[Federal Register: August 29, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 166)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 51001-51002]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29au05-20]
[[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1992, is withdrawn effective immediately.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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