49 CFR Part 391 - QUALIFICATIONS OF DRIVERS AND LONGER COMBINATION VEHICLE (LCV) DRIVER INSTRUCTORS

FMCSA announces that it will hold a public listening session on April 24, 2017, to solicit information on issues relating to the design, development, testing, and deployment of highly automated commercial vehicles (HACVs). The listening session will provide interested parties an opportunity to share their views and any data or analysis on this topic with Agency representatives. FMCSA will transcribe all comments and place the transcripts in the docket referenced above. FMCSA will webcast the entire proceeding.

FMCSA amends the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to establish requirements for the Commercial Driver's License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (Clearinghouse), a database under the Agency's administration that will contain information about violations of FMCSA's drug and alcohol testing program for the holders of commercial driver's licenses (CDLs). This rule is mandated by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). It will improve roadway safety by identifying commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers who have committed drug and alcohol violations that render them ineligible to operate a CMV.

FMCSA proposes amendments to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to establish an alternate process for qualified physicians employed in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (qualified VA physicians) to be listed on the Agency's National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (National Registry). After training and testing, they become certified VA medical examiners that can perform medical examinations of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operators who are military veterans, and issue Medical Examiner's Certificates (MECs) to those same operators as required by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.

FMCSA announces its decision to allow certified Medical Examiners (MEs) to use the Medical Examination Report (MER) Form, MCSA-5875, and Medical Examiner's Certificate (MEC), Form MCSA-5876, with October, November, and December, 2015 revision dates that are located in the top left corner of the forms until existing stocks are depleted. For MEs in an office where these forms have been programmed into an electronic system that will require IT programming, the current approved versions of the forms should be programmed as soon as practicable. FMCSA published sample versions of the forms in October and November 2015 prior to posting fillable Portable Document Format (PDF) versions in December 2015. Based on the fact that the October and November 2015 forms contain minor differences yet collect the same information as the fillable PDF version, FMCSA determined the October and November versions are acceptable. In addition, MEs are also allowed to continue to use the versions of the MER Form, MCSA-5875, that include the Privacy Act Statement on page one until stocks are depleted. For MEs in an office where these forms have been programmed into an electronic system that will require IT programming, the current approved versions of the forms should be programmed as soon as practicable. The versions of the forms currently posted by FMCSA include nonsubstantive changes that were approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on April 7, 2016 and September 6, 2016, and no longer include the Privacy Act Statement or a revision date in the top left corner. State Driver's Licensing Agencies (SDLAs) should not accept versions of the MEC that have not been approved by OMB, and do not display both the FMCSA form number (MCSA-5876) and the OMB expiration date of August 31, 2018.

FMCSA amends its regulations by making technical corrections throughout. The Agency is making minor changes to correct errors and omissions, ensure conformity with Office of the Federal Register style guidelines, update cross references, and improve clarity and consistency of certain regulatory provisions. Further, this set of amendments removes all remaining instances of the term “common carrier” and “contract carrier” as required by the ICC Termination Act (ICCTA) and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). This rule does not make any substantive changes to the affected regulations, except to remove obsolete provisions.

In May 2015, FMCSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register to allow drivers with stable, well-controlled insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) to be qualified to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. The comment period closed on July 6, 2015 and the Agency received over 1,250 comments. In that same month, FMCSA requested the Medical Review Board (MRB) to provide the Agency with advice by reviewing and analyzing the comments and providing recommendations to FMCSA for its consideration. The Agency announces the availability of the MRB's report and requests comments on the MRB recommendations. The Final MRB Task 15-01 Report is posted in the docket at FMCSA-2005-23151.

FMCSA announces a meeting of its Medical Review Board (MRB) on Monday and Tuesday, August 22-23, 2016. The MRB will make recommendations to the Agency on the disposition of comments from medical professionals and associations, as well as safety advocacy, labor, and industry groups, to the Agency's and the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) of March 10, 2016, on safety-sensitive rail and commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers with moderate to severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Additionally, the MRB will review its previously issued report on OSA from 2012 to determine whether the report should be updated based on any changes to medical standards and practice or the comments received at the listening sessions and to the docket. Meetings are open to the public for their entirety, and the public will be allowed to comment during the proceedings.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) adopts, as final, certain regulations required by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) enacted on December 4, 2015. The statutory changes went into effect on October 1, 2015, retroactively, and require that FMCSA make conforming changes to its regulations to ensure they are current and consistent with the statutory requirements. Adoption of these rules is a nondiscretionary, ministerial action that FMCSA may take without issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking and receiving public comment, in accordance with the good cause exception available to Federal agencies under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

FMCSA and FRA published an ANPRM on March 10, 2016, requesting certain information regarding the evaluation of safety sensitive personnel for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The comment period for the ANPRM is extended from June 8, 2016, to July 8, 2016.

FMCSA and FRA announce three public listening sessions on May 12, 17, and 25, 2016, to solicit information on the prevalence of moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) among individuals occupying safety sensitive positions in highway and rail transportation, and of its potential consequences for the safety of rail and highway transportation. FMCSA and FRA (collectively “the Agencies”) also request information on potential costs and benefits from possible regulatory actions that address the safety risks associated with motor carrier and rail transportation workers in safety sensitive positions who have OSA. The listening sessions will provide interested parties an opportunity to share their views and any data or analysis on this topic with representatives of both Agencies. The Agencies will transcribe all comments and place the transcripts in the dockets referenced above for the Agencies' consideration. The Agencies will webcast the entire proceedings of all three meetings.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) request data and information concerning the prevalence of moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) among individuals occupying safety sensitive positions in highway and rail transportation, and on its potential consequences for the safety of rail and highway transportation. FMCSA and FRA (collectively “the Agencies”) also request information on potential costs and benefits from regulatory actions that address the safety risks associated with motor carrier and rail transportation workers in safety sensitive positions who have OSA. For instance, the agencies request comment on the costs and benefits of requiring motor carrier and rail transportation workers in safety sensitive positions who exhibit multiple risk factors for OSA to undergo evaluation and treatment by a healthcare professional with expertise in sleep disorders.

The FMCSA announces a 120-day grace period during which Medical Examiners may use either the current or the newly revised versions of the Medical Examination Report (MER) Form and Medical Examiner's Certificate (MEC). This period is from December 22, 2015, until April 20, 2016. This action is being taken to ensure that Medical Examiners have sufficient time to become familiar with the new forms and to program electronic medical records systems.

FMCSA amends its regulations by making technical corrections and ministerial corrections throughout title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), subtitle B, chapter III. The Agency is making minor changes to correct errors and omissions, ensure conformity with Office of the Federal Register style guidelines, update cross references, restore an inadvertent deletion of the reference to an Underwriters Laboratories' standard, and improve clarity and consistency of certain regulatory provisions. This rule does not make any substantive changes to the affected regulations, except to remove one obsolete provision.

FMCSA makes corrections to a rule that appeared in the Federal Register on April 23, 2015 (80 FR 22790). In that rule, FMCSA amended the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to require certified medical examiners (MEs) performing physical examinations of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers to use a newly developed Medical Examination Report (MER) Form, MCSA-5875, in place of the current MER Form and to use Form MCSA-5876 for the Medical Examiner's Certificate (MEC); and report results of all CMV drivers' physical examinations performed (including the results of examinations where the driver was found not to be qualified) to FMCSA by midnight (local time) of the next calendar day following the examination. That final rule was a follow-on rule to the Medical Certification Requirements as Part of the CDL rule final rule, published on December 1, 2008, and the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners final rule, published on April 20, 2012.

FMCSA proposes to permit drivers with stable, well-controlled insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) to be qualified to operate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. Currently, drivers with ITDM are prohibited from driving CMVs in interstate commerce unless they obtain an exemption from FMCSA. This NPRM would enable individuals with ITDM to obtain a Medical Examiner's Certificate (MEC), from a medical examiner (ME) at least annually in order to operate in interstate commerce if the treating clinician (TC) who is the healthcare professional responsible for prescribing insulin for the driver's diabetes, provides documentation to the ME that the condition is stable and well-controlled.

FMCSA amends the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to require certified medical examiners (MEs) performing physical examinations of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers to use a newly developed Medical Examination Report (MER) Form, MCSA-5875, in place of the current MER Form and to use Form MCSA-5876 for the Medical Examiner's Certificate (MEC); and report results of all CMV drivers' physical examinations performed (including the results of examinations where the driver was found not to be qualified) to FMCSA by midnight (local time) of the next calendar day following the examination. The reporting of results includes all CMV drivers who are required to be medically certified to operate in interstate commerce, not only those who hold or apply for commercial learner's permits (CLP) or commercial driver's licenses (CDL), and results of any examinations performed in accordance with the FMCSRs with any applicable State variances (which will be valid for intrastate operations only). For holders of CLP/CDLs (interstate and intrastate), FMCSA will electronically transmit driver identification, examination results, and restriction information from examinations performed from the National Registry to the State Driver's Licensing Agencies (SDLAs). The Agency will also transmit medical variance information for all CMV drivers electronically to the SDLAs.

FMCSA amends its regulations by making technical corrections throughout title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), subtitle B, chapter III. The Agency is making minor changes to correct errors and omissions, ensure conformity with Office of the Federal Register style guidelines, update references, and improve clarity and consistency of certain regulatory provisions. This rule does not make any substantive changes to the affected regulations.

The FMCSA provides regulatory guidance concerning the applicability of the driver qualification requirement that interstate drivers must be able to read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public and respond to official inquiries to drivers who do not meet the Agency's hearing standard. The guidance explains that the English-language rule should not be construed to prohibit operation of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) by hearing impaired drivers who can read and write in the English language but do not speak, for whatever reason. While the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) prohibit individuals who do not meet the hearing standard from operating CMVs in interstate commerce, FMCSA has granted exemptions to a number of hearing-impaired individuals. Some hearing impaired drivers have advised the National Association of the Deaf that they have been told by State licensing agency officials that they do not meet the English language requirement essentially because they do not speak. This guidance is intended to address the perceived conflict between the exemptions and the manner in which FMCSA regulations are being applied to hearing impaired drivers.

FMCSA announces the availability of the Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for the Medical Examiner's Certification Integration notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on May 10, 2013. Due to technical errors, the PIA was not posted to the docket until July 4, 2013, just a few days prior to the end of the public comment period. In addition, the PIA was not posted to the Department of Transportation's (DOT's) Privacy Web site until December 11, 2013. In an effort to provide the public with as much information as possible regarding the National Registry and the Medical Examiner's Certification Integration rulemaking, we are announcing the availability of the updated PIA and requesting comments from the public. Comments must be limited to possible impact of the rules proposed in the NPRM on the protection of privacy of information used in determining the physical qualifications of drivers of commercial motor vehicles.

FMCSA proposes amendments to its regulations to allow the use of electronic records and signatures to satisfy FMCSA's regulatory requirements. The amendments would permit the use of electronic methods to sign, certify, generate, exchange or maintain records so long as the documents accurately reflect the information in the record and can be used for their intended purpose. This proposed rule would apply only to those documents that FMCSA's regulations obligate entities or individuals to retain; it would not apply to forms or other documents that must be submitted directly to FMCSA. This proposed rule responds in part to the President's January 2011 Regulatory Review and Reform initiative and would implement the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) and the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN).

The FMCSA amends its regulations to keep in effect until January 30, 2015, the requirement that interstate drivers subject to: either the commercial driver's license (CDL) or the commercial learner's permit (CLP) regulations: as well as the Federal physical qualification requirements, must retain paper copies of their medical examiner's certificate when operating a commercial motor vehicle. Interstate motor carriers are also required to retain copies of their drivers' medical certificates in their driver qualification files. This action is being taken to ensure that the medical qualification of CDL and CLP holders are documented adequately until all State driver licensing agencies (SDLAs) are able to post the drivers' self-certification whether the physical qualifications standards are applicable to them and the medical examiner's certificate information, on the Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS) driver record. This rule does not, however, extend the compliance dates for the SDLA to collect and to post to the CDLIS driver record the CDL holder's self-certification about applicable standards and the medical examiner's certificate.

This final rule makes technical corrections throughout FMCSA's regulations. The Agency is making minor editorial changes to correct errors and omissions, ensure conformity with Office of the Federal Register style, and improve clarity. This rule does not make any substantive changes to the affected parts of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs).

FMCSA proposes to require certified medical examiners (MEs) performing physical examinations on drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMV) to use a newly developed Medical Examination Report (MER) Form, MCSA-5875, in place of the current MER Form and to use Form MCSA-5876 for the medical examiner's certificate (MEC). In addition, MEs would be required to report results of all completed commercial drivers' physical examinations (including the results of examinations where the driver was found not to be qualified) to FMCSA by close of business on the day of the examination. This would include all CMV drivers who are required to be medically certified to operate in interstate commerce, not only those who hold or apply for commercial learner's permits (CLP) or commercial driver's licenses (CDL). Reporting of this information would be accomplished, by completing a CMV Driver Medical Examination Results Form, MCSA-5850, via their individual password-protected National Registry web account. For holders of CDLs and CLPs, FMCSA also proposes to electronically transmit driver identification, examination results, and restriction information from the National Registry system to the State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs). This includes those that have been voided by FMCSA because it finds that an ME has certified a driver who does not meet the physical certification standards. The Agency would also transmit medical variance information (exemptions, skills performance evaluation certificates and grandfathered exemptions) for all CMV drivers electronically to the SDLAs. Transmission of this information would allow authorized State and Federal enforcement officials to be able to view the most current and accurate information regarding the medical status of the CMV driver, all information on the MEC, and the medical variance information (as defined above) to include the issued and expiration dates.

FMCSA promulgates the regulatory exemptions for the “transportation of agricultural commodities and farm supplies” and for “covered farm vehicles” and their drivers enacted by sections 32101(d) and 32934, respectively, of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). Although prior statutory exemptions involving agriculture are unchanged, some of these exemptions overlap with MAP-21 provisions. In these cases, regulated entities will be able to choose the exemption, or set of exemptions, under which to operate. They must, however, comply fully with the terms of each exemption they claim.

This final rule makes technical corrections throughout title 49 CFR subtitle B, chapter III. The Agency is making minor editorial changes to add revised delegations of authority from the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary), correct errors and omissions, and improve clarity. This rule does not make any substantive changes to the affected parts of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs).

FMCSA establishes a National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (National Registry) with requirements that all medical examiners who conduct physical examinations for interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers meet the following criteria: Complete certain training concerning FMCSA's physical qualification standards, pass a test to verify an understanding of those standards, and maintain and demonstrate competence through periodic training and testing. Following establishment of the National Registry and a transition period, FMCSA will require that motor carriers and drivers use only those medical examiners on the Agency's National Registry and will only accept as valid medical examiner's certificates issued by medical examiners listed on the National Registry. FMCSA is developing the National Registry program to improve highway safety and driver health by requiring that medical examiners be trained and certified so they can determine effectively whether a CMV driver's medical fitness for duty meets FMCSA's standards.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is correcting a Final Rule that appeared in the Federal Register on January 30, 2012 (77 FR 4479), which amended the physical qualifications for drivers and the instructions for the medical examination report to clarify that drivers may not use Schedule I drugs and be qualified to drive commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) under any circumstances.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) amends the physical qualifications for drivers and the instructions for the medical examination report to clarify that drivers may not use Schedule I drugs and be qualified to drive commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) under any circumstances. The rule harmonizes FMCSA's provisions regarding pre-employment and return-to-duty test refusals with corresponding Department of Transportation (DOT)-wide provisions. Finally, the rule corrects inaccurate uses of the term “actual knowledge.”