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Thread: Legislation Seeks to Allow Driver's License Medical

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  1. #1
    Jonathan Harger
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    Legislation Seeks to Allow Driver's License Medical

    As you know, the 3rd class medical exemption has been the most important advocacy goal for EAA for some time. In March of 2012, EAA and AOPA filed a petition with the FAA that would allow pilots to fly four or fewer seat, single engine, fixed prop, 180-horsepower maximum aircraft with two souls on board in day-VFR with a driver’s license in lieu of a 3rd class medical. The FAA has yet to respond to that petition, and many pilots were wondering what the next step would be, given the stalled petition.
    Now we know. EAA advocacy representatives worked closely with several Congressmen to address the issue, and the result is a bill introduced in the House today that would allow pilots to fly with a driver’s license in lieu of a medical, with some conditions that are outlined in the story below. I will update this post as more information becomes available.
    UPDATE: This bill has been assigned number H.R. 3708. EAA will be calling on members to contact their representatives when Congress is back in session after the new year in late January. Contacting them now when the offices are going to be all but closed for a month is not the best way to get their attention. We will use the Rally Congress tool that we have very successfully deployed in the past to enable our membership to send letters to their representatives, and we will send an all-member email when that tool is ready to go.

    December 11, 2013 – Reps. Todd Rokita (R-IN) and Sam Graves (R-MO) introduced a bill in the U.S. House today that seeks to abolish the third class medical certificate for many pilots who fly recreationally. The General Aviation Pilot Protection Act of 2013, co-sponsored by Reps. Bill Flores (R-TX), Mike Pompeo (R-KS), Collin Peterson (D-MN), and Richard Hanna (R-NY), would require recreational pilots to hold a valid driver’s license in lieu of a third-class medical certificate and operating under specific limitations.
    “This legislation addresses two goals EAA has long advocated: Eliminating excess red tape in the medical certification process while maintaining a safe way to keep pilots flying,” said Jack Pelton, EAA’s chairman of the board. “Our members and the general aviation community have long supported a change in the medical certification process. This proposal will maintain safety, reduce costs for pilots and the federal government, and allow people to pursue the unique freedom of flight in the same way they can pursue other powered recreational activities.”
    The proposed rule would allow pilots to use a valid state driver’s license in place of the traditional medical certificate if:

    • The flights are not for compensation
    • Conducted in VFR operations only, at or below 14,000 feet MSL
    • No faster than 250 knots
    • In aircraft with no more than six seats and no more than 6,000 pounds gross takeoff weight.

    In addition to allowing pilots to operate common GA aircraft for recreational without a third-class medical, the bill also mandates that the FAA prepare and send a report to Congress detailing the impact of the bill’s passage on general aviation safety within five years of the bill’s enactment.
    “EAA and other GA associations worked with Rep. Rokita in developing this legislation, as we are committed to lowering barriers to aviation participation,” said Sean Elliott, vice president of EAA advocacy and safety. “This legislation is a step toward both of those goals. The third-class medical certificate does little to evaluate the day-to-day fitness of pilots flying recreationally. There are better ways to maintain high medical standards for aviation and allow people the freedom for individuals to enjoy the world of flight.”
    The bill is another step in EAA’s effort to maintain aviation safety while growing participation in aviation. EAA and other aviation groups have regularly petitioned the FAA for medical certification updates and changes, most recently in the joint EAA/AOPA third-class medical certificate exemption request in March 2012. The FAA has yet to move on the request, despite more than 16,000 supportive comments to the docket during the public comment period.
    Last edited by Jonathan Harger; 12-12-2013 at 09:08 AM. Reason: Update to add bill number

  2. #2
    gbrasch's Avatar
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    Heard it first in an email from AOPA. Does EAA plan to get the word out directly to all it's members?
    Glenn Brasch
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  3. #3
    Jonathan Harger
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    Quote Originally Posted by gbrasch View Post
    Heard it first in an email from AOPA. Does EAA plan to get the word out directly to all it's members?
    Absolutely. The story will be up on our website within the hour, and we will announce it using all of our social media outlets.

  4. #4
    David Pavlich's Avatar
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    I've already written my Senators and Representative. I must say, I'm not going to get too excited, but this could be the single best mechanism to save GA. I hope everyone here takes a few minutes to let your congressional representatives know that this is a good thing and that they need to support it.

    David

  5. #5

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    Goggles Congressional Bill

    Quote Originally Posted by David Pavlich View Post
    I've already written my Senators and Representative. I must say, I'm not going to get too excited, but this could be the single best mechanism to save GA. I hope everyone here takes a few minutes to let your congressional representatives know that this is a good thing and that they need to support it.

    David
    I wouldn't go so far as to say it will save GA single handedly, but it sure improves the environment! Now we'll have to see how long it takes to get through the "process" but I will be joining you in keeping my House and Senate Reps aware of the need!

    Joe

  6. #6
    EAA Staff Tom Charpentier's Avatar
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    Just a note on contacting your reps/senators - Congress is heading into recess until after New Years, so we're delaying the big push for action until January when everyone is back in Washington. We will make a Rally Congress form available at that time, and of course you are always welcome to call, email, or write them on your own.

    Thanks for the enthusiasm you've already shown on this bill - it will be crucial moving forward.
    Last edited by Tom Charpentier; 12-11-2013 at 03:29 PM.
    Tom Charpentier
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  7. #7
    David Pavlich's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe LaMantia View Post
    I wouldn't go so far as to say it will save GA single handedly, but it sure improves the environment! Now we'll have to see how long it takes to get through the "process" but I will be joining you in keeping my House and Senate Reps aware of the need!

    Joe
    You're absolutely correct, Joe! However, this combined with other things like the advent of Shell and others close to offering 100 lead free and the like, it bodes well for GA. Ya' gotta' admit, things look just a little brighter than a month ago!

    David

  8. #8
    JimRice85's Avatar
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    The Small Airplane Revitalization Act was introduced May 7, 2013. It was introduced into the Senate July 17, 2013. The President signed into law November 27, 2013. That is just under seven months. It can move quickly, but who knows if it will.

    The Small Airplane Revitalization Act was unanimously supported in the House, 410-0. Couldn't find the Senate vote, but don't recall it having any opposition.

    Having Congress force the FAA's hand with a bigger requirement is far more likely to succeed than the EAA/AOPA "requesting".
    Jim Rice
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  9. #9

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    Stand up!

    “...Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness”.
    Declaration of Independence, T. Jefferson

    I take my role as PIC very seriously and on my determining my fitness to fly and the repercussion of that decision on my passengers and those who are on the ground along my route. That is why I sought out the best training and instructors in my area. My recurrent training is one of choice, not obligation. If I decide I am fit to fly... I fly. I use FAA FARs as a source of procedural consistency, not as an entity of approval. Congressional action, State statute or any other form of governmental entity is also referenced as a source of procedural consistency of my flying not as a permitting entity. Should I fail to be granted a Third Class medical in the future I will still go out to the airfield, stand in front of my aircraft and decide if I am capable of operating my aircraft safely. My decision to take a machine off the ground and into the sky has always been, is now, and always will be one of ethics and honor. What plastic or paper forms I have in my possession are of little relevance. If the sitting government decides to take my plastic and paper forms and I still determine I am of sound health to fly... I will fly. If the government becomes aware of my flying without benefit of plastic and paper documents and places me in confinement; on the day I am released from that confinement IF I DETERMINE I am safe to operate an aircraft... I will fly. My consent to be governed is now and will always be overt, NOT tacit. Every decision in life, major or minor is a function of ethics and risk management. If you choose to live your life in fear of what a government entity MAY DO to you... you have already forfeited that which is of most important in this life.

  10. #10

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    I'm a little nervous that including such a broad spectrum of lower end aviation (including 6 place and light twins except IFR), this may be so radical that the FAA will be able to point out a thousand reasons "why not". It seems a lot of the more serious accidents involving a 3rd party (i. someone on the ground) are a result of a lot of fuel present in bigger light planes.

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