Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / Notices 8181 

Desk Officer. Comments may also be 

sent via e-mail to OMB at the following 

address: 

oira_submissions@omb.eop.gov. 

Comments are invited on the 

following: Whether the proposed 

collections of information are necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of FRA, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

the accuracy of FRA’s estimates of the 

burden of the proposed information 

collections; ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and ways to minimize the 

burden of the collections of information 

on respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

A comment to OMB is best assured of 

having its full effect if OMB receives it 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice in the Federal Register. 

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520. 

Issued in Washington, DC on February 17, 

2010. 

Kimberly Coronel, 

Director, Office of Financial Management, 

Federal Railroad Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3427 Filed 2–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2006–25756] 

Commercial Driver’s License 

Standards: Application for Exemption; 

Volvo Trucks North America (Volvo) 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of application for 

exemption; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that Volvo 

Trucks North America (Volvo) has 

applied for an exemption from the 

Federal requirement for a driver of 

commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) to 

hold a commercial driver’s license 

(CDL). Volvo requests that the 

exemption cover one Swedish field-test 

engineer who will test-drive CMVs for 

Volvo within the United States. The 

Volvo employee holds a valid Swedish 

CDL. Volvo states the exemption is 

needed to support a Volvo field test to 

meet future clean air standards, to testdrive Volvo prototype vehicles to verify 

results in ‘‘real world’’ environments, 

and, if necessary, to deliver the vehicles 

in the United States. Volvo believes the 

knowledge and skills tests and training 

program that Swedish drivers undergo 

to obtain a Swedish CDL ensures the 

exemption would provide a level of 

safety that is equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level of safety obtained by 

complying with the U.S. requirements 

for a CDL. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 25, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Federal Docket 

Management System Number FMCSA– 

2006–25756 by any of the following 

methods: 

• Web site: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on the Federal electronic docket site. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility; 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 

Room W–12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, DOT Building, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. e.t., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the Agency name and docket 

number. For detailed instructions on 

submitting comments and additional 

information on the exemption process, 

see the ‘‘Public Participation’’ heading 

below. 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. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov at any time or to 

the ground floor, room W12–140, DOT 

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: 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 DOT’s complete Privacy Act 

Statement in the Federal Register 

published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 

19477–78) or you may visit http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Public Participation: The http:// 

www.regulations.gov Web site is 

generally available 24 hours each day, 

365 days each year. You can obtain 

electronic submission and retrieval help 

and guidelines under the ‘‘help’’ section 

of the http://www.regulations.gov Web 

site and also at the DOT’s http:// 

docketsinfo.dot.gov 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 online. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Robert Schultz, FMCSA Driver and 

Carrier Operations Division; Office of 

Bus and Truck Standards and 

Operations; Telephone: 202–366–4325. 

E-mail: MCPSD@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Section 4007 of the Transportation 

Equity Act for the 21st Century (Pub. L. 

105–178, 112 Stat. 107, June 9, 1998) 

amended 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e) 

to provide authority to grant exemptions 

from motor carrier safety regulations. 

Under its regulations, FMCSA must 

publish a notice of each exemption 

request in the Federal Register (49 CFR 

381.315(a)). The Agency must provide 

the public an opportunity to inspect the 

information relevant to the application, 

including the conducting of any safety 

analyses. The Agency must also provide 

an opportunity for public comment on 

the application. 

The Agency reviews the safety 

analyses and the public comments, and 

determines whether granting the 

exemption would likely achieve a level 

of safety equivalent to, or greater than, 

the level that would be achieved by the 

current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). 

The decision of the Agency must be 

published in the Federal Register (49 

CFR 381.315(b)) with the reason for 

denying or, in the alternative, the 

specific person or class of persons 

receiving the exemption, and the 

regulatory provision or provisions from 

which exemption is granted. The notice 

must also specify the effective period of 

the exemption (up to 2 years), and 

explain the terms and conditions of the 

exemption. The exemption may be 

renewed (49 CFR 381.300(b)). 

Request for Exemption 

Volvo has applied for an exemption 

from the CDL rules, specifically 49 CFR 

383.23 that prescribes licensing 

requirements for drivers operating 

CMVs in interstate or intrastate 

commerce. Volvo requests the 

exemption because this driver-employee 

is a citizen and resident of Sweden, and 

therefore cannot apply for a CDL in any 

of the United States. A copy of the 

application is in Docket No. FMCSA– 

2006–25756. The exemption would 

allow one driver to operate CMVs in 

interstate commerce as part of a team of 

drivers who will support a Volvo field 

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8182 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / Notices 

test to meet future air quality standards. 

The driver will test-drive Volvo 

prototype vehicles at its test site and in 

the vicinity around Phoenix, Arizona, 

verify results in ‘‘real world’’ 

environments, and, if necessary, deliver 

the vehicles in the U.S. The driver is 

Edvard Lundgren, and Volvo requests 

that the exemption cover a 2-year 

period. 

This driver holds a valid Swedish 

CDL, and as explained by Volvo in 

previous exemption requests, drivers 

applying for a Swedish-issued CDL 

must undergo a training program and 

pass knowledge and skills tests. Volvo 

also stated in prior exemption requests 

that the knowledge and skills tests and 

training program that Swedish drivers 

undergo to obtain a Swedish CDL 

ensure the exemption provides a level of 

safety that is equivalent to, or greater 

than, the level of safety obtained by 

complying with the U.S. requirement for 

a CDL. 

FMCSA has previously determined 

the process for obtaining a Swedishissued CDL is comparable to, or as 

effective as, the Federal requirements of 

Part 383, and adequately assesses the 

driver’s ability to operate CMVs in the 

U.S. In the past 2 years, FMCSA has 

published several notices of similar 

Volvo requests. An FMCSA notice of a 

similar nature was published on January 

5, 2009, granting a comparable 

exemption to Volvo for a Swedish CDL 

driver permitting operation of CMVs in 

the U.S. (74 FR 333). 

Request for Comments 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

31315(b)(4) and 31136(e), FMCSA 

requests public comment on Volvo’s 

application for an exemption from the 

CDL requirements of 49 CFR 383.23. 

The Agency will consider all comments 

received by close of business on March 

25, 2010. Comments will be available 

for examination in the docket at the 

location listed under the ADDRESSES

section of this notice. The Agency will 

consider to the extent practicable 

comments received in the public docket 

after the closing date of the comment 

period. 

Issued on: February 16, 2010. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy and 

Program Development. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3561 Filed 2–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[FMCSA Docket No. FMCSA–2009–0294] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Diabetes 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of final disposition. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its 

decision to exempt twenty-four 

individuals from its rule prohibiting 

persons with insulin-treated diabetes 

mellitus (ITDM) from operating 

commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in 

interstate commerce. The exemptions 

will enable these individuals to operate 

CMVs in interstate commerce. 

DATES: The exemptions are effective 

February 23, 2010. The exemptions 

expire on February 23, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Mary D. Gunnels, Director, Medical 

Programs, (202) 366–4001, 

fmcsamedical@dot.gov, FMCSA, Room 

W64–224, Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590– 

0001. Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 

5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

You may see all the comments online 

through the Federal Document 

Management System (FDMS) at: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments, go to http:// 

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., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Privacy Act: Anyone may search the 

electronic form of all comments 

received into any of DOT’s dockets by 

the name of the individual submitting 

the comment (or of the person signing 

the comment, if submitted on behalf of 

an association, business, labor union, or 

other entity). You may review DOT’s 

complete Privacy Act Statement in the 

Federal Register (65 FR 19477, Apr. 11, 

2000). This statement is also available at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Background 

On December 22, 2009, FMCSA 

published a notice of receipt of Federal 

diabetes exemption applications from 

twenty-four individuals and requested 

comments from the public (74 FR 

68092). The public comment period 

closed on January 21, 2010 and one 

comment was received. 

FMCSA has evaluated the eligibility 

of the twenty-four 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)(3). 

Diabetes Mellitus and Driving 

Experience of the Applicants 

The Agency established the current 

standard for diabetes in 1970 because 

several risk studies indicated that 

diabetic drivers had a higher rate of 

crash involvement than the general 

population. The diabetes rule provides 

that ‘‘A person is physically qualified to 

drive a commercial motor vehicle if that 

person has no established medical 

history or clinical diagnosis of diabetes 

mellitus currently requiring insulin for 

control’’ (49 CFR 391.41(b)(3)). 

FMCSA established its diabetes 

exemption program, based on the 

Agency’s July 2000 study entitled ‘‘A 

Report to Congress on the Feasibility of 

a Program to Qualify Individuals with 

Insulin-Treated Diabetes Mellitus to 

Operate in Interstate Commerce as 

Directed by the Transportation Act for 

the 21st Century.’’ The report concluded 

that a safe and practicable protocol to 

allow some drivers with ITDM to 

operate CMVs is feasible. The 

September 3, 2003 (68 FR 52441) 

Federal Register Notice in conjunction 

with the November 8, 2005 (70 FR 

67777) Federal Register Notice provides 

the current protocol for allowing such 

drivers to operate CMVs in interstate 

commerce. 

These twenty-four applicants have 

had ITDM over a range of 1 to 42 years. 

These applicants report no 

hypoglycemic reaction that resulted in 

loss of consciousness or seizure, that 

required the assistance of another 

person, or resulted in impaired 

cognitive function without warning 

symptoms in the past 5 years (with one 

year of stability following any such 

episode). In each case, an 

endocrinologist has verified that the 

driver has demonstrated willingness to 

properly monitor and manage his/her 

diabetes, received education related to 

diabetes management, and is on a stable 

insulin regimen. These drivers report no 

other disqualifying conditions, 

including diabetes-related 

complications. Each meets the vision 

standard at 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10). 

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