FMCSA has received 

comments from Advocates for Highway 

and Auto Safety (Advocates) expressing 

continued opposition to the FMCSA’s 

procedures for renewing exemptions 

from the vision requirement in 49 CFR 

391.41(b)(10). Specifically, Advocates 

objects to the agency’s extension of the 

exemptions without any opportunity for 

public comment prior to the decision to 

renew, and reliance on a summary 

statement of evidence to make its 

decision to extend the exemption of 

each driver. 

The issues raised by Advocates were 

addressed at length in 69 FR 51346 

(August 18, 2004). The FMCSA 

continues to find its exemption process 

appropriate to the statutory and 

regulatory requirements.

Issued on: October 20, 2004. 

Rose A. McMurray, 

Associate Administrator, Policy and Program 

Development.

[FR Doc. 04–23967 Filed 10–26–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[FMCSA Docket No. FMCSA–2004–18885] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Vision

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of final disposition.

SUMMARY: The FMCSA announces its 

decision to exempt 29 individuals from 

the vision requirement in the Federal 

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations 

(FMCSRs). The exemptions will enable 

these individuals to qualify as drivers of 

commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in 

interstate commerce without meeting 

the vision standard prescribed in 49 

CFR 391.41(b)(10).

DATES: October 27, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Maggi Gunnels, Office of Bus and Truck 

Standards and Operations, (202) 366–

2987, 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: 

Electronic Access 

You may see all the comments online 

through the Document Management 

System (DMS) at: http://dmses.dot.gov.

Background 

On September 1, the FMCSA 

published a notice of receipt of 

exemption applications from 29 

individuals, and requested comments 

from the public (69 FR 53493). The 29 

individuals petitioned the FMCSA for 

exemptions from the vision requirement 

in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10), which applies 

to drivers of CMVs in interstate 

commerce. They are: Paul G. Albrecht, 

David W. Brown, David J. Caldwell, 

Walden V. Clarke, Donald O. Clopton, 

Awilda S. Colon, Richard B. Eckert, 

Charles B. Edwards, Zane G. Harvey, Jr., 

Robert T. Hill, Dale E. Johnson, Jimmy 

D. Johnson II, Jeffrey M. Keyser, Donnie 

A. Kildow, Carl M. McIntire, John C. 

McLaughlin, Daniel A. McNabb, David 

G. Meyers, Thomas L. Oglesby, Michael 

J. Paul, Russell A. Payne, Rodney M. 

Pegg, Raymond E. Peterson, Zbigniew P. 

Pietranik, Dennis E. Pinkston, John C. 

Rodriguez, Robert B. Schmidt, Wesley L. 

Schoonover, and Charles E. Wood. 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), 

the FMCSA may grant an exemption for 

a 2-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 2-year 

period. Accordingly, the FMCSA has 

evaluated the 29 applications on their 

merits and made a determination to 

grant exemptions to all of them. The 

comment period closed on October 1, 

2004. Two comments were received. 

Vision and Driving Experience of the 

Applicants 

The vision requirement in the 

FMCSRs provides: 

A person is physically qualified to 

drive a commercial motor vehicle 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° 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 (49 CFR 

391.41(b)(10)). 

Since 1992, the agency has 

undertaken studies to determine if this 

vision standard should be amended. 

The final report from our medical panel 

recommends changing the field of 

vision standard from 70° to 120°, while 

leaving the visual acuity standard 

unchanged. (See Frank C. Berson, M.D., 

Mark C. Kuperwaser, M.D., Lloyd Paul 

Aiello, M.D., and James W. Rosenberg, 

M.D., ‘‘Visual Requirements and 

Commercial Drivers,’’ October 16, 1998, 

filed in the docket, FMCSA–98–4334.) 

The panel’s conclusion supports the 

agency’s view that the present visual 

acuity standard is reasonable and 

necessary as a general standard to 

ensure highway safety. The FMCSA also 

recognizes that some drivers do not 

meet the vision standard, but have 

adapted their driving to accommodate 

their vision limitation and demonstrated 

their ability to drive safely. 

The 29 applicants fall into this 

category. They are unable to meet the 

vision standard in one eye for various 

reasons, including amblyopia, corneal 

and macular scars, and loss of an eye 

due to trauma. In most cases, their eye 

conditions were not recently developed. 

All but nine of the applicants were 

either born with their vision 

impairments or have had them since 

childhood. The nine individuals who 

sustained their vision conditions as