Qualification of Drivers; Exemption Applications; Vision

Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
August 12, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 155 (Tuesday, August 12, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47175-47176]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19077]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2014-0006]


Qualification of Drivers; Exemption Applications; Vision

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of final disposition.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA confirms its decision to exempt 34 individuals from the 
vision requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations 
(FMCSRs). They are unable to meet the vision requirement in one eye for 
various reasons. The exemptions allow these individuals to operate 
commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce without meeting 
the prescribed vision requirement in one eye.

DATES: The new exemptions are effective July 22, 2014. All exemptions 
expire two years from the effective date.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elaine M. Papp, Chief, Medical 
Programs Division, 202-366-4001, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
FMCSA, 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 FOR NEW EXEMPTIONS:

Electronic Access

    You may see all the comments related to new exemptions discussed in 
this docket online through the Federal Document Management System 
(FDMS) at: http://www.regulations.gov.
    Docket: For access to the dockets 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., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.
    Privacy Act: Anyone may search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of DOT's 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, or other 
entity). You may review DOT's Privacy Act Statement for the Federal 
Docket Management System (FDMS) published in the Federal Register on 
January 17, 2008 (73 FR 3316).

Background

    FMCSA has published notices of receipt of Federal vision exemption 
applications and its intent to grant the exemptions. The Agency also 
requested comments from the public. The comment period closed 30 days 
after the publication date, and the exemptions were issued 1 day after 
the comment period closed.
    FMCSA evaluated the eligibility of the drivers 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

[[Page 47176]]

achieved by complying with the current regulation 49 CFR 391.41(b)(10).
    The determining criteria for and the conditions and requirements of 
the exemptions, to which all exempted drivers are subject, were 
discussed in detail when the docket was originally published (79 FR 
35212). As always, any adverse comments that come in after the 
exemption is granted will be evaluated, and if they indicate that the 
driver is not achieving a level of safety equivalent to, or greater 
than, the level of safety that would be obtained by complying with the 
regulation, the exemption will be revoked. When granted, the exemptions 
will enable these individuals with vision deficiencies in one eye to 
operate in interstate commerce.

 Exemptions Granted

    The following 34 individuals are included in Docket No. FMCSA-2014-
0006 (79 FR 35212), originally published on June 19, 2014:

Abdullahi M. Abukar (KY)
Gregory K. Banister (SC)
Amanuel W. Behon (WA)
Oscar N. Bolton (OH)
Kenneth W. Bos (MN)
Jerry W. Brinson (GA)
Michael C. Brown (IN)
Larry O. Burr (WI)
Brian L. Elliot (MO)
Juneau A. Faulkner (GA)
Gregory E. Gage (IA)
Robert Hall III (NC)
Bradley C. Hansell (OR)
Andrew P. Hawkins (SC)
Daniel Hollins (KY)
Clarence H. Jacobsma (IN)
Samuel L. Klaphake (MN)
Timothy L. Klose (PA)
Phillip E. Mason (MO)
David P. Monti (NJ)
Timothy L. Morton (NC)
Larry G. Nikkel (WA)
Kenneth A. Orrino (WA)
Ruel W. Reed (NC)
Jose L. Sanchez (IL)
Nicholas J. Schiltgen (MN)
Warren J. Shatzer (PA)
Loren A. Smith (SD)
Harlan L. Sugars (IA)
Seth D. Sweeten (ID)
George R. Tieskoetter (IA)
Ronald L. Weiss (MN)
John T. White, Jr. (NC)
Henry P. Wurtz (SD),

    The public comment period for this docket closed on July 21, 2014, 
and the exemptions were issued and effective on July 22, 2014. The 
exemptions will expire two years from the effective date on July 22, 
2016.
    FMCSA received no comments in this proceeding.

     Issued on: August 4, 2014.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2014-19077 Filed 8-11-14; 8:45 am]
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