Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 117 / Monday, June 18, 2018 / Notices 28335 

exemption would not be consistent with 

the goals and objectives of 49 U.S.C. 

31136(e) and 31315. 

V. Preemption 

During the period the exemption is in 

effect, no State shall enforce any law or 

regulation that conflicts with this 

exemption with respect to a person 

operating under the exemption. 

VI. Conclusion 

Based upon its evaluation of the 95 

exemption applications, FMCSA renews 

the exemptions of the aforementioned 

drivers from the vision requirement in 

49 CFR 391.41(b)(10), subject to the 

requirements cited above. In accordance 

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

exemption will be valid for two years 

unless revoked earlier by FMCSA. 

Issued on: June 11, 2018. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2018–13004 Filed 6–15–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2018–0013] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Vision 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of applications for 

exemption; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces receipt of 

applications from 11 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 July 18, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

bearing the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) Docket No. FMCSA– 

2018–0013 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 selfaddressed, 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, (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 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 (202) 366–9826. 

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 twoyear period to align with the maximum 

duration of a driver’s medical 

certification. 

The 11 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° 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 § 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. 


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28336 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 117 / Monday, June 18, 2018 / Notices 

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 

Scott B. Barker 

Mr. Barker, 63, has had macular 

degeneration in his right eye since 2011. 

The visual acuity in his right eye is 20/ 

70, and in his left eye, 20/20. Following 

an examination in 2018, his optometrist 

stated, ‘‘Mr. Barker has ‘‘sufficient 

vision to perform the driving tasks 

required to operate a commercial 

vehicle.’’ [sic].’’ Mr. Barker reported that 

he has driven straight trucks for two 

years, accumulating 40,000 miles, and 

tractor-trailer combinations for 42 years, 

accumulating 2.5 million miles. He 

holds a Class A CDL from Washington. 

His driving record for the last three 

years shows no crashes and no 

convictions for moving violations in a 

CMV. 

Christopher L. Binkley 

Mr. Binkley, 27, has retinal scarring in 

his right eye due to toxoplasmosis in 

childhood. The visual acuity in his right 

eye is 20/400, and in his left eye, 20/15. 

Following an examination in 2018, his 

optometrist stated, ‘‘It is my medical 

opinion that, in spite of reduced central 

acuity in the right eye, Christopher’s 

excellent binocular acuity and full 

binocular visual field provide him 

sufficient vision to safely operate a 

commercial vehicle.’’ Mr. Binkley 

reported that he has driven straight 

trucks for nine years, accumulating 

162,000 miles. He holds an operator’s 

license from New Hampshire. His 

driving record for the last three years 

shows no crashes and no convictions for 

moving violations in a CMV. 

Darrell B. Emery 

Mr. Emery, 42, has had amblyopia in 

his left eye since childhood. The visual 

acuity in his right eye is 20/20, and in 

his left eye, 20/200. Following an 

examination in 2018, his optometrist 

stated, ‘‘He has 20/20 acuity with the 

right eye and 20/20 acuity with both 

eyes. This seems to be satisfactory for 

commercial driving.’’ Mr. Emery 

reported that he has driven straight 

trucks for one year, accumulating 60,000 

miles and tractor-trailer combinations 

for three years, accumulating 330,000 

miles. He holds a Class A CDL from 

Texas. His driving record for the last 

three years shows no crashes and no 

convictions for moving violations in a 

CMV. 

Louis D. Faw 

Mr. Faw, 63, has a macular scar in his 

left eye due to a traumatic incident in 

2005. The visual acuity in his right eye 

is 20/20, and in his left eye, count 

fingers. Following an examination in 

2018, his ophthalmologist stated, ‘‘I 

certify that, in my opinion, the patient 

has sufficient vision to perform the task 

required to operate a commercial 

vehicle.’’ Mr. Faw reported that he has 

driven straight trucks for 46 years, 

accumulating 667,000 miles, and 

tractor-trailer combinations for 35 years, 

accumulating 175,000 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. 

Troy L. Hargrave 

Mr. Hargrave, 54, has had glaucoma in 

his left eye since 2014. The visual acuity 

in his right eye is 20/15, and in his left 

eye, no light perception. Following an 

examination in 2017, his 

ophthalmologist stated, ‘‘Obviously, Mr. 

Hargrave has sufficient vision to 

perform driving tasks required to 

operate a commercial vehicle as he is 

currently legally driving a commercial 

vehicle for employment.’’ Mr. Hargrave 

reported that he has driven straight 

trucks for 25 years, accumulating 

650,000 miles, and tractor-trailer 

combinations for 12 years, accumulating 

1.2 million miles. He holds a Class A 

CDL from Missouri. His driving record 

for the last three years shows no crashes 

and no convictions for moving 

violations in a CMV. 

Randall J. Kau 

Mr. Kau, 54, has had aphakia in his 

left eye since birth. The visual acuity in 

his right eye is 20/20, and in his left eye, 

20/800. Following an examination in 

2018, his optometrist stated, ‘‘Mr. Kau 

has been driving for many years with 

his current vision and I feel he is safe 

to continue to operate a commercial 

vehicle.’’ Mr. Kau reported that he has 

driven straight trucks for 30 years, 

accumulating 600,000 miles. He holds 

an operator’s license from Wisconsin. 

His driving record for the last three 

years shows one crash, for which he was 

not cited, and no convictions for moving 

violations in a CMV. 

James O’Brien 

Mr. O’Brien, 51, has had amblyopia in 

his left eye since childhood. The visual 

acuity in his right eye is 20/20, and in 

his left eye, 20/70. Following an 

examination in 2017, his optometrist 

stated, ‘‘In my professional opinion he 

has sufficient vision to perform all 

driving tasks required to operate 

commercial vehicles.’’ Mr. O’Brien 

reported that he has driven straight 

trucks for 32 years, accumulating 1.28 

million miles. He holds an operator’s 

license from Massachusetts. His driving 

record for the last three years shows no 

crashes and no convictions for moving 

violations in a CMV. 

Patrick A. Piekkola 

Mr. Piekkola, 44, has a prosthetic left 

eye due to a traumatic incident in 1980. 

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 our opinion that Patrick has sufficient 

vision to perform the driving tasks 

required to operate a commercial 

vehicle.’’ Mr. Piekkola reported that he 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 117 / Monday, June 18, 2018 / Notices 28337 

has driven straight trucks for six years, 

accumulating 180,000 miles, and 

tractor-trailer combinations for four 

years, accumulating 40,000 miles. He 

holds an operator’s license from South 

Dakota. His driving record for the last 

three years shows no crashes and no 

convictions for moving violations in a 

CMV. 

Marco A. Pinto 

Mr. Pinto, 70, has a prosthetic left eye 

due to a traumatic incident in 2001. The 

visual acuity in his right eye is 20/20, 

and in his left eye, no light perception. 

Following an examination in 2018, his 

ophthalmologist stated, ‘‘I believe he 

has sufficient vision to perform the 

driving tasks needed to operate a 

commercial vehicle.’’ Mr. Pinto reported 

that he has driven tractor-trailer 

combinations for 54 years, accumulating 

5.4 million miles. He holds a Class A 

CDL from New York. His driving record 

for the last three years shows no crashes 

and no convictions for moving 

violations in a CMV. 

Andrew R. Sampson, Jr. 

Mr. Sampson, 50, has complete loss of 

vision in his left eye due to a ruptured 

globe in childhood. The visual acuity in 

his right eye is 20/15, and in his left eye, 

no light perception. Following an 

examination in 2018, his optometrist 

stated, ‘‘I certify that Mr. Sampson, in 

my medical opinion, has sufficient 

vision to perform driving tasks required 

to operate a commercial vehicle.’’ Mr. 

Sampson reported that he has driven 

straight trucks for 15 years, 

accumulating 720,000 miles, and 

tractor-trailer combinations for two 

years, accumulating 80,000 miles. He 

holds a Class A CDL from Maryland. His 

driving record for the last three years 

shows no crashes and no convictions for 

moving violations in a CMV. 

Khamla Vongvoraseng 

Ms. Vongvoraseng, 37, has had 

amblyopia in her right eye since 

childhood. The visual acuity in her right 

eye is 20/100, and in her left eye, 20/ 

20. Following an examination in 2018, 

her optometrist stated, ‘‘Without a 

doubt, I certify that in my medical 

opinion, Ms. Khamla Vongvoraseng has 

sufficient vision to perform the driving 

task required to operate a commercial 

vehicle.’’ Ms. Vongvoraseng reported 

that she has driven straight trucks for 

five years, accumulating 121,920 miles. 

She holds an operator’s license from 

North Carolina. Her 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–2018–0013 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 81⁄2 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, selfaddressed 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–2018–0013 and click ‘‘Search.’’ 

Next, click ‘‘Open Docket Folder’’ and 

you will find all documents and 

comments related to this notice. 

Issued on: June 11, 2018. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2018–13006 Filed 6–15–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[FMCSA Docket No. FMCSA–2018–0024] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Diabetes Mellitus 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of final disposition. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its 

decision to exempt 72 individuals from 

the prohibition in the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) 

against persons with insulin-treated 

diabetes mellitus (ITDM) from operating 

a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in 

interstate commerce. The exemptions 

enable these individuals with ITDM to 

operate CMVs in interstate commerce. 

DATES: The exemptions were applicable 

on May 10, 2018. The exemptions 

expire on May 10, 2020. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Christine A. Hydock, Chief, Medical 

Programs Division, (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., e.t., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. If you have questions 

regarding viewing or submitting 

material to the docket, contact Docket 

Services, telephone (202) 366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. 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., e.t., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

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. 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES1