[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 23 (Friday, February 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7514-7516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02236]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2022-0133]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved 
Information Collection: 391.41 CMV Driver Medication Form

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA 
announces its plan to submit the renewal Information Collection Request 
(ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and approval and invites public comment. FMCSA requests approval 
to renew an ICR titled, ``391.41 CMV Driver Medication Form.'' This 
Information Collection (IC) is voluntary and may be utilized by Medical 
Examiners (MEs) responsible for issuing Medical Examiner's

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Certificates (MECs) to commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. MEs that 
choose to use this IC do so to communicate with treating healthcare 
professionals who are responsible for prescribing certain medications, 
so that the ME fully understands the reasons the medications have been 
prescribed. The information obtained by the ME when utilizing this IC 
assists the ME in determining if the driver is medically qualified and 
ensures that there are no disqualifying medical conditions or 
underlying medical conditions and prescribed medications that could 
adversely affect their safe driving ability or cause incapacitation 
constituting a risk to the public. FMCSA received one comment in 
response to the Federal Register notice published on September 8, 2022.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before March 6, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed IC 
should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to 
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this information collection by 
selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' 
or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Christine A. Hydock, Medical 
Programs Division, DOT, FMCSA, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001; (202) 366-0421; 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: 391.41 CMV Driver Medication Form.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0064.
    Type of Request: Renewal of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Prescribing healthcare professionals.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: Up to 1,163,160 (total number of 
prescribing healthcare providers in the U.S.).
    Estimated Time per Response: 8 minutes.
    Expiration Date: April 30, 2023.
    Frequency of Response: Other (use of this IC is optional so there 
is no required collection frequency).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 279,465 hours.

Background

    FMCSA's primary mission is to reduce crashes, injuries, and 
fatalities involving large trucks and buses. The Secretary of 
Transportation has delegated to FMCSA its responsibility under 49 
U.S.C. 31136 and 31502 to prescribe regulations that ensure CMVs are 
operated safely. As part of this mission, the Agency's Medical Programs 
Division works to ensure that CMV drivers engaged in interstate 
commerce are physically qualified and able to safely perform their 
work.
    The public interest in, and right to have, safe highways requires 
the assurance that drivers of CMVs can safely perform the increased 
physical and mental demands of their duties. FMCSA's physical 
qualification standards provide this assurance by requiring drivers to 
be examined and medically certified as physically and mentally 
qualified to drive.
    The purpose for this voluntary IC is to assist the ME in 
determining if the driver is medically qualified under Sec.  391.41 and 
to ensure that there are no disqualifying medical conditions that could 
adversely affect their safe driving ability or cause incapacitation 
constituting a risk to the public. Under Sec.  391.41(b)(12), a person 
is physically qualified to drive a CMV if that person does not use any 
drug or substance identified in 21 CFR 1308.11 Schedule I, an 
amphetamine, a narcotic, or other habit-forming drug; and does not use 
any non-Schedule I drug or substance that is identified in the other 
Schedules in 21 CFR part 1308 except when the use is prescribed by a 
licensed medical practitioner, as defined in Sec.  382.107, who is 
familiar with the driver's medical history and has advised the driver 
that the substance will not adversely affect the driver's ability to 
safely operate a CMV.
    The use of this IC is at the discretion of the ME and facilitates 
communication with treating healthcare professionals who are 
responsible for prescribing certain medications so that the ME fully 
understands the reasons the medications have been prescribed. This 
information assists the ME in determining whether the underlying 
medical condition and the prescribed medication will impact the 
driver's safe operation of a CMV. Therefore, there is no required 
collection frequency.
    The ``391.41 CMV Driver Medication Form, MCSA-5895,'' may be 
downloaded from the FMCSA website. Prescribing healthcare providers are 
also able to fax or scan and email the report to the certified ME. 
Consistent with OMB's commitment to minimizing respondents' 
recordkeeping and paperwork burdens and the increased use of secure 
electronic modes of communication, the Agency believes that 
approximately 50 percent of the ``391.41 CMV Driver Medication Forms, 
MCSA-5895,'' are transmitted electronically.
    The information collected from the ``391.41 CMV Driver Medication 
Form, MCSA-5895,'' is used by the certified ME that requested the 
completion of the form. The ``391.41 CMV Driver Medication Form, MCSA-
5895,'' is attached to the ``Medical Examination Report Form, MCSA-
5875,'' which becomes part of the CMV driver's record maintained by the 
certified ME. The information is not available to the public. The 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations covering driver physical 
qualification records are found at Sec.  391.43, which specify that a 
medical examination be performed on CMV drivers subject to part 391 who 
operate in interstate commerce. The results of the examination must be 
recorded in accordance with the requirements set forth in that section. 
MEs are required to maintain records of the CMV driver medical 
examinations they conduct.

Discussion of Comment Received

    FMCSA received one comment from the National Transportation Safety 
Board (NTSB) in response to the 60-day Federal Register notice 
published on September 8, 2022 (87 FR 55077). The NTSB's comments are 
outlined below, along with FMCSA's response.
    The NTSB supports the renewal of the IC, but suggested FMCSA revise 
the IC to make it a significantly more effective evaluation tool. It 
specifically recommended the following:
     Revise the ``391.41 CMV Driver Medication Form, MCSA-
5895,'' to include all medications (prescriptions, non-prescriptions, 
supplements) that the provider is aware the driver uses and all medical 
conditions that the provider is aware the driver has, regardless of 
whether those conditions are treated with medications.
     Do not limit the IC to cases with known potentially 
impairing medications by removing the sentence on the form that states, 
``During the medical evaluation, it was determined this individual is 
taking medication(s) that may impair his/her ability to safely operate 
a CMV.''
     Clarify what is being asked of responding providers by 
removing all reference to regulations from the instructions and 
clarifying that the responding provider is expected only to list 
medications/medical conditions and to give a medical opinion on safety, 
not to apply medical certification standards, which is the 
responsibility solely of the ME.
     Enable responding providers to give complete medical 
opinions by revising item 4 to ask the responding provider's medical 
opinion about whether any of the driver's known medications or medical 
conditions pose a risk to safe CMV operation, to provide the item

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with a third response option (``yes/no/unsure''), and to include a 
field for any clarifying comments.

FMCSA Response

    FMCSA considered the NTSB's comments but does not believe its 
recommendations would enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of 
the form based on the purpose for which the form was intended to be 
used. The ``391.41 CMV Driver Medication Form, MCSA-5895,'' was 
developed and intended to be used as a tool to supplement the 
information obtained from the ``Medical Examination Report Form, MCSA-
5875,'' from the driver during the ME's review of the driver's health 
history, and from the physical examination conducted by the ME. The 
``Medical Examination Report Form, MCSA-5875,'' already provides the ME 
with a complete health history for the driver including all current 
medications (prescriptions, non-prescriptions, supplements) and medical 
conditions as reported by the driver.
    The ``391.41 CMV Driver Medication Form, MCSA-5895,'' specifically 
addresses medication(s) that may impair the driver's ability to safely 
operate a CMV so that the ME fully understands the reasons the 
medications have been prescribed and can consider the impact the 
medication(s) and medical conditions for which the medication(s) has 
been prescribed may have on the driver. This information combined with 
the information obtained from the ``Medical Examination Report Form, 
MCSA-5875,'' from the driver during the ME's review of the driver's 
health history, and from the physical examination conducted by the ME, 
is used by the ME when making a physical qualification determination.
    The ``391.41 CMV Driver Medication Form, MCSA-5895,'' contains 
information regarding the driver's role and regulation in Sec.  
391.41(b)(12) as a reference for healthcare professionals and does not 
indicate that the healthcare professional must interpret the 
regulation. The ``391.41 CMV Driver Medication Form, MCSA-5895,'' 
clearly states what is and is not expected of the healthcare 
professional completing the form by requesting the healthcare 
professional review the regulation provided, complete the form, and 
return it to the ME. The form explains that the final determination as 
to whether the individual listed on the form is physically qualified to 
drive a CMV will be made by the certified ME. Question 4 was 
specifically intended to obtain the medical opinion of the healthcare 
professional completing the form regarding the specific medication(s) 
they have prescribed to the driver for a particular medical 
condition(s). It is the responsibility of the ME to use the information 
provided by the healthcare professional completing the ``391.41 CMV 
Driver Medication Form, MCSA-5895,'' as a tool to assist them in making 
a physical qualification determination.
    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 performance of FMCSA's functions; (2) 
the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for 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 under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.
Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2023-02236 Filed 2-2-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P