6256 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 22 / Friday, February 1, 2008 / Notices 

1Section 4129(a) refers to the 2003 Notice as a 

‘‘final rule.’’ However, the 2003 Notice did not issue 

a ‘‘final rule’’ but did establish the procedures and 

standards for issuing exemptions for drivers with 

ITDM. 

Gary J. Weiss 

Mr. Weiss, 44, has had ITDM since 

1993. His endocrinologist examined him 

in 2007 and certified that 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; understands diabetes 

management and monitoring; and has 

stable control of his diabetes using 

insulin, and is able to drive a CMV 

safely. Mr. Weiss meets the 

requirements of the vision standard at 

49 CFR 391.41(b)(10). His 

ophthalmologist examined him in 2007 

and certified that he has stable 

nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy. 

He holds a Class A CDL from South 

Carolina. 

Danny L. Wood 

Mr. Wood, 58, has had ITDM since 

2006. His endocrinologist examined him 

in 2007 and certified that 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; understands diabetes 

management and monitoring; and has 

stable control of his diabetes using 

insulin, and is able to drive a CMV 

safely. Mr. Wood meets the 

requirements of the vision standard at 

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

examined him in 2007 and certified that 

he does not have diabetic retinopathy. 

He holds a Class B CDL from Oregon. 

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 received before the close of 

business on the closing date indicated 

in the dates section of 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 Secretary to revise its 

diabetes exemption program established 

on September 3, 2003 (68 FR 52441).1

The revision must provide for 

individual assessment of drivers with 

diabetes mellitus, and be consistent 

with the criteria described in section 

4018 of the Transportation Equity Act 

for the 21st Century (49 U.S.C. 31305). 

Section 4129 requires: (1) The 

elimination of the requirement for three 

years of experience operating CMVs 

while being treated with insulin; and (2) 

the establishment of a specified 

minimum period of insulin use to 

demonstrate stable control of diabetes 

before being allowed to operate a CMV. 

In response to section 4129, FMCSA 

made immediate revisions to the 

diabetes exemption program established 

by the September 3, 2003 Notice. 

FMCSA discontinued use of the 3-year 

driving experience and fulfilled the 

requirements of section 4129 while 

continuing to ensure that operation of 

CMVs by drivers with ITDM will 

achieve the requisite level of safety 

required of all exemptions granted 

under 49 U.S.C. 31136 (e). 

Section 4129(d) also directed FMCSA 

to ensure that drivers of CMVs with 

ITDM are not held to a higher standard 

than other drivers, with the exception of 

limited operating, monitoring and 

medical requirements that are deemed 

medically necessary. FMCSA concluded 

that all of the operating, monitoring and 

medical requirements set out in the 

September 3, 2003 Notice, except as 

modified, were in compliance with 

section 4129(d). Therefore, all of the 

requirements set out in the September 3, 

2003 Notice, except as modified by the 

Notice in the Federal Register on 

November 8, 2005 (70 FR 67777), 

remain in effect. 

Dated: January 28, 2008. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy and 

Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E8–1898 Filed 1–31–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket No. FRA–2000–7257] 

[Notice No. 45] 

Railroad Safety Advisory Committee; 

Notice of Meeting 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Announcement of Railroad 

Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) 

meeting. 

SUMMARY: FRA announces the 34th 

meeting of the RSAC, a Federal advisory 

committee that develops railroad safety 

regulations through a consensus 

process. The RSAC meeting topics will 

include opening remarks from the FRA 

Administrator, presentations on railroad 

bridge safety, the Volpe final report on 

private crossings, the FRA Research and 

Development Program, and the Risk 

Reduction Program. Status reports will 

be provided by the Passenger Safety, 

Locomotive Safety Standards, Medical 

Standards, Railroad Operating Rules, 

and Track Safety Standards Working 

Groups. The Committee will be asked to 

vote on recommendations on proposed 

Emergency Preparedness Rule text, a 

Vehicle Track Interaction Rule change, 

regulatory changes, and recommended 

practices related to the management of 

continuous welded rail, and station 

platform gap management guidance. 

Additionally, FRA may offer for RSAC 

vote a task on bridge safety. This agenda 

is subject to change. 

DATES: The RSAC meeting is scheduled 

to commence at 9:30 a.m., and will 

adjourn at 4 p.m., on Wednesday, 

February 20, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: The RSAC meeting will be 

held at the National Housing Center, 

1201 15th Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20005. The meeting is open to the 

public on a first-come, first-served basis, 

and is accessible to individuals with 

disabilities. Sign and oral interpretation 

can be made available if requested 10 

calendar days before the meeting. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Larry Woolverton, RSAC Coordinator, 

FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

Mailstop 25, Washington, DC 20590, 

(202) 493–6212 or Grady Cothen, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for 

Safety, FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, 

SE., Mailstop 25, Washington, DC 

20590, (202) 493–6302. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–

463), FRA is giving notice of a meeting 

of the RSAC. The RSAC was established 

to provide advice and recommendations 

to FRA on railroad safety matters. The 

RSAC is composed of 54 voting 

representatives from 31 member 

organizations, representing various rail 

industry perspectives. In addition, there 

are nonvoting advisory representatives 

from the agencies with railroad safety 

regulatory responsibility in Canada and 

Mexico, the National Transportation 

Safety Board, and the Federal Transit 

Administration. The diversity of the 

Committee ensures the requisite range 

of views and expertise necessary to 

discharge its responsibilities. See the 

RSAC Web site for details on pending 

tasks at http://rsac.fra.dot.gov/. 

Please refer to the notice published in 

the Federal Register on March 11, 1996, 

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 22 / Friday, February 1, 2008 / Notices 6257 

(61 FR 9740) for additional information 

about the RSAC. 

Issued in Washington, DC on January 28, 

2008. 

Michael J. Logue, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety 

Compliance and Program Implementation. 

[FR Doc. E8–1865 Filed 1–31–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

[Docket No. FRA–2000–7257; Notice No. 44] 

Railroad Safety Advisory Committee 

(RSAC); Working Group Activity 

Update 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Announcement of Railroad 

Safety Advisory Committee working 

group activities. 

SUMMARY: FRA is updating its 

announcement of RSAC’s working 

group activities to reflect its current 

status. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Larry Woolverton, RSAC Coordinator, 

FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Mailstop 25, Washington, DC 20590, 

(202) 493–6212 or Grady Cothen, 

Deputy Associate Administrator for 

Safety, FRA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 

SE., Mailstop 25, Washington, DC 

20590, (202) 493–6302. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice serves to update FRA’s last 

announcement of working group 

activities and status reports as of 

October 30, 2007 (72 FR 61418). The 

33rd full RSAC Committee meeting was 

held October 25, 2007, and the 34th 

meeting is scheduled for February 20, 

2008, at the National Housing Center in 

Washington, DC. 

Since its first meeting in April 1996, 

the RSAC has accepted 24 tasks. The 

status for each of the tasks is provided 

below. 

Open Tasks 

Task 96–4—Reviewing the 

appropriateness of the Agency’s current 

policy regarding the applicability of 

existing and proposed regulations to 

tourist, excursion, scenic, and historic 

railroads. This task was accepted on 

April 2, 1996, and a working group was 

established. The working group 

monitored the steam locomotive 

regulation task and planned future 

activities involving the review of other 

regulations for possible adaptation to 

the safety needs of tourist and historic 

railroads. Contact: Grady C. Cothen, Jr., 

(202) 493–6302. 

Task 03–01—Passenger Safety. This 

task was accepted on May 20, 2003, and 

a working group was established. Prior 

to embarking on substantive discussions 

of a specific task, the working group sets 

forth in writing a specific description of 

the task. The working group also reports 

planned activity to the full Committee at 

each scheduled full RSAC meeting, 

including milestones for the completion 

of projects and progress toward 

completion. At the first meeting held 

September 9–10, 2003, a consolidated 

list of issues was completed. At the 

second meeting held November 6–7, 

2003, four task groups were established: 

emergency preparedness, mechanicalgeneral issues, mechanical-safety 

appliances, and track/vehicle 

interaction. The task groups met and 

reported on activities for working group 

consideration at the third meeting held 

May 11–12, 2004, and a fourth meeting 

was held October 26–27, 2004. The 

working group met on March 21–22, 

2006, and again on September 12–13, 

2006, at which time the group agreed to 

establish a task force on general 

passenger safety. The full Passenger 

Safety Working Group met on April 17–

18, 2007, and again on December 11–12, 

2007. The next meeting is scheduled for 

June 18, 2008. Contact: Charles Bielitz, 

(202) 493–6302. 

(Emergency Preparedness Task Force) 

At the working group meeting on March 

9–10, 2005, the working group received 

and approved the consensus report of 

the Emergency Preparedness Task Force 

related to emergency egress and rescue 

access. These recommendations were 

presented to, and approved by, the full 

RSAC Committee on May 18, 2005. The 

working group met on September 7–8, 

2005, and additional, supplementary 

recommendations were presented to, 

and accepted by, the full RSAC on 

October 11, 2005. The Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) was 

published on August 24, 2006, and was 

open for comments until October 23, 

2006. The working group agreed upon 

recommendations for the resolution of 

final comments during the April 17–18, 

2007, meeting. The recommendations 

were presented to, and approved by, the 

full RSAC Committee on June 26, 2007. 

The final rule regarding emergency 

egress and rescue access is expected to 

be published in early 2008. The task 

force met on October 17–18, 2007, and 

the group reached consensus on the 

draft rule text for a follow-up NPRM on 

passenger train emergency systems. The 

task force presented the draft rule text 

to the Passenger Safety Working Group 

on December 11–12, 2007, and the 

consensus draft rule text will be 

presented for full RSAC vote during the 

February 20, 2008, meeting. Contact: 

Brenda Moscoso, (202) 493–6282. 

(General Mechanical Task Force) 

(COMPLETED) Initial recommendations 

on mechanical issues (revisions to Title 

49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 

Part 238) were approved by the full 

Committee on January 26, 2005. At the 

working group meeting of September 7–

8, 2005, the task force presented 

additional perfecting amendments and 

the full RSAC approved them on 

October 11, 2005. An NPRM was 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 8, 2005 (70 FR 73070). Public 

comments were due by February 17, 

2006. The final rule was published in 

the Federal Register on October 19, 

2006, (71 FR 61835) effective December 

18, 2006. 

(General Passenger Safety Task Force) 

At the working group meeting on April 

17–18, 2007, the task force presented a 

progress report to the working group. 

The task force met on July 18–19, 2007, 

and afterwards it reported proposed 

reporting cause codes for injuries 

involving the platform gap, which were 

approved by the working group by mail 

ballot in September 2007. The full 

RSAC approved the recommendations 

for changes to 49 CFR Part 225 accident/ 

incident cause codes on October 25, 

2007. The task force continues work on 

passenger train door securement, 

‘‘second train in station,’’ trespasser 

incidents, and system safety-based 

solutions by developing a regulatory 

approach to system safety. The General 

Passenger Safety Task Force presented 

draft guidance material for management 

of the gap, which was considered and 

approved by the working group during 

the December 11–12, 2007, meeting and 

will present the material to the full 

RSAC for approval during the February 

2008 meeting. Contact: Dan Knote, (631) 

567–1596. 

(Passenger Equipment 

Crashworthiness Task Force) The 

Crashworthiness Task Force provided 

consensus recommendations on staticend strength, which were adopted by 

the working group on September 7–8, 

2005. The full Committee accepted the 

recommendations on October 11, 2005. 

The Front-End Strength of Cab Cars and 

Multiple-Unit Locomotives NPRM was 

published in the Federal Register on 

August 1, 2007, (72 FR 42016) with 

comments due by October 1, 2007. 

Several comments were entered into the 

docket. FRA is evaluating each of the 

comments received, and plans to have 

the final rule text completed by June 

2008. To demonstrate the means of 

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