[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9995-9996]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3803]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2007-26971]


Notice of Request for Comments on Renewal of a Currently Approved 
Information Collection: Medical Qualification Requirements

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

ACTION: Notice; request for information.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA 
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review 
and approval. This information collection pertains to the requirements 
set forth in 49 CFR parts 391 and 398 for the following activities: (1) 
A medical examination form and certificate to be completed by a 
licensed medical examiner; (2) The submission of an application to 
FMCSA for the Agency to resolve conflicts of medical evaluations 
between medical examiners; (3) A driver qualification (DQ) file for: 
(a) Motor carriers to include the medical certificate; (b) motor 
carriers of migrant workers to include a doctor's certificate

[[Page 9996]]

for every driver employed or used by them; and (c) motor carriers to 
include a Skill Performance Evaluation (SPE) certificate issued to a 
driver with a limb disability; and (4) Information collected from 
carriers, drivers and interested parties used in Agency determinations 
for granting exemptions from the vision and diabetes requirements in 
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). The Agency 
published a Federal Register notice allowing for a 60-day comment 
period on the ICR in October 2006 (71 FR 61822, Oct. 19, 2006). The 
Agency did not receive any comments in response to this notice.

DATES: Please send your comments by April 5, 2007. OMB must receive 
your comments by this date in order to act quickly on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 Seventeenth 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, Attention: DOT/FMCSA Desk Officer.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Mary D. Gunnels, Chief, Physical 
Qualifications Division, (202) 366-4001, [email protected], FMCSA, 
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590-0001. Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., ET, Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Medical Qualification Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0006.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently-approved information 
collection.
    Respondents: Medical Examiners, Medical Specialists, Physicians, 
Licensed Doctors of Medicine, Doctors of Osteopathy, Physician 
Assistants, Advanced Practice Nurses, Doctors of Chiropractic, motor 
carriers, and CMV drivers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 7,000,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: The following records are included in 
the IC pertaining to the Medical Qualifications Requirements: (1) The 
Medical Examination Form and Certificate--Twenty minutes for a medical 
examiner to complete, document, and file the medical examination 
report; One minute for the medical examiner to complete the medical 
examiner's certificate and furnish one copy to the person who was 
examined and one copy to the motor carrier who employs him or her; One 
minute for carriers to file the medical examiner's certificate in the 
DQ file; (2) Data Resolving Medical Conflicts--One hour for the Safety 
Director of a motor carrier company to prepare paperwork for each case 
and an additional 8 hours to attend any hearings for resolution of 
medical conflict; (3) The SPE Certificate--Fifteen minutes for a driver 
to complete an application for an initial SPE certificate; Two minutes 
to complete an application for a renewal of a SPE certificate; One 
minute for carriers to copy and file the SPE certificate application in 
the DQ file; (4) Vision Exemptions--Sixty minutes for a driver to 
complete an application for a vision exemption with required supporting 
documents from carriers and interested parties; (5) Diabetes 
Exemptions--Sixty minutes for a driver to complete a diabetes exemption 
with required documentation; and (6) The Doctor's Certificate for Motor 
Carriers of Migrant Workers--One minute for a doctor of medicine or 
osteopathy to complete a doctor's certificate for drivers of motor 
carriers of migrant workers; and for carriers to place the certificate 
in the DQ file for every driver employed or used by them.
    Expiration Date: March 31, 2007.
    Frequency of Response: Biennially, and on occasion, more frequently 
for drivers who are not eligible to receive a 2-year certificate. There 
are 7,000,000 drivers subject to the FMCSA medical standards. A medical 
certificate usually is valid for 2 years after the date of examination. 
However, drivers with certain medical conditions must be certified more 
frequently than every two years, so halving the number of drivers 
underestimates the total number of certifications that are conducted 
annually. In addition, some employers require newly hired drivers to 
obtain a new medical certification even if the driver's current 
certificate is still valid. As a result of these exceptions to the 
biennial medical certification schedule, the Agency estimates that the 
actual number of medical certifications conducted annually is 20 
percent greater than would be the case if all drivers were examined 
biennially. Biennial examinations would result in approximately 
3,500,000 medical examinations per year, but the Agency estimates that 
approximately 4,200,000 examinations are conducted annually.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1,541,534 hours [1,540,000 hours for 
medical examination form and certificate (4,200,000 certificates x 22 
minutes/60 minutes per hour + 11 hours for resolution of medical 
conflicts (3 cases x 1 hour each to prepare, plus 8 hours for one 
hearing) + 192 hours for SPE certificates (2,100 certificates x 1 
minute/60 minutes for motor carriers + 1,700 renewals x 2 minutes/60 
minutes + 400 new x 15 minutes/60 minutes) + 727 hours for vision 
exemptions (1572 total applicants x .27 or 27 % + 268 new vision 
exemptions + 35 hours for motor carriers motor carriers to retain a 
copy in the driver's DQ file) + 600 hours for diabetes exemptions (600 
applications x 1 hour) + 3.5 rounded to 4 hours for doctors certificate 
for drivers of migrant workers (100 certificates x 2 minutes/60 
minutes) = 1,541,534 hours].

Background

    Title 49 U.S.C. 31136 requires the Secretary of Transportation 
(Secretary) to prescribe regulations to ensure that the physical 
qualifications of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operators are adequate 
to enable them to operate CMVs safely. In addition, 49 U.S.C. 31502 
authorizes the Secretary to prescribe requirements for qualifications 
of employees of a motor carrier when needed to promote safety of 
operation. Information about an individual's physical condition must be 
collected in order for the FMCSA, States and motor carriers to verify 
that the individual meets the physical qualification standards for CMV 
drivers set forth in 49 CFR 391.41; and for the FMCSA to determine 
whether the individual is physically able to operate a CMV safely. This 
information collection is comprised of the components listed in the 
summary above.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the FMCSA's performance; (2) the accuracy 
of the estimated burden; (3) ways for the FMCSA to enhance the quality, 
usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) ways that 
the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of the 
collected information.

    Issued on: February 26, 2007.
Rose A. McMurray,
Assistant Administrator, Chief Safety Officer.
[FR Doc. E7-3803 Filed 3-5-07; 8:45 am]
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