Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 77 / Friday, April 20, 2012 / Notices 23797 

2Based on public comments received at the 

February MCSAC meeting, one member (Danny 

Schnautz, Clark Freight Lines, Inc., Pasadena, TX) 

suggested that the efficacy of dental appliances may 

need to be reviewed. 

VII. Treatment: Oropharyngeal Surgery, 

Facial Bone Surgery 

A. After oropharyngeal or facial bone 

surgery, a driver may be certified if the 

following conditions are met: 

1. One month has passed since 

surgery; and 

2. The driver has been cleared by the 

treating physician; and 

3. The driver does not report 

excessive sleepiness during the major 

wake period. 

B. After one month has passed since 

surgery, if the apnea appears to have 

resolved a repeat sleep study should be 

considered to test for the presence of 

ongoing sleep apnea. 

C. Annual recertification: 

1. If clinically indicated, repeat the 

sleep study. 

VIII. Treatment: Tracheostomy 

A. After a tracheostomy, a driver may 

be certified if the following conditions 

are met: 

1. One month has passed since 

surgery; and 

2. The driver has been cleared by the 

treating physician; and 

3. The driver does not report 

excessive sleepiness during the major 

wake period. 

B. After one month has passed since 

surgery, if the apnea appears to have 

resolved a repeat sleep study should be 

considered to test for the presence of 

ongoing sleep apnea. 

C. Annual recertification: 

1. If clinically indicated, repeat the 

sleep study. 

IX. Treatment Alternatives 

A. There is limited data regarding 

compliance and long-term efficacy of 

dental appliances and these 

technologies are not approved 

alternatives at this time.2

B. Surgical treatment is acceptable 

(See Recommendations VI–VIII). 

Request for Comments 

FMCSA requests comments on the 

above joint recommendations provided 

to the Agency by its Motor Carrier 

Safety Advisory Committee and Medical 

Review Board on Obstructive Sleep 

Apnea. Commenters are requested to 

provide supporting data wherever 

appropriate. 

The Agency will consider all 

comments received before the close of 

business May 21, 2012. Comments will 

be available for examination in the 

docket at the location listed under the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice. The 

Agency will file comments received 

after the comment closing date in the 

public docket, and will consider them to 

the extent practicable. In addition to late 

comments, FMCSA will also continue to 

file, in the public docket, relevant 

information that becomes available after 

the comment closing date. Interested 

persons should monitor the public 

docket for new material. 

Issued on: April 16, 2012. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator of Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9555 Filed 4–19–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–1999–6480; FMCSA– 

2001–11426; FMCSA–2002–12844; FMCSA– 

2003–16564; FMCSA–2005–21711; FMCSA– 

2005–22727; FMCSA–2006–23773; FMCSA– 

2007–0017; FMCSA–2008–0021; FMCSA– 

2009–0303; FMCSA–2009–0291] 

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 29 

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 May 

12, 2012. Comments must be received 

on or before May 21, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

bearing the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) numbers: FMCSA– 

1999–6480; FMCSA–2001–11426; 

FMCSA–2002–12844; FMCSA–2003– 

16564; FMCSA–2005–21711; FMCSA– 

2005–22727; FMCSA–2006–23773; 

FMCSA–2007–0017; FMCSA–2008– 

0021; FMCSA–2009–0303; FMCSA– 

2009–0291, 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 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. 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
23798 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 77 / Friday, April 20, 2012 / Notices 

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 29 individuals 

who have requested renewal of their 

exemptions in accordance with FMCSA 

procedures. FMCSA has evaluated these 

29 applications for renewal on their 

merits and decided to extend each 

exemption for a renewable two-year 

period. They are: 

Dennis J. Ameling (IA) 

Leo G. Becker (KS) 

Timothy W. Bickford (ME) 

Stanley W. Davis (TX) 

Ray L. Emert (PA) 

Sean O. Feeny (FL) 

Steven R. Felks (TX) 

John W. Forgy (ID) 

Michael J. Frein (IA) 

Jimmy G. Hall (NC) 

Dennis R. Irvin (MA) 

Neil W. Jennings (MO) 

Mark L. LeBlanc (MN) 

David A. Miller (IA) 

Richard W. Neyens (WA) 

Paul D. Schnautz (TX) 

Steve J. Sherar (AZ) 

Robert R. Skinner, Jr. (NY) 

William T. Smiley (MD) 

Richard M. Smith (CO) 

David N. Stubbs (MS) 

Edward J. Sullivan (NH) 

Martin L. Taylor (UT) 

Aaron S. Taylor (WI) 

William B. Thomas (SC) 

Gary R. Thomas (OH) 

Michael J. Tisher (AK) 

Kevin R. White (NC) 

Robert D. Williams (LA) 

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 requirements 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 29 applicants has 

satisfied the entry conditions for 

obtaining an exemption from the vision 

requirements (64 FR 68195; 65 FR 

20251; 67 FR 10471; 67 FR 17102; 67 FR 

19798; 67 FR 68719; 68 FR 2629; 68 FR 

74699; 69 FR 10503; 69 FR 17267; 69 FR 

19611; 69 FR 71100; 70 FR 48797; 70 FR 

61493; 70 FR 71884; 71 FR 4632; 71 FR 

6829; 71 FR 16410; 71 FR 19602; 71 FR 

19604; 72 FR 1053; 72 FR 67340; 73 FR 

1395; 73 FR 5259; 73 FR 6246; 73 FR 

11989; 73 FR 15254; 73 FR 15567; 73 FR 

16950; 73 FR 27015; 73 FR 76440; 74 FR 

60022; 74 FR 65842; 74 FR 65842; 75 FR 

4623; 75 FR 9478; 75 FR 9480; 75 FR 

13653; 75 FR 19674; 75 FR 20881; 75 FR 

22176). Each of these 29 applicants has 

requested renewal of the exemption and 

has submitted evidence showing that 

the vision in the better eye continues to 

meet the requirement 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 

requirements. 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 May 21, 

2012. 

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 29 

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: April 16, 2012. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9550 Filed 4–19–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES