New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 15 - Department of Motor Vehicles › Chapter I - REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER › Subchapter A - DRIVER LICENSING AND TRAINING › Part 6 - SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BUS DRIVERS › Biennial Procedures for Motor Carriers › Section 6.10 - Physical qualifications for drivers to be considered in initial pre-employment and subsequent biennial physical examinations

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
NOTE:
New York State Department of Education requires all
						elementary and secondary school bus drivers to have an annual medical
						examination. Drivers must comply with all rules and regulations promulgated by
						such department.
(a) A person shall
					 not drive a bus unless he or she is physically qualified to do so.
(b) A person is physically qualified to drive
					 a bus if he or she:
(1) is certified as
					 medically qualified pursuant to this Part. An employer may require that a
					 driver undergo the examination required by this section upon return to work
					 following an injury or illness which may interfere with the ability of such
					 driver to operate and control a bus safely in conformance with his or her job
					 duties;
(2) has no established
					 medical history or clinical diagnosis of diabetes mellitus or if he or she has
					 an established medical or clinical diagnosis of diabetes mellitus which has
					 been stabilized by insulin therapy to the degree that her or his personal
					 physician can certify that such person has not had an incident of hyperglycemic
					 or hypoglycemic shock for a period of two years, or since the last physical
					 examination given pursuant to the requirements of this Part, whichever is
					 longer. However, the employee must remain under adequate medical supervision
					 and follow-up. The follow-up shall consist of written certification every six
					 months by the employee's personal physician that his or her condition has
					 remained stabilized and an incident of hyperglycemic or hypoglycemic shock has
					 not occurred since the last certification;
(3) has no current clinical diagnosis of
					 myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, coronary insufficiency, thrombosis, or
					 any other cardiovascular disease of a variety known to be accompanied by
					 syncope, dyspnea, collapse, or congestive cardiac failure. The person
					 conducting the examination shall make this determination in accordance with the
					 guidelines set forth in this section;
(4) has no established medical history or
					 clinical diagnosis of a respiratory dysfunction likely to interfere with the
					 ability to control and drive a bus safely;
(5) has no current clinical diagnosis of high
					 blood pressure likely to interfere with the ability to control and safely
					 operate a bus;
(6) has no
					 established medical history or clinical diagnosis of rheumatic, arthritic,
					 orthopedic, muscular, neuromuscular, or vascular disease which interferes with
					 the ability to control and safely operate a bus;
(7) has no established medical history or
					 clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition which is likely to cause
					 loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to control and safely operate a
					 bus;
(8) has no mental, nervous,
					 organic, or functional disease of psychiatric disorder likely to interfere with
					 the ability to control and safely operate a bus;
(9)
(i) has
					 distant visual acuity of at least 20/40 (Snellen) in each eye with or 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;
(ii) a waiver of the
					 vision standards of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph may be given to a bus
					 driver, except a school bus driver, whenever such person has obtained a valid
					 waiver of the vision standard from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
					 Such waiver shall be valid for the same period of time specified in the waiver
					 issued by the FHWA;
(iii) the
					 operator of a school bus subject to the regulations of the Commissioner of
					 Education must meet all of the vision requirements as set forth in subparagraph
					 (i) of this paragraph;
(10) first perceives a forced whispered voice
					 in the better ear at not less than five feet with or without the use of a
					 hearing aid or, if tested by use of an audiometric device, does not have an
					 average hearing loss in the better ear greater than 40 decibels at 500 Hz,
					 1,000 Hz, and 2,000 Hz with or without a hearing aid when the audiometric
					 device is calibrated to American National Standard (formerly ASA Standard)
					 Z24.5-1951;
(11) does not use an
					 amphetamine, narcotic, or any habit-forming drug; and
(12) has no current clinical diagnosis of
					 alcoholism.