Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 40 / Thursday, March 1, 2007 / Notices 9397 

per year. However, we have no way of 

determining where these funds will be 

spent instead, so are unable to provide 

this information. No managers have 

received or will receive extra 

compensation for its implementation. 

This policy change is not a ‘‘business 

plan’’ item but supports an FAA Flight 

Plan item. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 26, 

2007. 

Susan J.M. Cabler, 

Acting Manager, Aircraft Engineering 

Division, Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–921 Filed 2–28–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–M 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2006–25246] 

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 33 individuals from 

the vision requirement in the Federal 

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations 

(FMCSRs). The exemptions will enable 

these individuals to operate commercial 

motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate 

commerce without meeting the 

prescribed vision standard. The Agency 

has concluded that granting these 

exemptions will provide a level of safety 

that is equivalent to, or greater than, the 

level of safety maintained without the 

exemptions for these CMV drivers. 

DATES: The exemptions are effective 

March 1, 2007. The exemptions expire 

on March 2, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Mary D. Gunnels, Chief, Physical 

Qualifications Division, (202) 366–4001, 

maggi.gunnels@dot.gov, FMCSA, 

Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street, SW., Room 8301, 

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 Document Management 

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

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http:// 

dms.dot.gov and/or 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. 

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://dms.dot.gov. 

Background 

On January 3, 2007, FMCSA 

published a notice of receipt of 

exemption applications from certain 

individuals, and requested comments 

from the public (72 FR 180). That notice 

listed 33 applicants’ case histories, but 

it incorrectly indicated there were 32. 

The 33 individuals applied for 

exemptions from the vision requirement 

in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10), for drivers who 

operate CMVs in interstate commerce. 

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

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, FMCSA has evaluated the 

33 applications on their merits and 

made a determination to grant 

exemptions to all of them. The comment 

period closed on February 2, 2007. 

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 a 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)). 

FMCSA 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 33 exemption applicants 

listed in this notice are in this category. 

They are unable to meet the vision 

standard in one eye for various reasons, 

including amblyopia, macular scar, 

retinal detachment, corneal scarring, 

prosthesis, corneal opacity, optic 

atrophy, ocular histoplasmosis 

syndrome, retinal vein occlusion, 

cataract, and loss of vision due to 

trauma. In most cases, their eye 

conditions were not recently developed. 

All but ten of the applicants were either 

born with their vision impairments or 

have had them since childhood. The ten 

individuals who sustained their vision 

conditions as adults have had them for 

periods ranging from 4 to 25 years. 

Although each applicant has one eye 

which does not meet the vision standard 

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 valid 

commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) or 

non-CDLs to operate CMVs. Before 

issuing CDLs, States subject drivers to 

knowledge and skills tests designed to 

evaluate their qualifications to operate a 

CMV. All these applicants satisfied the 

testing standards for their State of 

residence. By meeting State licensing 

requirements, the applicants 

demonstrated their ability to operate a 

commercial vehicle, with their limited 

vision, to the satisfaction of the State. 

While possessing a valid CDL or nonCDL, these 33 drivers have been 

authorized to drive a CMV in intrastate 

commerce, even though their vision 

disqualified them from driving in 

interstate commerce. They have driven 

CMVs with their limited vision for 

careers ranging from 4 to 25 years. In the 

past 3 years, five of the drivers have had 

convictions for traffic violations and 

two of them were involved in crashes. 

The qualifications, experience, and 

medical condition of each applicant 

were stated and discussed in detail in 

the January 3, 2007 Notice (72 FR 180). 

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. Without the 

exemption, applicants will continue to 

be restricted to intrastate driving. With 

the exemption, applicants can drive in 

interstate commerce. Thus, our analysis 

focuses on whether an equal or greater 

level of safety is likely to be achieved by 

permitting each of these drivers to drive 


rmajette on PROD1PC67 with NOTICES
9398 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 40 / Thursday, March 1, 2007 / Notices 

in interstate commerce as opposed to 

restricting him or her to driving in 

intrastate commerce. 

To evaluate the effect of these 

exemptions on safety, FMCSA 

considered not only the medical reports 

about the applicants’ vision, but also 

their driving records and experience 

with the vision deficiency. To qualify 

for an exemption from the vision 

standard, FMCSA requires a person to 

present verifiable evidence that he/she 

has driven a commercial vehicle safely 

with the vision deficiency for 3 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–98–

3637. 

We believe we can properly apply the 

principle to monocular drivers, because 

data from the Federal Highway 

Administration’s (FHWA) former waiver 

study program clearly demonstrate 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 3 

consecutive years of data, comparing the 

experiences of drivers in the first 2 years 

with their experiences in the final year. 

Applying principles from these 

studies to the past 3-year record of the 

33 applicants, four of the applicants had 

traffic violations for speeding, one 

applicant failed to obey a traffic sign, 

and two of the applicants were involved 

in crashes. The applicants achieved this 

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. 

We believe 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 

veteran drivers in this proceeding have 

operated CMVs safely under those 

conditions for at least 3 years, most for 

much longer. Their experience and 

driving records lead us to believe that 

each applicant is capable of operating in 

interstate commerce as safely as he/she 

has been performing in intrastate 

commerce. Consequently, FMCSA finds 

that exempting these applicants from 

the vision standard in 49 CFR 

391.41(b)(10) is likely to achieve a level 

of safety equal to that existing without 

the exemption. For this reason, the 

Agency is granting the exemptions for 

the 2-year period allowed by 49 U.S.C. 

31136(e) and 31315 to the 33 applicants 

listed in the notice of January 3, 2007 

(72 FR 180). 

We recognize that the vision of an 

applicant may change and affect his/her 

ability to operate a CMV as safely as in 

the past. As a condition of the 

exemption, therefore, FMCSA will 

impose requirements on the 33 

individuals consistent with the 

grandfathering provisions applied to 

drivers who participated in the 

Agency’s vision waiver program. 

Those requirements are found at 49 

CFR 391.64(b) and include the 

following: (1) That each individual 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 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, or keep a copy in his/her driver’s 

qualification file if he/she is selfemployed. The driver must also have a 

copy of the certification when driving, 

for presentation to a duly authorized 

Federal, State, or local enforcement 

official. 

Discussion of Comments 

Advocates for Highway and Auto 

Safety (Advocates) expressed opposition 

to FMCSA’s policy to grant exemptions 

from the FMCSRs, including the driver 

qualification standards. Specifically, 

Advocates: (1) Objects to the manner in 

which FMCSA presents driver 

information to the public and makes 

safety determinations; (2) objects to the 

Agency’s reliance on conclusions drawn 

from the vision waiver program; (3) 

claims the Agency has misinterpreted 

statutory language on the granting of 

exemptions (49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 

31315); and finally (4) suggests that a 

1999 Supreme Court decision affects the 

legal validity of vision exemptions. 

The issues raised by Advocates were 

addressed at length in 64 FR 51568 

(September 23, 1999), 64 FR 66962 

(November 30, 1999), 64 FR 69586 

(December 13, 1999), 65 FR 159 (January 

3, 2000), 65 FR 57230 (September 21, 

2000), and 66 FR 13825 (March 7, 2001). 

We will not address these points again 

here, but refer interested parties to those 

earlier discussions. 

One individual opposes the granting 

of vision exemptions to vision impaired 

drivers with moving violations within a 

3-year period. She believes that granting 

vision exemptions to such drivers 

makes the roads more dangerous. 

Another individual stated anonymously, 

in response to the first comment, that 

he/she is in support of granting 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 40 / Thursday, March 1, 2007 / Notices 9399 

exemptions to individuals who have 

minimal moving violations and that 

being in the program promotes a driver 

to maintain a safe driving record. 

In regard to the two comments, the 

discussion under the heading, ‘‘Basis for 

Exemption Determination,’’ explains in 

detail the evaluation methods the 

Agency utilizes prior to granting an 

exemption to ensure that the granting of 

an exemption is likely to achieve an 

equivalent or greater level of safety than 

would be achieved without the 

exemption. To evaluate the effect of 

these exemptions on safety, FMCSA 

considered not only the medical reports 

about the applicants’ vision, but also 

their driving records and experience 

with the vision deficiency, and found 

that all 33 applicants met the Program’s 

eligibility criteria. FMCSA will continue 

to monitor each applicant’s driving 

safety record on a semi-annual basis to 

ensure continued compliance with the 

Program. 

Another anonymous individual 

believes that if a driver has a driving 

history with the vision deficiency and 

he/she has had no accidents, then the 

process should not take so long. 

The Agency has 180 days from the 

date a completed application is 

submitted to make a final determination 

whether to grant the exemption. FMCSA 

strives to expedite the processing of all 

applications received and is often 

successful in completing the process in 

less time. It is the Agency’s 

responsibility to ensure that the granting 

of an exemption is likely to achieve an 

equivalent or greater level of safety than 

would be achieved without the 

exemption. 

Conclusion 

Based upon its evaluation of the 33 

exemption applications, FMCSA 

exempts Kreis C. Baldridge, James L. 

Baynes, Daniel H. Bungartz, Thomas L. 

Carter, Orlando Colon, Donald D. 

Daniels, Jimmy W. Deadwyler, William 

E. Dolson, Michael A. Fouch, Paul R. 

Kerpsie, Gerald D. Larson, Carl A. 

Lohrbach, Donald R. McCracken, 

Sharon D. McDaniel, Larry E. McMillan, 

James E. Menz, William F. Nickel, 

Jeffrey L. Olson, John J. Payne, Chris H. 

Pedersen, Timmy J. Pottebaum, Jerald 

W. Rehnke, Donnie R. Riggs, Luis H. 

Sanchez, James A. Shepard, Timothy L. 

Shorey, Herbert W. Smith, Phillip L. 

Smith, Randall S. Surber, Roger A. 

Thein, Jr., Ernest W. Waff, Mikiel J. 

Wagner, and Joseph W. Wigley from the 

vision requirement in 49 CFR 

391.41(b)(10), subject to the 

requirements cited above (49 CFR 

391.64(b)). 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) 

and 31315, each exemption will be valid 

for 2 years unless revoked earlier by 

FMCSA. The exemption will be revoked 

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 and 31315. 

If the exemption is still effective at the 

end of the 2-year period, the person may 

apply to FMCSA for a renewal under 

procedures in effect at that time. 

Issued on: February 23, 2007. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Office Director, Bus and Truck Standards and 

Operations. 

[FR Doc. E7–3514 Filed 2–28–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2006–26600] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Diabetes 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA). 

ACTION: Notice of applications for 

exemption from the diabetes standard; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces receipt of 

applications from 55 individuals for 

exemptions from the prohibition against 

persons with insulin-treated diabetes 

mellitus (ITDM) operating commercial 

motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate 

commerce. If granted, the exemptions 

would enable these individuals with 

ITDM to operate commercial motor 

vehicles in interstate commerce. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before April 2, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Department of 

Transportation (DOT) Docket 

Management System (DMS) Docket 

Number FMCSA–2006–26600 using any 

of the following methods: 

• Web Site: http://dmses.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. 

All submissions must include the 

Agency name and docket number for 

this Notice. 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. To read background 

documents or comments received, go to 

http://dms.dot.gov 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. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http:// 

dms.dot.gov at any time or 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. The DMS 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 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 the DOT’s complete 

Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 

Register published on April 11, 2000 

(65 FR 19477; Apr. 11, 2000). This 

information is also available at http:// 

dms.dot.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Mary D. Gunnels, Chief, Physical 

Qualifications Division, (202) 366–4001, 

maggi.gunnels@dot.gov, FMCSA, 

Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street, SW., Room 8301, 

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 grant an exemption for a 2- 

year period if it finds ‘‘such exemption 

would likely achieve a level of safety 


rmajette on PROD1PC67 with NOTICES