[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 166 (Monday, August 29, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51001-51002]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17102]



[[Page 51001]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 391

[Docket No. FHWA-97-2267 Formerly MC 96-4]
RIN 2126-AA05


Physical Qualification of Drivers; Vision Standard

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM); withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA (formerly the Federal Highway Administration's Office of 
Motor Carriers) withdraws its 1992 advance notice of proposed 
rulemaking (ANPRM) on the vision standard for commercial motor vehicle 
drivers in interstate commerce. The agency sought comment on whether it 
should revise its driver qualification requirements relating to the 
vision standard, including visual acuity, field of vision and color 
perception. After reviewing the public comments received in response to 
the ANPRM, the agency believes there is insufficient data to support 
moving forward with a proposal to change the vision standard at this 
time. FMCSA has long term plans to reevaluate all of its commercial 
driver health standards and guidelines and will review the current 
vision standard at that time.

DATES: The ANPRM with request for comments published on February 28, 
1992, is withdrawn effective immediately.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Mary D. Gunnels, Chief, Physical 
Qualifications Division (MC-PSP), (202) 366-4001, Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is 
authorized by statute to establish minimum qualification requirements 
for drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. 
This authority was originally granted to the Interstate Commerce 
Commission (ICC) in the Motor Carrier Act of 1935,\1\ and then 
transferred to the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1966 when the 
Department was created.\2\
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    \1\ Motor Carrier Act of 1935 (49 U.S.C. 31502(b)).
    \2\ Department of Transportation Act, Sec. 6(e)(6)(C), Pub. L. 
89-670, 80 Stat. 931, at 939.
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    In 1984,\3\ Congress further directed the Secretary to establish 
minimum safety standards to ensure ``the physical condition of 
operators of commercial motor vehicles is adequate to enable them to 
operate such vehicles safely * * *.''
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    \3\ Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 (49 U.S.C. 31136(a)(3)).
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    In several of the congressional committee reports for the Americans 
with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA),\4\ Congress expressly stated that 
while it expected persons who wish to drive CMVs to meet Federal 
Highway Administration (FHWA) minimum physical qualification standards, 
it expected FHWA to review its standards in light of the ADA within 2 
years of its enactment.
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    \4\ Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) (42 U.S.C. 
12101, Pub. L. 101-336, 104 Stat. 327).
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Efforts To Reassess the Vision Standard

    The agency has used considerable resources in assessing its 
requirements for driver vision. The principal agency initiatives were 
the Ketron Panel (1991), an ANPRM requesting comments on the vision 
standard (1992), the FHWA Vision Research Plan (1996), and the Berson 
Panel (1997-98). Each is discussed briefly below.
    Ketron Panel. In the early 1990s, FHWA began examining the 
relationship between visual disorders and the performance of CMV 
drivers. In 1991, FHWA retained Ketron, a division of the Bionetics 
Corporation, to analyze this issue. The study had four objectives: (1) 
To assess the basis for the current vision standard, (2) to define the 
acceptable level of vision for CMV drivers, (3) to recommend revised 
vision tests if needed, and (4) to assess the risk associated with 
establishing objective measurements of visual acuity, field of vision 
(FOV), and color perception.
    The Ketron Panel recommended clarifying the horizontal FOV standard 
in Sec.  391.41(b)(10). FOV refers to the ability to see peripherally 
and measures the ability to detect the presence of an object or shape 
in the periphery without moving the head or eyes.
    Individuals tested for FOV focus on a point directly in front of 
them. It could be a spot on the wall. It is referred to as the ``point 
of fixation.'' The individual is directed not to move his or her head 
or eyes at any time during the test. An object is then presented at 
several locations in the periphery, one at a time, at irregular 
intervals, and at varying angles, from the eye of the individual. The 
individual signals the examiner when he or she first detects the 
object. The various points at which the object is detected are noted, 
and formal measurement is made in degrees. Normal horizontal FOV in 
each eye is 60 degrees inward toward the nose, and 100 to 110 degrees 
outward toward the ear, or a total of 160 to 170 degrees.
    In a rule adopted in 1952, the ICC required CMV drivers to have a 
horizontal FOV of at least 140 degrees.\5\ Responsibility for motor 
carrier safety activities, including establishment of driver physical 
qualification standards, was transferred to the FHWA in 1966. In a 1970 
final rule,\6\ FHWA changed the horizontal FOV standard to 70 degrees 
in each eye. Other than a general statement that the physical 
qualification requirements for drivers were being changed based upon 
``discussions with the Administration's medical advisors,'' the 1970 
final rule provided no insight into why the agency changed the FOV 
standard from 140 degrees in each eye, to 70 degrees in each eye. The 
1969 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) \7\ did not mention a 
proposed FOV standard change at all.
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    \5\ 49 CFR 191.2(b), 17 FR 4422, at 4425, May 15, 1952.
    \6\ ``Qualifications of Drivers of Commercial Motor Vehicles,'' 
35 FR 6463, April 22, 1970, effective January 1, 1971.
    \7\ ``Qualifications of Drivers,'' 34 FR 9084, June 7, 1969.
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    Ketron concluded the 1971 amendment to the vision standard had 
misstated the appropriate minimum horizontal FOV. Ketron recommended 
the horizontal FOV be at least 120 degrees in each eye. However, the 
Ketron Report included no data indicating a driver with a horizontal 
FOV less than 120 degrees in each eye is at greater risk for CMV crash 
involvement or a link between diminished FOV and higher probability of 
crash involvement.
    Request for Comments on the Vision Standard. On February 28, 1992, 
FHWA published an ANPRM \8\ requesting comment on whether the vision 
standard for drivers should be revised. The agency believed a review of 
the vision standard was appropriate in light of medical, scientific, 
and technological advances. The ANPRM also was in response to enactment 
of the ADA. The agency's review of the vision standard was part of the 
review of CMV driver physical qualification standards recommended in 
several congressional committee reports accompanying the ADA. The ANPRM 
asked 14 specific questions on the vision standard,

[[Page 51002]]

including whether the current 70-degree horizontal FOV standard should 
remain. Readers were advised medical experts believe 120 degrees in 
each eye is the appropriate standard and asked to comment on the FOV 
standard, specifically on the effect devices such as mirrors might have 
on assisting persons with restricted FOV.
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    \8\ ``Qualifications of Drivers; Vision,'' 57 FR 6793.
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    There were approximately 100 comments to the ANPRM. The majority of 
the commenters discussed concerns about the proposed FHWA Federal 
vision exemption program, as well as key issues and research related to 
monocular vision and visual acuity testing.
    A small group of commenters focused specifically on field of 
vision. Three commenters were physicians who directly addressed 
discrepancies in the FOV standards. Other commenters included two State 
agencies, several safety advocate organizations, the American Trucking 
Associations and the American Optometric Association. This group of 
commenters focused on the inadequacy of the FOV measurement, but no 
commenter offered data or relevant information to support changing this 
standard.
    FHWA Vision Research Plan. FHWA initiated a program to develop a 
vision research plan resulting in a complete list of visual performance 
parameters serving as the basis for a new CMV driver vision standard. 
In 1995, Star Mountain, Inc., under contract to the agency, conducted a 
literature review on this issue. FHWA also consulted with a panel of 
medical and technical experts to obtain their views on the design of 
the research plan.
    On June 5, 1996,\9\ FHWA requested public comment on its proposed 
vision research plan. On August 9, 1996, the agency held a public 
hearing on the subject in Chicago. FHWA evaluated the oral testimony 
and written comments and concluded the best course of action was to 
postpone vision research. First, it was generally agreed development of 
predictive vision tests would require substantial agency resources. 
Furthermore, validation of the tests could require using driving 
simulators, whose scientific validity was highly uncertain. FHWA also 
concluded it would need a large number of drivers to validate the new 
vision tests.
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    \9\ ``Proposed Research Plan on Vision Standard,'' 61 FR 28547, 
June 5, 1996.
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    Berson Panel. In September 1997, FHWA contracted with the Beth 
Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston to establish a panel of 
medical experts to develop medically-based recommendations for amending 
the current vision standard. The agency directed the panel to assess 
the FHWA vision standard and to make recommendations for changes, with 
specific limits to the scope of the panel's work:
     Recommendations must ensure drivers operating CMVs are 
physically qualified.
     Recommendations must be consistent with national policy 
objectives expressed in the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,\10\ 
as amended.
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    \10\ Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Pub. L. 93-112, 87 Stat. 355, 
September 26, 1973) (29 U.S.C. 681 et seq.).
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     Recommendations must be based on the most current 
technology in visual assessment.
     Recommendations should include any screening protocols 
found reliable for the examination of drivers.
     The panel must rely upon sound medical judgment concerning 
the demands placed on the eyes of drivers as they operate CMVs on a 
daily basis.
    The Berson Panel endorsed the Ketron Panel recommendation to change 
the horizontal FOV standard from 70 degrees in each eye to at least 120 
degrees in each eye. The Berson experts agreed the 70-degree FOV 
standard is insufficient. They cited the unique visual demands placed 
upon CMV drivers while stopping, accelerating, changing lanes, and 
responding to signage. The Berson experts believed the poor 
maneuverability of the typical CMV and the potential for severe injury 
and extensive property damage in a CMV crash justify a more stringent 
vision standard. Nevertheless, like the Ketron Panel Report, the Berson 
Report included no data indicating a driver with a horizontal FOV less 
than 120 degrees in each eye is at greater risk for CMV crash 
involvement or a link between diminished FOV and higher probability of 
crash involvement.

Withdrawal of Proposal

    Although considerable resources have been expended on assessing the 
vision standard in general and the FOV provision in particular, FMCSA 
believes there are insufficient crash data to support initiating an FOV 
rulemaking at this time. It is clear 70 degrees horizontal FOV 
represents only a portion of the ``normal'' FOV for most individuals. 
However, there are no data concerning the relationship between a 
specific horizontal FOV value(s) and crash causation. There also are no 
data available to help identify the minimum horizontal FOV necessary to 
safely operate a CMV. Therefore, FMCSA is withdrawing its ANPRM dated 
February 28, 1992, on the vision standard for CMV drivers.
    FMCSA has a long-term plan of reevaluating CMV driver health and 
wellness issues, including physical qualifications, medical advisory 
criteria, and safety research and policy. The agency plans to review 
the horizontal FOV standard under that initiative.

    Issued on: August 22, 2005.
Warren E. Hoemann,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 05-17102 Filed 8-26-05; 8:45 am]
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