New DOT Physical Requirements

Which trucking companys are doing this? This is legit lawsuit territory who in fr some easy money? Neck size? Sleep apena has nothing to do with neck size.DUH I and a few other big guys can run laps around slim drivers.. its not the BMI thats makes a great driver its their work ethic. If the Driver can meet D.O.T. and C.S.A. requirments and perform their job. The company has no legal right to alter the rules on who they hire it is descrimation based on their standards. That is unlawful practice. If they decide to have a gastric procedure. Again the company or insurance cannot legally disquilify them cause of that. Thats the sme as saying not hiring a person based on thier race. Medical history is protected by law.

 

That is the specific wording on your FMCSR DOT physical form.

Seriously.

When I asked my physician about it yesterday at my own DOT physical, his comment was that would be the 400-500 lb heart attacks waiting to happen.

 

Soon when we get pulled into an inspection bay at a weigh station a doctor will be waiting to inspect us. Dreading when he puts on the latex gloves and tells me to turn my head and cough.

 

While skinny people do get Sleep Apnea those most affected by it are overweight thus having a larger neck size. So it is perfectly legal for a company to say anyone over the BMI by X amount of pounds is required to have a sleep study. Also D.O.T and C.S.A are only legal minimum standards and company's are allow to exceed or require a higher standard.

 

I'm no big fan of BMI. Unless you are skin and bones and look anemic, your most likely over your BMI. Guy I work with went to the Doctor last week. He's 6'1 and weighed 225 lbs. Lifts weight everyday and runs. Not fat all all, no belly, nothing but a model of fitness. Doc tells him he is grossly overweight. This coming from a 5'7 200 lbs doctor. He looked at him and said "Ever look in the mirror Doc? Let's go for a run and see who is grossly overweight?"

 

i strongly disagree with your statment. I suggest you look into the laws. discrimation, medical, and business laws. U can't make your own rules that superced the federal standard. the doctor is required to examine by the federal regs applyed to be a commerical driver. Any requests by a company is not trump. Anything they think thy can do is subject to legal lawsuit above those regs set buy federal dot standards. sleep apena is treatable and a driver can drive with a c-cap. u find those laws that say a company can legaly do what they want. they can not make a driver who has been medical cleared with sleep apena to retest. if they want to pay the bill for a specialist to test. a regular doctor cannot or company cannot stop a driver if they are medicaly cleared and show their card when getting a dot exam or have a form from their doctor who is treating them. Been their done that, even had a lawyer and won!

 

Sorry I didn't make my post clearer I was not refering to drivers that had a diagnose of sleep apnea being retested. It was for those drivers exceeding the BMI that have not been tested.

 

Well Celadon is being sued over their picking of who is to pass or not pass the physicals. Companys should not be allowed to pick the doctors or clinics giving physicals nor the Obama,s, whoops Goverment either.

 

Sleep Apnea?
Driving for long periods of time can be considered a sedentary lifestyle. Yeah look that one up. Prolong periods of physical inactivity increase the risk of pulmonary embolism, which is a common cause of heart disease especially for women. Sitting for long periods of time can cause blood clots. The blood clot, in part or as a whole, travels through the bloodstream from deep veins in the legs into the lungs, and this marks the development of pulmonary embolism.
I'm very familiar with this issue. My wife's girlfriend who was a secretary died from a blood clot to the lungs. Late forties long time career as a secretary suddenly dropped of the sofa one night. She was on life support for three days before they pulled the plug on her.
My point is driving can be a very unhealthy job whether you snore or not. Sleep apnea is nothing compared to the destruction of a sedentary lifestyle.
It was a major issue for me deciding to stick with driving a dump truck. Getting out and busting my butt all day may be rough but the exercise will pay off in the long haul. I'm not sure if I snore at night, my wife says I do and I'm in pretty good shape for my age so I don't lose sleep over it. However, I have done some research on the issue of snoring. As it turns out man is not the only species that snores. Apparently according to the standards set by the federal regulators the entire animal kingdom is unhealthy.
Get out of that rig and get back to basic PE.

Be safe out there.

 

If anyone looking for a good DOT doctor in GA to get a phyical done this guy was the best. The name of the place is 24/7 Drug & Alcohol Testing Center. If any of you have been to the other facilities around the Atlanta area the wait is long.