Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 201 / Wednesday, October 19, 2005 / Notices 60875 

Docket access: For copies of this 

notice or other materials in the docket, 

you may contact the Dockets Facility by 

phone (202–366–9329) or visit the 

facility at the above street address. For 

Web access to the dockets to read and 

download filed material, go to http:// 

dms.dot.gov/search. Then type in the 

last four digits of the docket number 

shown in the heading of this notice, and 

click on ‘‘Search.’’

Anyone can search the electronic 

form of all comments filed in any of our 

dockets by the name of the individual 

submitting the comment (or signing the 

comment, if submitted for an 

association, business, labor union, etc.). 

You may review DOT’s complete 

Privacy Act Statement in the April 11, 

2000 issue of the Federal Register (65 

FR 19477) or go to http://dms.dot.gov. 

Interested persons are invited to send 

comments regarding the burden 

estimate or any other aspect of this 

collection of information, including any 

of the following subjects: (1) The 

necessity and utility of the proposed 

information collection for the proper 

performance of the agency’s functions; 

(2) the accuracy of the estimated 

burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (4) the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology to 

minimize the information collection 

burden. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Jeffrey Van Ness, (202) 366–8802, 

Vehicle and Roadside Operations 

Division (MC-PSV), Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Administration, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 

20590. Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 

5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) 

is authorized under the provisions of 49 

U.S.C. 31502 to prescribe requirements 

for qualifications and maximum hoursof-service of employees of, and safety 

and equipment standards of, motor 

carriers that operate commercial motor 

vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. 

Under 49 U.S.C. 31136, the Secretary 

also has authority to prescribe 

regulations to ensure that CMVs are 

maintained, equipped, loaded and 

operated safely; and under 49 U.S.C. 

31143 to establish standards for annual 

or more frequent inspections of CMVs 

under the provisions of U.S.C. 31142. 

The Secretary’s authority to establish 

improved standards or methods to 

ensure brakes and brake systems of 

CMVs are inspected by appropriate 

employees and maintained properly is 

provided under 49 U.S.C. 31137(b). 

Motor carriers must maintain, or 

require maintenance of, records 

documenting the inspection, repair and 

maintenance activities performed on 

their owned and leased vehicles. There 

are no prescribed forms. Electronic 

recordkeeping is allowed for all records 

except for those requiring a signature 

(i.e., driver vehicle inspection reports) 

(See 49 CFR 390.31(d)). FMCSA allows 

electronic driver vehicle inspection 

reports if certain conditions are 

satisfied. The records are used by the 

FMCSA and its representatives to verify 

motor carriers’ compliance with the 

inspection, repair, and maintenance 

standards in 49 CFR part 396 of the 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations. 

Type of Information Collection 

Request: Renewal of an existing 

information collection. 

Title of Information Collection: 

Inspection, Repair, and Maintenance. 

OMB Approval Number: 2126–0003. 

Frequency: Annual and on occasion. 

Use: This collection is used by 

FMCSA to ensure that motor carriers 

have adequate documentation of their 

systematic inspection, repair, and 

maintenance programs necessary to 

reduce the likelihood of CMV accidents. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

406,843. 

Respondents: Motor carriers, 

commercial motor vehicle drivers. 

Total Annual Hours Requested: 

34,798,257. 

Issued on: October 13, 2005. 

Annette M. Sandberg, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 05–20888 Filed 10–18–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2005–22177] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Diabetes 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of applications for 

exemption from the diabetes standard; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This notice publishes the 

FMCSA’s receipt of applications from 

three individuals for an exemption from 

the diabetes mellitus prohibition in the 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations. If granted, the exemptions 

will enable these individuals to qualify 

as drivers of commercial motor vehicles 

(CMVs) in interstate commerce without 

meeting the requirement prescribed in 

49 CFR 391.41(b)(3). 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before November 18, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by any of the following 

methods. Please identify your comments 

by the DOT DMS Docket Number 

FMCSA–2005–22177. 

• Web site: http://dms.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. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the agency name and docket 

number for this notice. For detailed 

instructions on submitting comments 

and additional information on the 

rulemaking process, see the Public 

Participation heading of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. 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. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to http:// 

dms.dot.gov at any time 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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Mary D. Gunnels, Office of Bus and 

Truck Standards and Operations, (202) 

366–4001, FMCSA, Department of 

Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, 

SW., Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., 

e.t., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Participation: The exemption 

requests and supporting materials, such 

as the safety analysis, should be placed 

in the DMS docket as required by 49 

60876 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 201 / Wednesday, October 19, 2005 / Notices 

CFR 381.315(d). The DMS is available 

24 hours each day, 365 days a year. You 

can get electronic submission and 

retrieval help guidelines under the 

‘‘help’’ section of the DMS Web site. If 

you want us to notify you that we 

received your comments, please include 

a self-addressed, stamped envelope or 

postcard or print the acknowledgment 

page that appears after submitting 

comments online. 

Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search 

the electronic form of all comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the comment, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). You may 

review the Department of 

Transportation’s complete Privacy Act 

statement in the Federal Register 

published April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477–

78) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov. 

Background 

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

the 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. The three individuals listed in 

this notice have recently requested an 

exemption from the diabetes prohibition 

in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(3), which applies to 

drivers of CMVs in interstate commerce. 

Accordingly, the agency will evaluate 

the qualifications of each applicant to 

determine whether granting the 

exemption will achieve the required 

level of safety mandated by the statute. 

Qualifications of Applicants 

1. Doyle F. Heiner. Mr. Heiner, age 42, 

has had insulin-treated diabetes 

mellitus since 2001. He has had no 

hypoglycemic reactions resulting in loss 

of consciousness, requiring the 

assistance of another person, or 

resulting in impaired cognitive function 

that occurred without warning in the 

past 5 years. His endocrinologist 

examined him in 2005 and stated, ‘‘He 

senses easily when his blood sugars are 

low. He is willing and able to properly 

monitor and manage his diabetes.’’ Mr. 

Heiner meets the requirements of the 

vision standard at 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10). 

His ophthalmologist examined him in 

2005 and stated, ‘‘There was no diabetic 

retinopathy.’’ Mr. Heiner reported he 

has driven straight trucks for 24 years, 

accumulating 120,000 miles, and buses 

for 10 years, accumulating 130,000 

miles. He holds a Class A commercial 

driver’s license (CDL) from Idaho. His 

driving record shows no crashes or 

convictions for moving violations in a 

CMV for the past 3 years. 

2. James R. Moretz, Jr. Mr. Moretz, age 

40, has had insulin-treated diabetes 

mellitus since 1997. He has had no 

hypoglycemic reactions resulting in loss 

of consciousness, requiring the 

assistance of another person, or 

resulting in impaired cognitive function 

that occurred without warning in the 

past 5 years. His endocrinologist 

examined him in 2005 and stated, ‘‘Jim 

is able and has demonstrated 

willingness to properly monitor and 

manage his diabetes.’’ Mr. Moretz meets 

the requirements of the vision standard 

at 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10). His 

ophthalmologist examined him in 2005 

and certified that his non-proliferative 

diabetic retinopathy is stable. Mr. 

Moretz reported that he has driven 

straight trucks for 4 years, accumulating 

approximately 100,000 miles, and 

tractor-trailer combinations for 6.5 

years, accumulating approximately 

325,000 miles. He holds a Class A CDL 

from Pennsylvania. His driving record 

shows no crashes or convictions for 

moving violations in a CMV for the past 

3 years. 

3. Uve J. Witsch. Mr. Witsch, age 42, 

has had insulin-treated diabetes 

mellitus since 1999. He has had no 

hypoglycemic reactions resulting in loss 

of consciousness, requiring the 

assistance of another person, or 

resulting in impaired cognitive function 

that occurred without warning in the 

past 5 years. His endocrinologist 

examined him in 2005 and stated, ‘‘He 

has received diabetes education and 

management through my office and his 

knowledge of diabetes is good. He is 

able to properly monitor and manage his 

diabetes. He is knowledgeable about the 

disease and compliant with my 

recommendations.’’ Mr. Witsch meets 

the requirements of the vision standard 

at 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10). His 

ophthalmologist examined him in 2005 

and stated, ‘‘Dilated fundus exam 

revealed normal healthy retina and no 

diabetic retinopathy.’’ Mr. Witsch 

reported he has driven straight trucks 

for 8 years, accumulating 85,000 miles. 

He holds a Class C CDL from California. 

His driving record shows no crashes or 

convictions for moving violations in a 

CMV for the past 3 years. 

Request for Comments 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 

and 31136(e), the FMCSA requests 

public comment from all interested 

persons on the exemption petitions 

described in this notice. We will 

consider all comments received before 

the close of business on the closing date 

indicated earlier in the notice. 

FMCSA notes that Section 4129 of the 

Safe, Accountable, Flexible and 

Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A 

Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU) 

requires the agency to begin within 90 

days of enactment to revise the physical 

qualification rules for truck and bus 

drivers to allow individuals who use 

insulin to treat their diabetes to operate 

commercial motor vehicles in interstate 

commerce. The revised rule must 

provide for individual assessment of 

diabetic drivers, and be consistent with 

the criteria described in section 4018 of 

the Transportation Equity Act for the 

21st Century (TEA–21) (set out as a note 

to 49 U.S.C. 31305). In response to 

section 4018, the Secretary transmitted 

to Congress a study, ‘‘A Report to 

Congress on the Feasibility of a Program 

to Qualify Individuals with InsulinTreated Diabetes Mellitus to Operate in 

Interstate Commerce as Directed by the 

Transportation Equity Act for the 21st 

Century.’’ This report concluded that a 

safe and practical protocol to allow 

certain insulin-treated diabetic drivers 

to operate commercial motor vehicles 

(CMVs) is feasible. 

There are three substantive changes in 

the standards required by section 4129: 

(1) Removal of the requirement for three 

years’ experience operating a 

commercial motor vehicle while being 

treated with insulin; (2) establishment 

of a minimum period of insulin use 

before being allowed to operate a 

commercial motor vehicle; and (3) 

establishing limited operating, 

monitoring and medical requirements 

that are deemed medically necessary. 

Section 4129(b)–(c). In addition, the 

section contemplates that similar 

revisions will be made in the current 

exemption program established by the 

September 3, 2003 (68 FR 52441), notice 

of final disposition. Until the agency 

issues a final rule, however, insulintreated diabetic drivers must continue to 

apply for exemptions from FMCSA, and 

request renewals of such exemptions in 

a timely manner. 

Issued on: October 13, 2005. 

Annette M. Sandberg, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 05–20887 Filed 10–18–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P