26464 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 104 / Tuesday, June 2, 2009 / Notices 

perform the necessary tasks that are 

required to operate a commercial 

vehicle.’’ Mr. Terry reported that he has 

driven straight trucks for 3 years, 

accumulating 120,000 miles, and 

tractor-trailer combinations for 22 years, 

1.6 million miles. He holds a Class A 

CDL from Alabama. His driving record 

for the last 3 years shows no crashes and 

one conviction for a moving violation, 

speeding in a CMV. He exceeded the 

speed limit by 12 mph. 

Steven L. Thomas 

Mr. Thomas, 51, has endophthalmitis 

in his left eye after cataract surgery in 

1997. The best corrected visual acuity in 

his right eye is 20/15 and in the left, 20/ 

400. Following an examination in 2009, 

his optometrist noted, ‘‘Mr. Thomas has 

sufficient vision to drive and operate a 

commercial vehicle.’’ Mr. Thomas 

reported that he has driven straight 

trucks for 15 years, accumulating 

150,000 miles, and tractor-trailer 

combinations for 22 years, accumulating 

770,000 miles. He holds a Class A CDL 

from Indiana. His driving record for the 

last 3 years shows no crashes and no 

convictions for moving violations in a 

CMV. 

Daniel A. Wescott 

Mr. Wescott, 56, has had amblyopia in 

his left eye since birth. The best 

corrected visual acuity in his right eye 

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

Following an examination in 2009, his 

optometrist noted, ‘‘The result of his 

vision exam does in my medical 

opinion qualify him to drive a 

commercial vehicle.’’ Mr. Wescott 

reported that he has driven straight 

trucks for 10 years, accumulating 

130,000 miles, and tractor-trailer 

combinations for 26 years, accumulating 

780,000 miles. He holds a Class A CDL 

from Colorado. His driving record for 

the last 3 years shows no crashes and no 

convictions for moving violations in a 

CMV. 

Donald J. Zuza 

Mr. Zuza, 62, has central retinal artery 

occlusion in his right eye. The best 

corrected visual acuity in his right eye 

is count-finger vision and in his left eye, 

20/25. Following an examination in 

2009, his ophthalmologist noted, ‘‘In my 

medical opinion, Donald Zuza has 

sufficient vision to perform driving 

tasks required to operate a commercial 

vehicle.’’ Mr. Zuza reported that he has 

driven straight trucks for 33 years, 

accumulating 330,000 miles. He holds a 

Class D operator’s license from New 

Jersey. His driving record for the last 3 

years shows no crashes and no 

convictions for moving violations in a 

CMV. 

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. The Agency will consider all 

comments received before the close of 

business July 2, 2009. 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: May 26, 2009. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy and 

Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E9–12770 Filed 6–1–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–1998–4334; FMCSA– 

2000–7006; FMCSA–2000–7363; FMCSA– 

2000–8398; FMCSA–2001–9258; FMCSA– 

2003–14223; FMCSA–2003–14504; FMCSA– 

2004–19477; FMCSA–2005–20027; FMCSA– 

2005–20560; FMCSA–2006–26066; FMCSA– 

2007–27333; FMCSA–2007–27515] 

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 June 

26, 2009. Comments must be received 

on or before July 2, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

bearing the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA– 

1998–4334; FMCSA–2000–7006; 

FMCSA–2000–7363; FMCSA–2000– 

8398; FMCSA–2001–9258; FMCSA– 

2003–14223; FMCSA–2003–14504; 

FMCSA–2004–19477; FMCSA–2005– 

20027; FMCSA–2005–20560; FMCSA– 

2006–26066; FMCSA–2007–27333; 

FMCSA–2007–27515, 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 self-addressed, 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 

(65 FR 19476). This information is also 

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

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 104 / Tuesday, June 2, 2009 / Notices 26465 

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 29 individuals 

who have requested a renewal of their 

exemption 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: 

Gary A. Barrett 

Ivan L. Beal 

Johnny A. Beutler 

Daniel R. Brewer 

Darryl D. Cassatt 

Larry Chinn 

Brett L. Condon 

Albion C. Doe, Sr. 

William K. Gullet 

Daryl A. Jester 

James P. Jones 

Clyde H. Kitzan 

Larry J. Lang 

Spencer E. Leonard 

Dennis D. Lesperance 

John W. Locke 

Herman G. Lovell 

Ronald L. Maynard 

Donald G. Meyer 

William A. Moore, Jr. 

Earl R. Neugebauer 

Danny R. Pickelsimer 

Richard S. Rehbein 

Bernard E. Roche 

David E. Sanders 

David B. Speller 

Lynn D. Veach 

Harry S. Warren 

Michael C. Wines 

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 29 applicants has 

satisfied the entry conditions for 

obtaining an exemption from the vision 

requirements (63 FR 66226; 64 FR 

16517; 66 FR 17994; 68 FR 35772; 70 FR 

33937; 72 FR 32705; 65 FR 20245; 65 FR 

57230; 67 FR 57266; 65 FR 45817; 65 FR 

77066; 65 FR 78256; 66 FR 16311; 68 FR 

13360; 70 FR 25878; 72 FR 28093; 66 FR 

17743; 66 FR 33990; 68 FR 10301; 68 FR 

19596; 70 FR 25878; 68 FR 19598; 68 FR 

33570; 69 FR 64806; 70 FR 2705; 72 FR 

1056; 70 FR 2701; 72 FR 16887; 70 FR 

17504; 70 FR 30997; 71 FR 63379; 72 FR 

1050; 72 FR 12666; 72 FR 25831; 72 FR 

21313; 72 FR 32703). 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 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 July 2, 

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 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 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: May 22, 2009. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy and 

Program Development. 

[FR Doc. E9–12774 Filed 6–1–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P