FMCSA grants 14 epilepsy waivers, 11 hearing exemptions to truck drivers

The federal regulation that covers physical fitness for drivers is § 391.41(b)(8). It begins, “A person subject to this part must not operate a commercial motor vehicle unless he or she is medically certified as physically qualified to do so.”

The rule also has sections devoted to epilepsy and hearing issues. For the former, it requires that a driver have “no established medical history or clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition which is likely to cause loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to control a commercial motor vehicle.”

In the case of hearing, the rule sets out a testing standard on the ability to hear that must be met by drivers seeking an exemption.

But there is a pathway for a person who has a history of epilepsy or hearing impairment to drive.

In the case of the drivers who had a history of epilepsy, FMCSA, in its Federal Register notice, said the approved 14 applicants have been seizure-free “over a range of 24 years while taking anti-seizure medication and maintained a stable medication treatment regime for the last two years.”

The notice acknowledged the risk of a driver who has suffered from epilepsy in the past. But it added that “the Agency believes the drivers granted this exemption have demonstrated that they are unlikely to have a seizure and their medical condition does not pose a risk to public safety.”

In the case of the hearing-impaired, FMCSA did not suggest the hearing of the 11 drivers had improved.

But it said that earlier studies on the impact of impaired hearing and the ability to successfully drive a truck under that diagnosis had not identified any link between hearing loss and “crash risk,” and “evidence from studies of the private driver’s license holder population does not support the contention that individuals with hearing impairment are at an increased risk for a crash.”

Each applicant’s driving record also was reviewed, FMCSA said. 

The exemption lasts for two years. 

P.  Sean Garney, the co-director of Scopelitis Transportation Consulting, based in Washington, said in an email to FreightWaves that FMCSA frequently grants such exemptions. That level of waivers has led the agency to undertake a review of some of them, such as the rules on diabetes.

But it also raises the question of whether the standards need to be more flexible, Garney said.

“FMCSA is currently reevaluating many of its medical waiver programs to eliminate the exception-based process and to update the actual standards to accommodate these folks who are getting exemptions granted,” Garney said. “It’s in response to a simple question posed to the agency by many, including myself.”

That question, Garney said, is “if FMCSA is granting all of these exemptions, perhaps it’s the medical standard that is the problem?”

He said his calculations show that the number of epilepsy waivers granted this year by FMCSA now totals 17.

An email to FMCSA had not been responded to by publication time.

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