New DOT Physical Requirements

Thanks for the link! I had been trying to find out (for the last several weeks) how to apply for the SPE Certificate (I lost some use of my left ankle thanks to a work injury about a year ago). Now all I have to do is follow the 8 pages (single spaced) of instructions, and maybe I'll be able to return to work in a couple of months or so. Until then, lots more physical therapy to go through, so I can meet the "physical abilities test" requirements most carriers have put in place over the last couple of years.

 

You are partly right and partly wrong here. You may have won back then, but in today's employment climate, especially with all the focus on the health of the driver (from a safety standpoint), you might not win.

When it comes to interstate trucking, federal laws and regulations are a BASELINE MINIMUM STANDARD. States are free to establish stricter standards, but are NOT allowed to set less strict standards. Next comes the carriers, who are likewise allowed to establish stricter standards, but not less strict.

Where things cross into a gray area is when the stricter standards violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). While there is a genuine safety concern with regards to the health of the driver who is morbidly obese, ADA appears to protect obesity as a true disability, regardless of whether the obesity is due to other health issues that do not interfere with safety, or by personal choice (such as grazing the buffet several times in a single meal, every meal). In this particular area, there is a conflict between genuine safety concerns and protecting the rights of the disabled.

An interesting example is where FMCSA regulations say a driver who is an active and chronic alcoholic cannot operate a commercial vehicle, and yet the EEOC says ADA protects such drivers because being an alcoholic is a disability (as are all substance addictions, they are classified as diseases, hence protected). A company recently was ordered to rehire a driver who was an active chronic alcoholic by the EEOC because of ADA, a serious conflict with the safety concerns any reasonable person would have.

Here's hoping that, at some future date (sooner rather than later, please), common sense will prevail when it comes to safety. I don't want to share the roads with someone who is drunk, or one t-bone steak away from a massive myocardial infarction, behind the wheel.

 

Has the BM index standard been put into effect for DOT physicals? My examining doctor said I need a sleep study before I can pass my physical based on new examination laws.

 

There are NO new Federal examination laws for BMI, but there may be specs for the company that the Dr is doing the exam for.

 

when i lost my buisness i weighed 360 lbs and was 57 years old. I couldn't do anything about being 57 but after lap band surgery weighing 225 I at least looked employable; And yes after the surgery I had no need of any medications I was previously on and what I thought was arthritis and a bad back are gone too. consider i lost a whole person. Carry around a 5 lb bag of flour for an hour and see if you dont see how even small changes help

 

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Tell that doctor you want a printed copy of the law . There is no regulation regarding BMI . However , there has always been the stipulation it is at the discretion of the examining physician to determine if there are indiCations of sleep apnea . There are no "new" examination laws .

 

go back and read the long form physical.

There IS a stipulation for obesity on it that your doctor can gig you on.

Item 1 on general appearance is "marked overweight".

When I asked my doctor what that meant, he said the 350 lb heart attacks waiting to happen.

 

They are going to target people like this



When you can't walk to the other fuel tank without stopping for a break.

Then need a tub of Crisco to fit back thru the door.

 

would you rather have a truck barrelling down a busy highway and the driver have a heart attack and croak at the wheel, then plow into a school bus full of kids, or a bunch of cars, turning a bunch of people into hamburger because someone thought "it aint the dang guvmint's bidness" and kept shoveling junk food down his gullet? ive seen it happen. i dont fully agree with the sleep apnea requirements(especially when it costs several grand for a sleep test), but ive seen people now and then sit at a petro buffet and cram down not 1, not 2, but several plates of food, is it that hard to control how much food you eat at 1 sitting? dont blame the "guvmint/nwo conspiracy/communism" for your eating habits. YOU were the one who made the decision to chow down on garbage, dont blame uncle sam for trying to do something about keeping people from getting splattered all over the road because some slob didnt have the brains to take care of himself enough to keep from having that heart attack behind the wheel, or getting enough sleep because he'd rather spent time with a horizontal honey, or sit at one of those stupid cherry-master(or that idiotic horse-racing one that id seen all over the truck stops)games.

 

watched a driver take 5 minutes to get into his trl to put on load locks then tell me it was company bs that made him do it. Us humans are our own worse enemy