United States Department of Transportation
i
Examining the FMCSA Vision Standard for Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Drivers
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2019-11-01
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[PDF-634.46 KB]
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Edition:Final Report, September 2016 –July 2019
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Abstract:The overall objective of the current study is to determine the safety efficacy of current FMCSA visual performance standards, and the availability and efficacy of additional tests used to measure visual performance components essential for safe CMV driving. Researchers conducted a comprehensive literature review and interviewed eight medical experts to garner insights on the current visual standard and a variety of vision conditions that might affect driving safety. Researchers also conducted an analysis comparing safety performance of a sample of CMV drivers who did and did not meet the current vision standards, using (1) vision data from a third-party dataset containing U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) medical examinations, and (2) crash data from the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). Results showed that individuals with visual acuity worse than 20/40 in their better eye, or in both eyes, had a significantly higher collision rate than those with visual acuity of 20/40 or better in their better eye, or in both eyes. Collision rates were also elevated for those drivers with horizontal field of view less than 70 degrees in their right eye. Note that these CMV drivers (1) failed to meet FMCSA’s current standards for visual acuity and horizontal field of vision, and (2) failed to meet the visual acuity eligibility requirements for obtaining a vision exemption from FMCSA. There was no evidence that the few drivers with monocular vision, or those who did not pass the color vision examination, experienced an elevated collision rate. Evidence from this study supports the measurement of visual acuity and horizontal field of view using the current cut-points; however, it was not possible to compare different cut-points with the data provided, and while associations were statistically significant, on an individual level they were very weak.
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