Diabetes Exemption use insulin to treat diabetes mellitus to operate CMVs ADDRESSES: Drivers with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM) who meet the …
Diabetes Exemption
Federal Register in part: 11-8-05 - Qualification of Drivers; Eligibility
Criteria and Applications;
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FMCSA, DOT
ACTION: Notice of revised final disposition
SUMMARY: This notice announces FMCSAs decision to revise the terms and
conditions of its previous decision to issue exemptions to certain insulin-
treated diabetic drivers of commercial motor vehicles CMVs from the
diabetes mellitus prohibitions contained in the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Regulations FMCSRs This action is in response to section 4129
of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act:
A Legacy for Users SAFETEA-LU which requires FMCSA within 90 days of
enactment to modify its exemption program to allow individuals who use
insulin to treat diabetes mellitus to operate CMVs in interstate commerce,
without having to demonstrate safe driving experience operating a CMV while
using insulin, while at the same time implementing certain other
requirements contained in section 4129 These changes will remain in effect
until FMCSA completes a rulemaking to revise the FMCSRs
to allow drivers
with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus ITDM to operate CMVs in interstate
commerce in accordance with the applicable statutory standards
DATES: This notice is effective on November 8, 2005 FMCSA will begin
accepting applications for exemptions under the new criteria on November 8,
2005
ADDRESSES: Drivers with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus ITDM who meet
the modified criteria contained in this notice may now request an exemption
from 49 CFR 39141b3 by sending an exemption application request to:
Federal Diabetes Exemption Program MC-PSP, Office of Bus and Truck
Standards and Operations, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 400
Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590-0001, calling 703-448-3094, or
faxing a request to 703-448-3077
Section 4129 requires two substantive changes to be made in the current
exemption process set out in the 2003 Notice As required by section
4129b-c, the changes are: 1 Elimination of the requirement for three
years of experience operating CMVs while being treated with insulin; and
2 establishment of a specified minimum period of insulin use to
demonstrate stable
control of diabetes before being allowed to operate a
CMV
For the entire Federal Register click here: Fed Reg 11-8-05
Why Do We Hear that Speed Kills?
1 G is equal to a persons or objects weight Kinetic energy is the
energy an object possesses when its moving For example, a 2000-pound car
going 65 MPH has slightly more than 283,000 ft-lbs of energy For a truck,
it can translate into millions of ft-lbs of energy During a normal, non-
collision stop, most of the energy is absorbed in the brake system But in
a vehicle crash, that energy is suddenly, cataclysmically dissipated–
typically in less than 100 milliseconds–not by heating the brakes, but by
crushing, tearing and twisting the vehicle and, in the process, exerting
tremendous forces on the vehicles occupants
As speed increases, kinetic energy also increases, however, because the
equation has a velocity-squared term in it the increase in kinetic energy
is exponential compared to the increase in speed That means when the
velocity or speed doubles, the kinetic energy quadruples Therefore, even
a small velocity increase results in a disproportionate increase
in kinetic
energy For example, a 5 MPH speed increase from 30 MPH to 35 MPH
increases the kinetic energy by one-third
Its surprisingly easy to generate 30 Gs For example, a vehicle coming
to a stop in 4 feet from 60 MPH would generate a 30 G deceleration How
long a human body can withstand G-Forces over about 4 Gs is measured
usually in milliseconds 1/1000th of a second At about 5 Gs the human
heart cannot force blood to the brain, resulting in blurred vision and a
host of physical problems The blink of an eye is about 340 milliseconds
A vehicle crashing into an immoveable object might take only about 80
milliseconds This is the time it takes for the vehicle to crush, which
also absorbs some of the energy
Point: A small increase in speed could change a crash from survival to
fatal
———————–
Friday Safety Brief
November 11, 2005
Brought to you by Idealsafe 402-474-4166 Website:
http://wwwidealeasecom/
Particularly in November, collisions with deer are quite common While the
impact of hitting the deer can cause
injuries and even death, sudden
evasive maneuvers cause multiple collisions, rollovers and run off the road
accidents Speed at the time of impact with a deer determines the damage
and extent of injuries Going slower in wooded or other areas that deer
frequent simply makes sense It also gives you more time to check side to
side, and makes it easier to slow down if you see a deer approaching If
you can see the deer in time, get rid of as much speed as possible, and
always maintain control of your vehicle
Source:idealease.com
