[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 87 (Monday, May 6, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26417-26419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10668]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2013-0122]
Qualification of Drivers; Application for Exemptions; Hearing
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of applications for exemptions; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that 16 individuals have applied for a medical
exemption from the hearing requirement in the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). In accordance with the statutory
requirements concerning applications for exemptions, FMCSA requests
public comments on these requests. The statute and implementing
regulations concerning exemptions require that exemptions must provide
an equivalent or greater level of safety than if they were not granted.
If the Agency determines the exemptions would satisfy the statutory
requirements and decides to grant theses requests after reviewing the
public comments submitted in response
[[Page 26418]]
to this notice, the exemptions would enable 16 individuals to operate
CMVs in interstate commerce.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 5, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Docket No. FMCSA-2013-0122] 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: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Instructions: Each submission must include the Agency name and the
docket numbers for this notice. Note that all comments received will be
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading below
for further information.
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., ET, 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 DOT's Privacy Act Statement for the FDMS published in
the Federal Register on January 17, 2008 (73 FR 3316), or you may visit
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-785.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elaine M. Papp, Chief Medical
Programs, (202) 366-4001, [email protected], 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
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has authority to
grant exemptions from many of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations (FMCSRs) under 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), as amended by
Section 4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
(TEA- 21) (Pub. L. 105-178, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 107, 401). FMCSA
has published in 49 CFR part 381, subpart C final rules implementing
the statutory changes in its exemption procedures made by section 4007,
69 FR 51589 (August 20, 2004).\1\ Under the rules in part 381, subpart
C, FMCSA must publish a notice of each exemption request in the Federal
Register. The Agency must provide the public with an opportunity to
inspect the information relevant to the application, including any
safety analyses that have been conducted and any research reports,
technical papers and other publications referenced in the application.
The Agency must also provide an opportunity to submit public comment on
the applications for exemption.
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\1\ This action adopted as final rules the interim final rules
issued by FMCSA's predecessor in 1998 (63 FR 67600 (Dec. 8, 2008)),
and adopted by FMCSA in 2001 (66 FR 49867 (Oct. 1, 2001)).
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The Agency reviews the safety analyses and the public comments and
determines whether granting the exemption would likely achieve a level
of safety equivalent to or greater than the level that would be
achieved without the exemption. The decision of the Agency must be
published in the Federal Register. If the Agency denies the request, it
must state the reason for doing so. If the decision is to grant the
exemption, the notice must specify the person or class of persons
receiving the exemption and the regulatory provision or provisions from
which an exemption is granted. The notice must also specify the
effective period of the exemption (up to 2 years) and explain the terms
and conditions of the exemption. The exemption may be renewed.
The current provisions of the FMCSRs concerning hearing state that
a person is physically qualified to drive a CMV if that person
First perceives a forced whispered voice in the better ear at not
less than 5 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.
49 CFR 391.41(b)(11). This standard was adopted in 1970, with a
revision in 1971 to allow drivers to be qualified under this standard
while wearing a hearing aid, 35 FR 6458, 6463 (April 22, 1970) and 36
FR 12857 (July 3, 1971).
FMCSA also issues instructions for completing the medical
examination report and includes advisory criteria on the report itself
to provide guidance for medical examiners in applying the hearing
standard. See 49 CFR 391.43(f). The current advisory criteria for the
hearing standard include a reference to a report entitled ``Hearing
Disorders and Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers'' prepared for the
Federal Highway Administration, FMCSA's predecessor, in 1993.\2\
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\2\ This report is available on the FMCSA Web site at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts-research/research-technology/publications/medreport_archives.htm.
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FMCSA Requests Comments on the Exemption Applications
FMCSA requests comments from all interested parties on whether a
driver who cannot meet the hearing standard should be permitted to
operate a CMV in interstate commerce. Further, the Agency asks for
comments on whether a driver who cannot meet the hearing standard
should be limited to operating only certain types of vehicles in
interstate commerce, for example, vehicles without air brakes. The
statute and implementing regulations concerning exemptions require that
the Agency request public comments on all applications for exemptions.
The Agency is also required to make a determination that an exemption
would likely achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or
greater than, the level that would be achieved absent such exemption
before granting any such requests. 49 U.S.C.
Information on Individual Applicants
Andrew Alcozer
Mr. Alcozer holds a driver's license from Illinois. He would like
to drive a CMV in interstate commerce, if he is granted an exemption.
Shayne Bumbalough
Mr. Bumbalough holds a driver's license from Washington. He would
like to drive a CMV in interstate commerce, if he is granted an
exemption.
[[Page 26419]]
Barry Carpenter
Mr. Carpenter holds a driver's license from South Dakota. He would
like to drive a CMV in interstate commerce, if he is granted an
exemption.
Charles Cofield
Mr. Cofield holds a driver's license from Mississippi. He would
like to drive an 18-wheeler in interstate commerce, if he is granted an
exemption.
Chase Cook
Mr. Cook holds a driver's license from Virginia. He would like to
drive a CMV in interstate commerce, if he is granted an exemption.
Jerry Ferguson
Mr. Ferguson holds a class A Commercial driver's license (CDL) from
Texas. He would like to drive a CMV in interstate commerce, if he is
granted an exemption.
Michael Fuller
Mr. Fuller holds a driver's license from North Carolina. He would
like to drive a semi-truck in interstate commerce, if he is granted an
exemption.
Anthony Gray
Mr. Gray holds a class A Commercial driver's license (CDL) from
Kentucky. He would like to drive a CMV in interstate commerce, if he is
granted an exemption.
Kyle Hornung
Mr. Hornung holds a driver's license from Wisconsin. He would like
to drive a CMV in interstate commerce, if he is granted an exemption.
Valerie Johnson
Ms. Johnson holds a class B Commercial driver's license (CDL) from
California. She would like to drive a CMV in interstate commerce, if
she is granted an exemption.
Bryan Macfarlane
Mr. Macfarlane holds a driver's license from Vermont. He would like
to drive a semi-truck in interstate commerce, if he is granted an
exemption.
Robert Munson
Mr. Munson holds a driver's license from New Jersey. He would like
to drive a CMV with air brakes in interstate commerce, if he is granted
an exemption.
Edwin Oakes, II
Mr. Oakes holds a driver's license from New York. He would like to
drive a CMV in interstate commerce, if he is granted an exemption.
Thomas Prickett
Mr. Prickett holds a driver's license from Minnesota. He would like
to drive a CMV in interstate commerce, if he is granted an exemption.
James Schubin
Mr. Schubin holds a class A Commercial driver's license (CDL) from
California. He would like to drive a CMV in interstate commerce, if he
is granted an exemption.
Russell L. Smith
Mr. Smith holds a driver's license from Ohio. He would like to
drive a CMV in interstate commerce, if he is granted an exemption.
Request for Comments
In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315(b)(4), 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 June 5, 2013. 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: April 29, 2013.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2013-10668 Filed 5-3-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P