50424 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 8, 2021 / Notices 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 2, 

2021. 

Sheri Martin, 

Management and Program Analyst, FAA, 

Safety Standards, AFS–200 Division. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19360 Filed 9–7–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2021–0011] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Vision 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), Department 

of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of applications for 

exemption; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces receipt of 

applications from six 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 October 8, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by the Federal Docket 

Management System (FDMS) Docket No. 

FMCSA–2021–0011 using any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

www.regulations.gov/, insert the docket 

number, FMCSA–2021–0011, in the 

keyword box, and click ‘‘Search.’’ Next, 

sort the results by ‘‘Posted (NewerOlder),’’ choose the first notice listed, 

and click on the ‘‘Comment’’ button. 

Follow the online instructions for 

submitting comments. 

• Mail: Dockets Operations; 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., ET, 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

Holidays. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

To avoid duplication, please use only 

one of these four methods. See the 

‘‘Public Participation’’ portion of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for 

instructions on submitting comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Christine A. Hydock, Chief, Medical 

Programs Division, (202) 366–4001, 

fmcsamedical@dot.gov, FMCSA, DOT, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room 

W64–224, Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., ET, 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. If you have questions 

regarding viewing or submitting 

material to the docket, contact Dockets 

Operations, (202) 366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation 

A. Submitting Comments 

If you submit a comment, please 

include the docket number for this 

notice (Docket No. FMCSA–2021–0011), 

indicate the specific section of this 

document to which each comment 

applies, and provide a reason for each 

suggestion or recommendation. 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 

www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FMCSA2021-0011. Next, sort the results by 

‘‘Posted (Newer-Older),’’ choose the first 

notice listed, click the ‘‘Comment’’ 

button, and type your comment into the 

text box on the following screen. Choose 

whether you are submitting your 

comment as an individual or on behalf 

of a third party and then submit. 

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, self-addressed 

postcard or envelope. 

FMCSA will consider all comments 

and material received during the 

comment period. 

B. Viewing Comments 

To view comments go to 

www.regulations.gov. Insert the docket 

number, FMCSA–2021–0011, in the 

keyword box, and click ‘‘Search.’’ Next, 

sort the results by ‘‘Posted (NewerOlder),’’ choose the first notice listed, 

and click ‘‘Browse Comments.’’ If you 

do not have access to the internet, you 

may view the docket online by visiting 

Dockets Operations in Room W12–140 

on the ground floor of the DOT West 

Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001, between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. To be 

sure someone is there to help you, 

please call (202) 366–9317 or (202) 366– 

9826 before visiting Dockets Operations. 

C. Privacy Act 

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), 

DOT solicits comments from the public 

to better inform its regulatory process. 

DOT posts these comments, without 

edit, including any personal information 

the commenter provides, to 

www.regulations.gov, as described in 

the system of records notice (DOT/ALL– 

14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 

www.transportation.gov/privacy. 

II. Background 

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

31315(b), FMCSA may grant an 

exemption from the FMCSRs for no 

longer than a 5-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 5-year 

period. FMCSA grants medical 

exemptions from the FMCSRs for a 2- 

year period to align with the maximum 

duration of a driver’s medical 

certification. 

The six 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 

§ 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. 

On July 16, 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 (57 FR 31458). The 

current Vision Exemption Program was 

established in 1998, following the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 8, 2021 / Notices 50425 

1A thorough discussion of this issue may be 

found in a FHWA final rule published in the 

Federal Register on March 26, 1996 and available 

on the internet at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/ 

pkg/FR-1996-03-26/pdf/96-7226.pdf. 

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 

§ 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 in intrastate commerce 

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 www.regulations.gov/ 

docket?D=FMCSA-1998-3637. 

FMCSA believes it can properly apply 

the principle to monocular drivers, 

because data from the Federal Highway 

Administration’s 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.1 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. 

III. Qualifications of Applicants 

Jason R. Flodin 

Mr. Flodin, 47, has amblyopia in his 

left eye due to a traumatic incident in 

childhood. The visual acuity in his right 

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

Following an examination in 2021, his 

optometrist stated, ‘‘In my medical 

opinion, Jason is [sic] has sufficient 

vision to perform driving tasks required 

to operate a commercial vehice.’’ Mr. 

Flodin reported that he has driven 

straight trucks for 30 years, 

accumulating 210,000 miles, and 

tractor-trailer combinations for 14 years, 

accumulating 14,000 miles. He holds a 

Class A CDL from Washington. His 

driving record for the last 3 years shows 

no crashes and no convictions for 

moving violations in a CMV. 

Justin W. Green 

Mr. Green, 38, has had a retinal 

detachment in his left eye due to a 

traumatic incident in 2009. The visual 

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

his left eye, light perception. Following 

an examination in 2021, his optometrist 

stated, ‘‘It is my professional opinion 

that Mr. Green meets the visual 

requirements to operate a commercial 

motor vehicle.’’ Mr. Green reported that 

he has driven straight trucks for 18 

years, accumulating 216,000 miles, and 

tractor-trailer combinations for 4 years, 

accumulating 400,000 miles. He holds a 

Class A CDL from Arkansas. His driving 

record for the last 3 years shows no 

crashes and no convictions for moving 

violations in a CMV. 

Joshua L. Kupsch 

Mr. Kupsch, 31, has a retinal 

hermorrhage in his right eye due to a 

traumatic incident in 2017. The visual 

acuity in his right eye is counting 

fingers, and in his left eye, 20/15. 

Following an examination in 2021, his 

ophthalmologist stated, ‘‘It is my 

opinion that his current level of vision, 

being very stable, should be sufficient 

for commercial driving.’’ Mr. Kupsch 

reported that he has driven straight 

trucks for 6 years, accumulating 162,000 

miles. He holds a Class ABCDM CDL 

from Wisconsin. His driving record for 

the last 3 years shows one crash in a 

CMV, for which he was cited, and no 

convictions for moving violations in a 

CMV. 

Josue M. Rodriguez-Espinoza 

Mr. Rodriguez-Espinoza, 30, has had 

refractive amblyopia in his right eye 

since birth. The visual acuity in his 

right eye is counting fingers, and in his 

left eye, 20/20. Following an 

examination in 2021, his 

ophthalmologist stated, ‘‘I feel that Mr. 

Rodriguez would have no problem 

performing the tasks required to 

appropriately operate a commercial 

vehicle despite the poor vision in his 

right eye.’’ Mr. Rodriguez-Espinoza 

reported that he has driven straight 

trucks for 8 years, accumulating 80,000 

miles. He holds a Class A CDL from 

California. His driving record for the last 

3 years shows no crashes and no 

convictions for moving violations in a 

CMV. 

Dana R. Williams 

Mr. Williams, 30, has complete loss of 

vision in his right eye due to a traumatic 

incident in 2009. The visual acuity in 

his right eye is no light perception, and 

in his left eye, 20/20. Following an 

examination in 2021, his 

ophthalmologist stated, ‘‘In my medical 

opinion Dana Williams have [sic] 

sufficient vision to operate a 

commercial vehicle safely.’’ Mr. 

Williams reported that he has driven 

straight trucks for 5 years, accumulating 

125,000 miles. He holds a Class A CDL 

from Illinois. His driving record for the 

last 3 years shows no crashes and no 

convictions for moving violations in a 

CMV. 

Larry L. Yow 

Mr. Yow, 65, has had amblyopia in 

his right eye since birth. The visual 

acuity in his right eye is 20/60, and in 

his left eye, 20/20. Following an 

examination in 2021, his 

ophthalmologist stated, ‘‘In my 

professional opinion, the patient has 

sufficient correctable vision to [sic] 

ability to perform driving tasks required 

to operate a commercial motor vehicle.’’ 

Mr. Yow reported that he has driven 

tractor-trailer combinations for 12 years, 

accumulating 1.08 million miles. He 

holds a Class A CDL from North 

Carolina. His driving record for the last 

3 years shows no crashes and no 


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50426 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 8, 2021 / Notices 

convictions for moving violations in a 

CMV. 

IV. Request for Comments 

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

and 31315(b), 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 under the DATES section of the 

notice. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19471 Filed 9–7–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2021–0140] 

Entry-Level Driver Training: 

Application for Exemption; Oak Harbor 

Freight Lines, Inc. 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), Department 

of Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice of application for 

exemption; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that Oak 

Harbor Freight Lines, Inc., (Oak Harbor) 

has applied for an exemption from the 

qualification requirements pertaining to 

entry-level driver training (ELDT) theory 

instructors, as set forth in the definition 

of ‘‘theory instructor’’. Oak Harbor 

requests the exemption so that the 

company’s safety supervisor, Mr. Jeff 

McLaughlin, will be able to conduct 

classroom (theory) training for entrylevel drivers who intend to operate 

commercial motor vehicles (CMV) used 

in the transportation of hazardous 

materials (HM). The company states the 

exemption is warranted due to Mr. 

McLaughlin’s experience and expertise 

related to the transportation of HM. Oak 

Harbor also states that the road portion 

of the training would be completed by 

behind-the-wheel (BTW) instructors that 

meet the ELDT requirements. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before October 8, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by Federal Docket 

Management System (FDMS) Number 

FMCSA–2021–0140 by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. See the Public 

Participation and Request for Comments 

section below for further information. 

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: Docket 

Operations, West Building, Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. To be sure someone is there to 

help you, please call (202) 366–9317 or 

(202) 366–9826 before visiting Dockets 

Operations. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

Each submission must include the 

Agency name and the docket number for 

this notice (FMCSA–2021–0140). Note 

that DOT posts all comments received 

without change to 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 www.regulations.gov at 

any time or visit 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., ET, 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. To be sure someone is there to 

help you, please call (202) 366–9317 or 

(202) 366–9826 before visiting Dockets 

Operations. 

Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 

U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments 

from the public to better inform its 

regulatory process. DOT posts these 

comments, without edit, including any 

personal information the commenter 

provides, to www.regulations.gov, as 

described in the system of records 

notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can 

be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Pearlie Robinson, FMCSA Driver and 

Carrier Operations Division; Office of 

Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety 

Standards; (202–366–4225); MCPSD@

dot.gov. If you have questions on 

viewing or submitting material to the 

docket, contact Dockets Operations, 

(202) 366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation and Request for 

Comments 

FMCSA encourages you to participate 

by submitting comments and related 

materials. 

Submitting Comments 

If you submit a comment, please 

include the docket number for this 

notice (FMCSA–2021–0140), indicate 

the specific section of this document to 

which the comment applies, and 

provide a reason for suggestions or 

recommendations. 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 the Agency 

can contact you if it has questions 

regarding your submission. 

To submit your comments online, go 

to www.regulations.gov and put the 

docket number, ‘‘FMCSA–2021–0140’’ 

in the ‘‘Search’’ box, and click ‘‘Search.’’ 

When the new screen appears, click on 

‘‘Documents’’ button, then click 

‘‘Comment’’ button associated with the 

latest notice posted. Another screen will 

appear, insert the required information. 

Choose whether you are submitting your 

comment as an individual, an 

organization, or anonymous. Click 

‘‘Submit Comment.’’ 

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, self-addressed 

postcard or envelope. FMCSA will 

consider all comments and material 

received during the comment period. 

II. Legal Basis 

FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 

31136(e) and 31315 to grant exemptions 

from certain parts of the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Regulations. FMCSA must 

publish a notice of each exemption 

request in the Federal Register (49 CFR 

381.315(a)). The Agency must provide 

the public an opportunity to inspect the 

information relevant to the application, 

including any safety analyses that have 

been conducted. The Agency must also 

provide an opportunity for public 

comment on the request. 

The Agency reviews safety analyses 

and public comments submitted and 

determines whether granting the 

exemption would likely achieve a level 

of safety equivalent to, or greater than, 

the level that would be achieved by the 

current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). 

The decision of the Agency must be 

published in the Federal Register (49 

CFR 381.315(b)) with the reasons for 

denying or granting the application and, 

if granted, the name of the person or 

class of persons receiving the 

exemption, and the regulatory provision 

from which the exemption is granted. 

The notice must also specify the 

effective period (up to 5 years) and 

explain the terms and conditions of the 


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