Driver With Eye, Arm Limitations Must Be Tested to Determine Waiver Eligibility, Court Says
A federal appeals court ruled the government must test a trucker with partial vision in one eye and partial use of one arm to see if he is fit to drive a truck interstate.
On March 17, though, the U.S. Court of Appeals sitting in Cincinnati ordered the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a part of DOT, to re-evaluate that decision.
For the full story, see the Apr. 3 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
The Department of Transportation has granted some waivers to truckers with less than regulation-quality vision in one eye, but the agency denied Jerry W. Parker of Martinsville, Ohio, a waiver because he has both poor vision and a problem with his arm.
 |  |
Despite 20/300 vision in his right eye and a left arm that was partially amputated due to a grain elevator accident, Parker has driven a truck without an accident for 1.2 million miles within Ohio since 1985. Even so, he is barred from driving interstate due to federal regulations that require commercial motor vehicle drivers to have at least 20/40 vision and no loss of a foot, leg, hand or arm.
