MTV-22-13-00007-P Restriction on Driver's Licenses

5/29/13 N.Y. St. Reg. MTV-22-13-00007-P

NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

VOLUME XXXV, ISSUE 22

May 29, 2013

RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES

DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES

PROPOSED RULE MAKING

NO HEARING(S) SCHEDULED

 

I.D No. MTV-22-13-00007-P

Restriction on Driver's Licenses

PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:

Proposed Action:

This is a consensus rule making to amend section 3.2 of Title 15 NYCRR.

Statutory authority:

Vehicle and Traffic Law, sections 215(a) and 501(2)(c)

Subject:

Restriction on driver's licenses.

Purpose:

To establish the medical certification exemption restriction on driver's licenses.

Text of proposed rule:

Paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of section 3.2 is amended to read as follows:

A3 [SCHOOL BUS/MUNICIPAL VEHICLE] Med Cert Exempt

Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:

Heidi Bazicki, Department of Motor Vehicles, 6 Empire State Plaza, Rm. 522A, Albany, New York 12228, [phone], email: [e-mail]

Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:

Ida L. Traschen, Department of Motor Vehicles, 6 Empire State Plaza, Rm. 522A, Albany, New York 12228, [phone], email: [e-mail]

Public comment will be received until:

45 days after publication of this notice.

Consensus Rule Making Determination

No person shall operate a commercial motor vehicle unless such person meets the physical qualifications and physical examination requirements required by federal regulation, as set forth in 49 CFR 391.41 and 391.43. Drivers performing “non-excepted” operation must meet the physical qualification requirements contained in 49 CFR 391 and must obtain a Medical Examiner’s Certificate. Drivers performing ‘excepted operation’ are exempt from federal and state regulations requiring a Medical Examiner’s Certificate. Such “excepted” drivers must have the A3 Restriction recorded on their driver’s license, which indicates that they are exempt from the medical requirements.

Currently, the A3 restriction only exempts school bus and municipal drivers from the medical requirements. However, under federal law (49 CFR 390.3 and 391.2) and New York State DOT regulations, the State must exempt other drivers from the federal medical requirements, including drivers who operate commercial motor vehicles:

Transporting school children and/or school staff between home and school;

As Federal, State or local government employees;

Transporting human corpses or sick or injured persons;

Driving fire truck or rescue vehicles during emergencies and other related activities;

Primarily in the transportation of propane winter heating fuel when responding to an emergency condition requiring immediate response such as damage to a propane gas system after a storm or flooding;

In response to a pipeline emergency condition requiring immediate response such as a pipeline leak or rupture;

In custom harvesting on a farm or to transport farm machinery and supplies used in the custom harvesting operation to and from a farm or to transport custom harvested crops to a storage or market;

As a beekeeper in the seasonal transportation of bees;

In a vehicle controlled and operated by a farmer, but is not a combination vehicle (power unit and towed unit), and is used to transport agricultural products, farm machinery or farm supplies (no placardable hazardous materials) to and from a farm and within 150 air-miles of the farm;

As a private motor carrier of passengers for non-business purposes;

Transporting migrant workers;

Drivers who obtained their NYS CDL prior to the adoption of the NYS DOT regulations are permitted to operate “non-excepted” commercial vehicles (except when transporting hazardous materials) in NYS only. NYS DOT has incorporated by reference the federal medical requirements for operators of commercial vehicles within New York State. However, persons who obtained their CDLs prior to the adoption of those regulations are exempt from such medical requirements.

The proposed amendment expands the scope of the A3 restriction to include those drivers who are exempt from the federal medical requirements. Since this proposed amendment merely reflects federal and state requirements, a consensus rule is appropriate.

Job Impact Statement

A Job Impact Statement is not submitted with this rule because it will not have an adverse impact on job creation or development.