Vision

Scope

To be qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV), a driver must be able to pass the vision requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

Regulatory citations

• 49 CFR 391.41 — Physical qualifications for drivers
• 49 CFR 391.44 — Physical qualification standards for an individual who does not satisfy, with the worse eye, either the distant visual acuity standard with corrective lenses or the field of vision standard, or both
• 49 CFR Part 391 Appendix A — Medical Advisory Criteria

Key definitions

• Commercial motor vehicle (CMV): Any self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property when the vehicle:
  • Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating, or gross vehicle weight or gross combination weight, of 4,536 kg (10,001 pounds) or more, whichever is greater; or
  • Is designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation; or
  • Is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver, and is not used to transport passengers for compensation; or
  • Is used in transporting material found by the Secretary of Transportation to be hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103 and transported in a quantity requiring placarding.
• Driver: Any person who operates any commercial motor vehicle.
• Employer: Any person engaged in a business affecting interstate commerce who owns or leases a commercial motor vehicle in connection with that business, or assigns employees to operate it, but such term does not include the United States, any state, any political subdivision of a state, or an agency established under a compact between states approved by the Congress of the United States.

Summary of requirements

The vision qualification standard in 391.41(b)(10) calls for an individual to:

• Have distant visual acuity of at least 20/40 in each eye with or without corrective lenses,
• Have distant binocular acuity of at least 20/40 in both eyes with or without corrective lenses,
• Have a field of vision of at least 70° in the horizontal meridian in each eye, and
• Have the ability to recognize the colors of traffic devices showing red, green and amber.

The Medical Advisory Criteria states that the term “ability to recognize the colors of” is interpreted to mean that if a driver can recognize and distinguish among traffic control signals and devices showing standard red, green, and amber, the driver meets the minimum standard, even though the driver may have some type of color perception deficiency.

FMCSA published the alternative vision standard final rule with an effective date of March 22, 2022, for CMV drivers who do not meet the vision standard in the worse eye. If specified conditions and vision criteria are met, the driver can qualify for the vision portion of the DOT exam based on the vision in the better eye with or without corrective lenses.

To be qualified for the alternative vision standard (391.44), the driver must:

• Have in the better eye a field of vision of at least 70 degrees in the horizontal meridian and vision of at least 20/40 with or without corrective lenses;
• Be able to recognize the colors of traffic signals with red, green, and amber;
• Have a stable vision deficiency; and
• Have had sufficient time for the vision to be stable.

The steps to meet the alternative vision standard are:

1. An ophthalmologist or optometrist must evaluate the driver;
2. The ophthalmologist or optometrist completes the new Vision Evaluation Report Form MCSA-5871;
3. Not more than 45 days from the date on the MCSA-5871, the certified medical examiner performs a DOT exam and determines if the driver meets the alternative vision standard, as well as FMCSA’s other medical qualification standards;
4. If determined to be medically qualified, the driver receives a Medical Examiner’s Certificate (MEC), Form MCSA-5876, for a maximum of 12 months; and
5. Subject to limited exceptions in 391.44(d), drivers qualified under the alternate standard for the first time must pass an employer-administered road test per 391.31 before operating in interstate commerce.

This final rule eliminates the need for the Federal vision exemption program and the grandfather provision in 391.64. Individuals who were qualified prior to March 22, 2022 under the grandfather provision and federal exemption holders, have one year after the effective date of this rule, or by March 22, 2023, to comply.