Medical card nightmare

As we should all be now aware, it will be required to submit your long form medical papers to the DMV.
Most states have the requirement at least partially implimented, while a couple are lagging behind.

My card was due to expire 11/30/12, so I went to Memphis terminal on 11/12 to renew it.
All went well and I was certified for another 2 years.

I was told CA required the original forms, so I mailed them to my DM in San Diego.
That was another challenge, trying to mail something. So he go them around the 20th.
He called me on the 21st and told me that CA DMV would not accept them because they were not on the DL-51 form that CA required - they were on the standard national form.

Well, I was on home time in MN for Thanksgiving, and went back on the 23rd.

I had a load picking up that afternoon that was getting me headed in the direction of CA or Phoenix so I could get a new medical, but my truck broke down on the way to the Inver Grove terminal.
I lost that load because they couldn't get it done in time for the pick up.
So I went to the pilot and waited for another load, which was to pick up at midnight.
I went to the terminal for an mt, but none were there. So I was dispatched as bobtail.
As I was heading out the truck started acting up again, so I lost that load as well and had to wait until the next morning to get it back in the shop.
I was told it would probably have to go to the dealer to be fixed.

So as I was sitting outside I realized that I had this same kind of problem on my old ProStar, and it had just been the fuel filter.
I told Brent, he checked it, and sure enough it was full.
Once changed, the truck runs great again.

So my next load - that was supposed to be getting me to CA or Phoenix - was actually a double plan.
Pick up one and deliver it the next morning so I'd have an mt, then pick up the next one at 2030 the following night - delivering in Ogden UT at 0800 on 11/29, the day before my old med card expired.

I had been going round and round with Memphis trying to get the information transfered to the correct form, but it seems they had never heard of the problem and didn't even know CA required a different form. Then I was told that everything had been sent to Phoenix and I would have to talk to safety there, and gave me a bogus name and number to call. Phoenix safety only answered with a recording.

So once I got docked this morning I called my DM to see what to do.
He told me they had taken care of the problem, and I was no longer on safety hold.

And since this load didn't deliver until Thursday, I have less than 100 miles for the week.


The main point is - if you are a CA driver, make sure they use the correct DL-51 forms for your medical.
If they don't have it, it can be downloaded and printed from here:
http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/forms/dl/dl51.pdf

 

I'll try to check on it.

Swift safety is pretty strict, though. I don't think they would have lifted the safety hold without the proper receipt from CA DMV.