(a) Purpose and scope of conference. At the discretion of the administrative law judge, a prehearing conference may be called prior to any hearing. Written notice of the prehearing conference shall be sent by the administrative law judge to all parties to a proceeding and to other persons who appear to have an interest in such proceeding. The purpose of such a conference is to define the issues and the scope of the proceeding, to secure statements of the positions of the parties and amendments to the pleadings, to schedule the exchange of exhibits before the date set for hearing, and to arrive at such agreements as will aid in the conduct and disposition of the proceeding. For example, consideration will be given to:

1. (1) Matters that the DOT decisionmaker can consider without the necessity of proof;
2. (2) Admissions of fact and of the genuineness of documents;
3. (3) Requests for documents;
4. (4) Admissibility of evidence;
5. (5) Limitation of the number of witnesses;
6. (6) Reducing of oral testimony to exhibit form;
7. (7) Procedure at the hearing; and
8. (8) Use of electronic media as a basis for exchange of briefs, hearing transcripts and exhibits, etc., in addition to the official record copy.