New Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations require people holding commercial driver licenses to have a complete medical physical exam no longer than every two years by a certified physician. There is one prominent goal for these new regulations: Help to prevent medical emergency-generated bus and truck accidents in Pittsburgh and across the country.
Until the new federal regulations take effect in May 2014, any licensed medical provider can perform the DOT physical exam. After the regulations take hold, bus drivers, truckers and others with commercial driver licenses must get their physicals from certified physicians who are trained to perform the required exams.
The lack of control and standardization of these medical exams has sparked speculation that some of these commercial drivers may have physical problems that are not detected at some of these current physicals. A respected doctor with the Mayo Clinic Health System states, "One of the reasons we're going through this now is to standardize the process."
Reports of problems with the current system abound. Allegedly, if a commercial driver is denied a so-called medical card by one physician because of medical issues, drivers can "shop around" to find a doctor that will issue the necessary approval.
This does not appear to be some dark conspiracy, however. Most observers believe this is simply because many medical professionals are not familiar with DOT fitness requirements. These results should no longer happen, since the commercial drivers will be certified by doctors trained in these requirements.
Carriers will no longer be able to put a medically-unfit driver behind a bus or truck wheel. To get certified, doctors go through a daylong training course and pass a written test. The physicians will be looking for eye strain, stress symptoms, sleep apnea, obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, at a minimum.
Do you agree that commercial drivers should pass more in-depth physical exams to make our roadways safer? Should these more thorough exams help keep unsafe drivers off the road?
Source: The Republican Eagle, "New regulations will require bus, truck drivers to get certified exams," Sarah Gorvin, Nov. 16, 2012