47296 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 195 / Wednesday, October 11, 2017 / Notices 

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 

http://www.regulations.gov and in the 

search box insert the docket number 

FMCSA–2016–0004 and click the search 

button. When the new screen appears, 

click on the blue ‘‘Comment Now!’’ 

button on the right hand side of the 

page. On the new page, enter 

information required including the 

specific section of this document to 

which each comment applies, and 

provide a reason for each suggestion or 

recommendation. 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, selfaddressed postcard or envelope. 

We will consider all comments and 

materials received during the comment 

period. FMCSA may issue a final 

determination any time after the close of 

the comment period. 

IV. Viewing Comments and Documents 

To view comments, as well as any 

documents mentioned in this preamble, 

go to http://www.regulations.gov and in 

the search box insert the docket number 

FMCSA–2016–0004 and click ‘‘Search.’’ 

Next, click ‘‘Open Docket Folder’’ and 

you will find all documents and 

comments related to this notice. 

Issued on: October 2, 2017. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21896 Filed 10–10–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2017–0020] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Vision 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of final disposition. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its 

decision to exempt 11 individuals from 

the vision requirement in the Federal 

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations 

(FMCSRs) to operate a commercial 

motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate 

commerce. They are unable to meet the 

vision requirement in one eye for 

various reasons. The exemptions enable 

these individuals to operate CMVs in 

interstate commerce without meeting 

the vision requirement in one eye. 

DATES: The exemptions were applicable 

on August 25, 2017. The exemptions 

expire on August 25, 2019. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Christine A. Hydock, Chief, Medical 

Programs Division, (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., e.t., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. If you have 

questions regarding viewing or 

submitting material to the docket, 

contact Docket Services, telephone (202) 

366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Electronic Access 

You may see all the comments online 

through the Federal Document 

Management System (FDMS) at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments, go to http://

www.regulations.gov and/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., e.t., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 

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

from the public to better inform its 

rulemaking process. DOT posts these 

comments, without edit, including any 

personal information the commenter 

provides, to http://www.regulations.gov, 

as described in the system of records 

notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can 

be reviewed at http://www.dot.gov/ 

privacy. 

II. Background 

On July 25, 2017, FMCSA published 

a notice announcing receipt of 

applications from 11 individuals 

requesting an exemption from vision 

requirement in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10) 

and requested comments from the 

public (82 FR 34564). The public 

comment period ended on August 24, 

2017, and no comments were received. 

FMCSA has evaluated the eligibility 

of these applicants and determined that 

granting the exemptions to these 

individuals would achieve a level of 

safety equivalent to or greater than the 

level that would be achieved by 

complying with the current regulation 

49 CFR 391.41(b)(10). 

The physical qualification standard 

for drivers regarding vision found in 49 

CFR 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 a 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 red, 

green, and amber. 

III. Discussion of Comments 

FMCSA received no comments in this 

proceeding. 

IV. Basis for Exemption Determination 

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

FMCSA may grant an exemption from 

the vision standard in 49 CFR 

391.41(b)(10) if the exemption is likely 

to achieve an equivalent or greater level 

of safety than would be achieved 

without the exemption. The exemption 

allows applicants to operate CMVs in 

interstate commerce. 

The Agency’s decision regarding these 

exemption applications is based on 

medical reports about the applicants’ 

vision as well as their driving records 

and experience driving with the vision 

deficiency. The qualifications, 

experience, and medical condition of 

each applicant were stated and 

discussed in detail in the July 25, 2017, 

Federal Register notice (82 FR 34564) 

and will not be repeated in this notice. 

FMCSA recognizes that some drivers 

do not meet the vision requirement but 

have adapted their driving to 

accommodate their limitation and 

demonstrated their ability to drive 

safely. The 11 exemption applicants 

listed in this notice are in this category. 

They are unable to meet the vision 

requirement in one eye for various 

reasons, including amblyopia, 

enucleated eye, pars planitis, prosthetic 

eye, and retinal detachment. In most 

cases, their eye conditions were not 

recently developed. Nine of the 

applicants were either born with their 

vision impairments or have had them 

since childhood. The two individuals 

that sustained their vision conditions as 

adults have had it for a range of six to 

nine years. Although each applicant has 

one eye which does not meet the vision 

requirement in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10), 

each has at least 20/40 corrected vision 

in the other eye, and in a doctor’s 

opinion, has sufficient vision to perform 

all the tasks necessary to operate a CMV. 

Doctors’ opinions are supported by 

the applicants’ possession of a valid 

license to operate a CMV. By meeting 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 195 / Wednesday, October 11, 2017 / Notices 47297 

State licensing requirements, the 

applicants demonstrated their ability to 

operate a CMV, with their limited vision 

in intrastate commerce, even though 

their vision disqualified them from 

driving in interstate commerce. We 

believe that the applicants’ intrastate 

driving experience and history provide 

an adequate basis for predicting their 

ability to drive safely in interstate 

commerce. Intrastate driving, like 

interstate operations, involves 

substantial driving on highways on the 

interstate system and on other roads 

built to interstate standards. Moreover, 

driving in congested urban areas 

exposes the driver to more pedestrian 

and vehicular traffic than exists on 

interstate highways. Faster reaction to 

traffic and traffic signals is generally 

required because distances between 

them are more compact. These 

conditions tax visual capacity and 

driver response just as intensely as 

interstate driving conditions. 

The applicants in this notice have 

driven CMVs with their limited vision 

in careers ranging for three to 40 years. 

In the past three years, one driver was 

involved in a crash, and no drivers were 

convicted of moving violations in 

CMVs. All the applicants achieved a 

record of safety while driving with their 

vision impairment, demonstrating the 

likelihood that they have adapted their 

driving skills to accommodate their 

condition. As the applicants’ ample 

driving histories with their vision 

deficiencies are good predictors of 

future performance, FMCSA concludes 

their ability to drive safely can be 

projected into the future. 

Consequently, FMCSA finds that in 

each case exempting these applicants 

from the vision requirement in 49 CFR 

391.41(b)(10) is likely to achieve a level 

of safety equal to that existing without 

the exemption. 

V. Conditions and Requirements 

The terms and conditions of the 

exemption are provided to the 

applicants in the exemption document 

and includes the following: (1) Each 

driver must 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 certified Medical Examiner who 

attests that the individual is otherwise 

physically qualified under 49 CFR 

391.41; (2) each driver must 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) each 

driver must 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 

self-employed. The driver must also 

have a copy of the exemption when 

driving, for presentation to a duly 

authorized Federal, State, or local 

enforcement official. 

VI. Preemption 

During the period the exemption is in 

effect, no State shall enforce any law or 

regulation that conflicts with this 

exemption with respect to a person 

operating under the exemption. 

VII. Conclusion 

Based upon its evaluation of the 11 

exemption applications, FMCSA 

exempts the following drivers from the 

vision requirement, 49 CFR 

391.41(b)(10), subject to the 

requirements cited above: 

Michael T. Allen (AZ) 

Robert F. Anneheim (NC) 

Ray C. Atkinson (TN) 

Joseph Cuthbert (PA) 

Kent W. Fulp (NC) 

Edward P. Hutton (ID) 

Stephen McLaren (TN) 

Robert E. Richards (ME) 

James R. Robinette (VA) 

James Tucker (TN) 

Alvin White (TN) 

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

and 31315, each exemption will be valid 

for two years from the effective date 

unless revoked earlier by FMCSA. The 

exemption will be revoked if the 

following occurs: (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 prior to being granted; 

or (3) continuation of the exemption 

would not be consistent with the goals 

and objectives of 49 U.S.C. 31136 and 

31315. 

Issued on: October 2, 2017. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21893 Filed 10–10–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2017–0019] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Vision 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of final disposition. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its 

decision to exempt 12 individuals from 

the vision requirement in the Federal 

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations 

(FMCSRs) to operate a commercial 

motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate 

commerce. They are unable to meet the 

vision requirement in one eye for 

various reasons. The exemptions enable 

these individuals to operate CMVs in 

interstate commerce without meeting 

the vision requirement in one eye. 

DATES: The exemptions were applicable 

on August 29, 2017. The exemptions 

expire on August 29, 2019. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Christine A. Hydock, Chief, Medical 

Programs Division, (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., e.t., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. If you have 

questions regarding viewing or 

submitting material to the docket, 

contact Docket Services, telephone (202) 

366–9826. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Electronic Access 

You may see all the comments online 

through the Federal Document 

Management System (FDMS) at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments, go to http://

www.regulations.gov and/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., e.t., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 

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

from the public to better inform its 

rulemaking process. DOT posts these 

comments, without edit, including any 

personal information the commenter 

provides, to http://www.regulations.gov, 

as described in the system of records 

notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can 

be reviewed at http://www.dot.gov/ 

privacy. 

II. Background 

On July 27, 2017, FMCSA published 

a notice announcing receipt of 

applications from 12 individuals 

requesting an exemption from vision 

requirement in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10) 

and requested comments from the 

public (82 FR 35043). The public 

comment period ended on August 28, 

2017, and no comments were received. 

FMCSA has evaluated the eligibility 

of these applicants and determined that 


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