Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 154 / Wednesday, August 10, 2011 / Notices 49531 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2001–9258; FMCSA– 

2001–9561; FMCSA–2003–15268; FMCSA– 

2007–2733] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Vision 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of renewal of 

exemptions; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its 

decision to renew the exemptions from 

the vision requirement in the Federal 

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for 17 

individuals. FMCSA has statutory 

authority to exempt individuals from 

the vision requirement if the 

exemptions granted will not 

compromise safety. The Agency has 

concluded that granting these 

exemption renewals will provide a level 

of safety that is 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 August 

15, 2011. Comments must be received 

on or before September 9, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

bearing the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) numbers: FMCSA– 

2001–9258; FMCSA–2001–9561; 

FMCSA–2003–15268; FMCSA–2007– 

2733, using any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

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

on-line 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 or Courier: West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal Holidays. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

Instructions: Each submission must 

include the Agency name and the 

docket number for this notice. Note that 

DOT posts all comments received 

without change to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information included in a 

comment. Please see the Privacy Act 

heading below. 

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., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. The 

Federal Docket Management System 

(FDMS) is available 24 hours each day, 

365 days each year. If you want 

acknowledgment 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 may search the 

electronic form of all comments 

received into any of our 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, etc.). 

You may review DOT’s Privacy Act 

Statement for the FDMS published in 

the Federal Register on January 17, 

2008 (73 FR 3316), or you may visit 

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/ 

E8-785.pdf. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elaine M. Papp, Chief, Medical 

Programs, 202–366–4001, 

fmcsamedical@dot.gov, 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. 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

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

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. 

Exemption Decision 

This notice addresses 17 individuals 

who have requested renewal of their 

exemptions in accordance with FMCSA 

procedures. FMCSA has evaluated these 

17 applications for renewal on their 

merits and decided to extend each 

exemption for a renewable two-year 

period. They are the following: 

Domenic J. Carassai 

Fred W. Duran 

Bruce E. Hemmer 

Steven P. Holden 

Russell R. Inlow 

Christopher G. Jarvela 

Donald L. Jensen 

Brad L. Mathna 

Vincent P. Miller 

Warren J. Nyland 

Dennis M. Prevas 

Greg L. Riles 

Robert N. Taylor 

Calvin D. Tomlinson 

Wesley E. Turner 

Mona J. Van Krieken 

Paul S. Yocum 

The exemptions are extended subject 

to the following conditions: (1) That 

each individual has 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 

provides 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 retains 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. 

31136(e) and 31315. 

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. 31136(e) and 

31315, each of the 17 applicants has 

satisfied the entry conditions for 

obtaining an exemption from the vision 

requirements (66 FR 17743; 66 FR 

30502; 66 FR 33990; 66 FR 41654; 68 FR 

35772; 68 FR 37197; 68 FR 44837; 68 FR 

48989; 70 FR 33937; 70 FR 41811; 70 FR 

42615; 72 FR 12666; 72 FR 25831; 72 FR 

40360; 74 FR 34632). Each of these 17 

applicants has requested renewal of the 

exemption and has submitted evidence 

showing that the vision in the better eye 

continues to meet the standard specified 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
49532 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 154 / Wednesday, August 10, 2011 / Notices 

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. 31136(e) and 

31315. However, FMCSA requests that 

interested parties with specific data 

concerning the safety records of these 

drivers submit comments by September 

9, 2011. 

FMCSA believes that the 

requirements for a renewal of an 

exemption under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 

31315 can be satisfied by initially 

granting the renewal and then 

requesting and evaluating, if needed, 

subsequent 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 391.41(b)(10). The final 

decision to grant an exemption to each 

of these individuals was made on the 

merits of each case and made only after 

careful consideration of the comments 

received to its notices of applications. 

The 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. 31136(e) and 31315, FMCSA will 

take immediate steps to revoke the 

exemption of a driver. 

Issued on: August 5, 2011. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator Office of Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2011–20298 Filed 8–9–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2011–0112] 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 

Standards; Electronic Stability Control; 

Technical Report on the Effectiveness 

of Electronic Stability Control Systems 

for Cars and LTVs 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: Request for comments on 

technical report. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces 

NHTSA’s publication of a Technical 

Report on its existing Safety Standard 

126, Electronic Stability Control 

Systems. The report’s title is: Crash 

Prevention Effectiveness in LightVehicle Electronic Stability Control: An 

Update of the 2007 NHTSA Evaluation. 

DATES: Comments must be received no 

later than December 8, 2011 

ADDRESSES: Report: The technical report 

is available on the Internet for viewing 

in PDF format at http://wwwnrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811486.pdf. 

You may obtain a copy of the report free 

of charge by sending a self-addressed 

mailing label to Robert Sivinski (NVS– 

431), National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration, Room W53–438, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC 20590. 

Comments: You may submit 

comments [identified by Docket Number 

NHTSA–2011–0112] by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

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

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

M–30, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, West Building, Ground 

Floor, Rm. W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

You may call Docket Management at 

202–366–9826. 

Instructions: For detailed instructions 

on submitting comments, see the 

Procedural Matters section of this 

document. Note that all comments 

received will be posted without change 

to http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob 

Sivinski, Statistician, Evaluation 

Division, NVS–431, National Center for 

Statistics and Analysis, National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 

Room W53–438, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

Telephone: 202–366–3860. E-mail: 

robert.sivinski@dot.gov. 

For information about NHTSA’s 

evaluations of the effectiveness of 

existing regulations and programs: You 

may see a list of published evaluation 

reports at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/ 

cats/listpublications.aspx?Id=226&

ShowBy=Category and if you click on 

any report you will be able to view it in 

PDF format. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Statistical 

analyses based on data for calendar 

years 1997 to 2009 from the Fatality 

Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and 

the General Estimates System (GES) of 

the National Automotive Sampling 

System (NASS) estimate the long-term 

effectiveness of electronic stability 

control (ESC) for passenger cars and 

LTVs (light trucks and vans). Safety 

Standard 126 establishes standards for 

electronic stability control systems 

manufactured for use in light vehicles. 

This report is an update of a previous 

NHTSA analysis of ESC effectiveness 

(72 FR 41582) published in 2007. 

The principal findings are that ESC 

was associated with a six percent 

decrease in the likelihood that a vehicle 

would be involved in any police 

reported crash and an 18 percent 

reduction in the probability that a 

vehicle would be involved in a fatal 

crash. For passenger cars, the reductions 

are 5 percent and 23 percent, 

respectively; for LTVs, 7 percent and 20 

percent. Each of these reductions is 

statistically significant except for the 5 

percent overall effect in cars. 

Procedural Matters: 

How can I influence NHTSA’s thinking 

on this subject? 

NHTSA welcomes public review of 

the technical report. NHTSA will 

submit to the Docket a response to the 

comments and, if appropriate, will 

supplement or revise the report. 

How do I prepare and submit 

comments? 

Your comments must be written and 

in English. To ensure that your 

comments are correctly filed in the 

Docket, please include the Docket 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES