15586 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 64 / Monday, April 6, 2009 / Notices 

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 

FMCSA received four comments in 

this proceeding. The comments were 

considered and discussed below. 

Three of the comments received were 

in favor of granting the Federal vision 

exemption to Mr. Forrest L. Wright. The 

fourth comment, from an anonymous 

individual, was in favor of the Federal 

Vision Program and was of the opinion 

that the current Federal Vision standard 

should be changed and updated. 

In response to the fourth comment, 

Congress established a Medical Review 

Board (MRB) to provide FMCSA with 

advice and recommendations on 

medical standards and guidelines for 

the physical qualifications of CMV 

drivers [49 U.S.C. 31149(a)]. The 

Agency is currently evaluating the 

MRB’s recommendations regarding the 

current vision standard; the opinions of 

medical research panels; and evidence 

reports related to vision. 

Conclusion 

Based upon its evaluation of the 33 

exemption applications, FMCSA 

exempts James M. Andrews, Michael L. 

Ayers, Todd J. Berglund, Sr., George M. 

Callahan, William D. Cardiff, Paul V. 

DaLuisio, Richard DiStaola, Tracy A. 

Doty, Vincent C. Durazzo, Jr., Matthew 

A. Ericson, Breck L. Falcon, Charles W. 

Hillyer, Stephen R. Jackson, Wesley J. 

Jenkins, Richard H. Johnson, Darrel R. 

Martin, James W. McGhee, Felix L. 

McLean, James P. Mittlefehldt, Robert E. 

Morrison, Pahl M. Olson, Craig P. 

Osborn, Jeremy L. Perry, Wayne G. 

Resch, Brad E. Robrock, James L. 

Rooney, James E. Russell, Robert C. 

Sellers, Jr., James A. Smith, Richard 

Sturk, Wayne A. Whitehead, Charles F. 

Wotring, and Forrest L. Wright 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: March 27, 2009. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy and 

Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E9–7562 Filed 4–3–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–1999–5578; FMCSA– 

2000–8398; FMCSA–2002–13411; FMCSA– 

2004–17984; FMCSA–2004–19477; FMCSA– 

2005–20027; FMCSA–2006–26066; FMCSA– 

2006–25246; FMCSA–2007–27333] 

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 22 

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 7, 

2009. Comments must be received on or 

before May 6, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

bearing the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA– 

1999–5578; FMCSA–2000–8398; 

FMCSA–2002–13411; FMCSA–2004– 

17984; FMCSA–2004–19477; FMCSA– 

2005–20027; FMCSA–2006–26066; 

FMCSA–2006–25246; FMCSA–2007– 

27333, 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. 

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 

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 the DOT’s complete 

Privacy Act Statement in the Federal 

Register published on April 11, 2000 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 64 / Monday, April 6, 2009 / Notices 15587 

(65 FR 19476). This information is also 

available at http://DocketInfo.dot.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Mary D. Gunnels, Director, 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 22 individuals 

who have requested a renewal of their 

exemption in accordance with FMCSA 

procedures. FMCSA has evaluated these 

22 applications for renewal on their 

merits and decided to extend each 

exemption for a renewable two-year 

period. They are: 

Rex A. Botsford 

Roger C. Carson 

Robert A. Casson 

Gregory L. Cooper 

Kenneth D. Craig 

Christopher A. Deadman 

Jerald O. Edwards 

David R. Gross 

George Harris 

Francisco J. Jimenez 

Kenneth C. Keil 

Paul R. Kerpsie 

Melvin A. Kleman 

Roosevelt Lawson 

Emanuel N. Malone 

Roberto E. Martinez 

Richard W. Mullenix 

George K. Sizemore 

James A. Strickland 

Clarence L. Swann, Jr. 

Kerry W. VanStory 

Manuel A. Vargas 

These exemptions are extended 

subject to the following conditions: (1) 

That each individual have 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 

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 and retain 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 22 applicants has 

satisfied the entry conditions for 

obtaining an exemption from the vision 

requirements (64 FR 27027; 64 FR 

51568; 66 FR 48504; 65 FR 78256; 66 FR 

16311; 68 FR 13360; 70 FR 12265; 72 FR 

11426; 72 FR 11425; 67 FR 76439; 68 FR 

10298; 70 FR 7543; 72 FR 18726; 69 FR 

33997; 69 FR 61292; 72 FR 184; 69 FR 

64806; 70 FR 2705; 72 FR 5489; 70 FR 

2701; 70 FR 16887; 70 FR 12666; 71 FR 

63379; 72 FR 1050; 72 FR 180; 72 FR 

9397; 72 FR 12666; 72 FR 25831). Each 

of these 22 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 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 May 6, 

2009. 

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 22 

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 based on the 

merits of each case and 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: March 31, 2009. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy and 

Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E9–7565 Filed 4–3–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 


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