Qualification of Drivers; Application for Exemptions; Hearing |
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Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
April 8, 2015
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 8, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18926-18928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08062]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2013-0121; FMCSA-2013-0122; FMCSA-2013-0123]
Qualification of Drivers; Application for Exemptions; Hearing
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of final disposition.
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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces its decision to grant requests from 39
individuals for exemptions from the Agency's physical qualifications
standard concerning hearing for interstate drivers. The current
regulation prohibits hearing impaired individuals from operating CMVs
in interstate commerce. After notice and opportunity for public
comment, the Agency concluded that granting exemptions for these
drivers to operate property-carrying CMVs will provide a level of
safety that is equivalent to or greater than the level of safety
maintained without the exemptions. The exemptions are valid for a 2-
year period and may be renewed, and the exemptions preempt State laws
and regulations.
DATES: The exemptions are effective April 8, 2015. The exemptions
expire on April 10, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles A. Horan, III, Director,
Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety, (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 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. 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 www.regulations.gov, as described in the
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
www.dot.gov/privacy.
B. Background
Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, FMCSA may grant an exemption
from the safety regulations for a 2-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 statute also allows the Agency to renew exemptions at
the end of the 2-year period. 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 grants 39 individuals an exemption from Sec. 391.41(b)(11)
concerning hearing to enable them to operate property-carrying CMVs in
interstate commerce for a 2-year period. The Agency's decision on these
exemption applications is based on the current medical literature and
information and the ``Executive Summary on Hearing, Vestibular Function
and Commercial Motor Driving Safety'' (the 2008 Evidence Report)
presented to FMCSA on August 26, 2008. The evidence report reached two
conclusions regarding the matter of hearing loss and CMV driver safety:
(1) No studies that examined the relationship between hearing loss and
crash risk exclusively among CMV
[[Page 18927]]
drivers were identified; and (2) evidence from studies of the private
driver license holder population does not support the contention that
individuals with hearing impairment are at an increased risk for a
crash. In addition, the Agency reviewed each applicant's driving record
found in the CDLIS,\1\ for CDL holders, and inspections recorded in
MCMIS.\2\ For non-CDL holders, the Agency reviewed the driving records
from the State licensing agency. Each applicant's record demonstrated a
safe driving history. The Agency believes the drivers covered by the
exemptions do not pose a risk to public safety.
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\1\ Commercial Driver License Information System (CDLIS) is an
information system that allows the exchange of commercial driver
licensing information among all the States. CDLIS includes the
databases of 51 licensing jurisdictions and the CDLIS Central Site,
all connected by a telecommunications network.
\2\ Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) is an
information system that captures data from field offices through
SAFETYNET, CAPRI, and other sources. It is a source for FMCSA
inspection, crash, compliance review, safety audit, and registration
data.
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C. Comments
FMCSA announced the exemption applications and requested public
comment for each of the applicants in one of the notices below. For
those applicants discussed in a previous notice but who are not
mentioned in this notice, the Agency announced its decision in a
previous notice.
Docket # FMCSA-2013-0121
On May 3, 2013, FMCSA published a notice of receipt of exemption
applications and requested public comment on 9 individuals. The comment
period ended on June 3, 2013. In response to the notice, FMCSA received
three comments. All three commenters support the idea of granting
exemptions.
Docket # FMCSA-2013-0122
On May 6, 2013, FMCSA published a notice of receipt of exemption
applications and requested public comment on 16 individuals. The
comment period ended on June 5, 2013. In response to the notice, FMCSA
received four comments. All four commenters support the idea of
granting exemptions.
Docket # FMCSA-2013-0123
On July 16, 2013, FMCSA published a notice of receipt of exemption
applications and requested public comment on 27 individuals. The
comment period ended on August 15, 2013. In response to the notice,
FMCSA received seven comments. All seven commenters support the idea of
granting exemptions.
D. Exemptions Granted
Following individualized assessments of the exemption applications,
FMCSA grants exemptions from 49 CFR 391.41(b)(11) to 39 individuals.
Under current FMCSA regulations, all of the 39 drivers receiving
exemptions from 49 CFR 391.41(b)(11) would have been considered
physically qualified to drive a CMV in interstate commerce except that
they do not meet the hearing requirement. FMCSA has determined that the
following 39 applicants should be granted an exemption:
Andrew Alcozer
Mr. Alcozer, 30, holds an operator's license from Illinois.
James Allen
Mr. Allen, 47, holds an operator's license from Vermont.
Michael Beebe
Mr. Beebe, 51, holds an operator's license from New Jersey.
Shayne Bumbalough
Mr. Bumbalough, 41, holds an operator's license from Washington.
Barry Carpenter
Mr. Carpenter, 57, holds an operator's license from South Dakota.
Gregorio Cerino-Perez
Mr. Cerino-Perez, 36, holds an operator's license from Virginia.
Charles Cofield
Mr. Cofield, 37, holds an operator's license from Mississippi.
Chase Cook
Mr. Cook, 31, holds an operator's license from Virginia.
Barry Crisman
Mr. Crisman, 53, holds an operator's license from California.
Michael Desarmeaux
Mr. Desarmeaux, 53, holds an operator's license from Ohio.
Robert Douglas
Mr. Douglas, 47, holds an operator's license from California.
William Faulk
Mr. Faulk, 33, holds an operator's license from Alabama.
Michael Fuller
Mr. Fuller, 30, holds an operator's license from North Carolina.
Daniel Grossinger
Mr. Grossinger, 27, holds an operator's license from Maryland.
Gregory Hill
Mr. Hill, 38, holds an operator's license from Mississippi.
Kyle Hornung
Mr. Hornung, 25, holds an operator's license from Wisconsin.
Ronald Jardine
Mr. Jardine, 60, holds an operator's license from New Jersey.
Michael Jenkins
Mr. Jenkins, 33, holds an operator's license from Virginia.
Roman Landa
Mr. Landa, 37, holds an operator's license from California.
Bryan Macfarlane
Mr. Macfarlane, 33, holds an operator's license from Vermont.
Aminder Malhi
Mr. Malhi, 25, holds an operator's license from California.
Mark Martin
Mr. Martin, 60, holds an operator's license from Michigan.
Joshua Moothart
Mr. Moothart, 36, holds an operator's license from Oregon.
Robert Munson
Mr. Munson, 63, holds an operator's license from New Jersey.
Jayson Lawson
Mr. Lawson, 39, holds an operator's license from Arkansas.
Albert Nicholson
Mr. Nicholson, 43, holds an operator's license from New Mexico.
Darren Nordquist
Mr. Nordquist, 46, holds an operator's license from Wisconsin.
Edwin Oakes II
Mr. Oakes, 44, holds an operator's license from New York.
Jeffrey Pagenkopf
Mr. Pagenkopf, 30, holds an operator's license from Minnesota.
Jacob Paullin
Mr. Paullin, 38, holds an operator's license from Wisconsin.
Ryan Pope
Mr. Pope, 37, holds an operator's license from California.
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Thomas Potterfield
Mr. Potterfield, 31, holds an operator's license from South
Carolina.
Thomas Prickett
Mr. Prickett, 45, holds an operator's license from Minnesota.
Fernando Ramirez-Savon
Mr. Ramirez-Savon, 45, holds a class A commercial driver's license
from New Mexico.
Ralph Reno
Mr. Reno, 43, holds an operator's license from Pennsylvania.
Ronald Rutter
Mr. Rutter, 50, holds an operator's license from Arizona.
Russell Smith
Mr. Smith, 44, holds an operator's license from Ohio.
James Weir
Mr. Weir, 41, holds an operator's license from Washington.
Billy White
Mr. White, 42, holds an operator's license from Texas.
E. Basis For Exemption
Under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315, FMCSA may grant an exemption
from the hearing standard in 49 CFR 391.41(b)(11) if the exemption is
likely to achieve an equivalent or greater level of safety than would
be achieved without the exemption. With the exemption, applicants can
drive in interstate commerce. Thus, the Agency's analysis focuses on
whether an equal or greater level of safety is likely to be achieved by
permitting each of these drivers to drive in interstate commerce as
opposed to restricting him or her to driving in intrastate commerce.
The driver must comply with the terms and conditions of the exemption.
This includes reporting any crashes or accidents as defined in 49 CFR
390.5 and reporting all citations and convictions for disqualifying
offenses under 49 CFR part 383 and 49 CFR 391.
Conclusion
The Agency is granting exemptions from the hearing standard, 49 CFR
391.41(b)(11), to 39 individuals based on an evaluation of each
driver's safety experience. Safety analysis of information relating to
these 39 applicants meets the burden of showing that granting the
exemptions would achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to or
greater than the level that would be achieved without the exemption. By
granting the exemptions, the CMV industry will gain 39 additional CMV
drivers. In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315, each exemption will be
valid for 2 years from the effective date with annual recertification
required 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.
FMCSA exempts the following 39 drivers for a period of 2 years from
the physical qualification standard concerning hearing: Andrew Alcozer
(IL); James Allen (VT); Michael Beebe (NJ); Shayne Bumbalough (WA);
Barry Carpenter (SD); Gregorio Cerino-Perez (VA); Charles Cofield (MS);
Chase Cook (VA); Barry Crisman (CA); Michael Desarmeaux (OH); Robert
Douglas (CA); William Faulk (AL); Michael Fuller (NC); Daniel
Grossinger (MD); Gregory Hill (MS); Kyle Hornung (WI); Ronald Jardine
(NJ); Michael Jenkins (VA); Roman Landa (CA); Bryan Macfarlane (VT);
Aminder Malhi (CA); Mark Martin (MI); Joshua Moothart (OR); Robert
Munson (NJ); Jayson Lawson (AR); Albert Nicholson (NM); Darren
Nordquist (WI); Edwin Oakes II (NY); Jeffrey Pagenkopf (MN); Jacob
Paullin (WI); Ryan Pope (CA); Thomas Potterfield (SC); Thomas Prickett
(MN); Fernando Ramirez-Savon (NM); Ralph Reno (PA); Ronald Rutter (AZ);
Russell Smith (OH); James Weir (WA); and Billy White (TX).
Dated: April 2, 2015.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2015-08062 Filed 4-7-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P