Despite calls from all sides of the industry to delay for at least 6 months, as of May 21st, all current and future CDL holders will need to receive their medical card from a qualified health professional who is listed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.
The postponement was requested because, by the FMCSA’s own admission, between 20,000 and 23,000 certified medical examiners would need to be available in order to meet the demand for new and renewed medical cards this year alone. Despite their best efforts, the FMCSA has only been able to sign up less than 15,000. To their credit, an additional 27,000 doctors have started the process of being added to the registry, but they will be of little help for those looking to recertify this year.
The other issue is not simply one of volume, but also of proximity. According to a letter from ATA president Bill Graves to FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro, there are still “wide swaths of rural areas either without available medical examiners or which are severely underserved.”
The letter was sent to the FMCSA to ask the agency to extend the deadline for six months until more of those 27,000 doctors currently applying could be entered into the system. The ATA letter came after a similar plea from OOIDA was entered –and ignored – in early April.
An inability to become certified is not the only concern. Some are worried that the lack of sufficient examiners might result in travel which could be expensive or require time away from work, while others worry that the high demand could drive prices for certification to higher than normal rates.
From here on out, any CDL holder who needs a new or renewed medical certification will have to go to a certified medical examiner. Thankfully, current medical cards are still valid until they expire.
Next Story: Schneider To Pay $21M Wage Theft Settlement
Source: thetrucker, thetrucker, overdrive
Phillip Uzzo says
The doctor that’s been doing mine for the last ten years told me a couple weeks ago that’s he’s not going to do them anymore. Said it was going to cost him several thousand dollars to have some bureaucrat come down and show him how to properly so a DOT physical. Mine’s good until December 2015. I hope I’m not in the trucking business anymore by then.
Helen Corbeyt says
In Alabama we only have two doctors for the whole state. My safety department head said she has sent five employees there and get no paperwork back and the divers get no paperwork. She said their worthless. So just how many trucker ate no gong to be able to drive and will have no job . Because of this? I have read Thomas Jefferson writing and it said there will come a time when the people of the United states will have to take back the government from the government. That time is now. Vote all of them out put new one in and continued to do so until they realized that the people of the United states are the people they should represent no big business.
Heath Synnestvedt says
I’m so excited; my medical examination certificate expires in a few days, so i’ve scheduled an exam with one of the four examiners in the greater Philadelphia area who has kissed the royal Federal Ass and received the stamp of approval to ogle me properly. I can’t wait to find out what makes this examination so special that the price range begins at a fat $75 and goes up from there. Starting at the FMCSA website i dialed all the providers, and the best any of them could do to fit me in was to give me a small window four days out. If i were currently driving rigs there’s no way in Kandahar i’d be able to make and keep an appointment. This demonstrates the ludicrously high cost of a metastasizing cancer, to whit “safety at any cost”. You know what i’ve started doing as my small rebellion? When people say, “Be safe” i either reply with a clarification like, “You mean slow down and leave plenty of space, right?” Or if they’re not talking about driving i just return the virtual middle finger they are unwittingly delivering all truckers who carry the entire economy and its liabilities on their shoulders and say, “When you figure out what you mean by that, maybe. Until then, no thank you. Uber-ambiguous and not any fun. I’d have to stay in bed all day and only get up for some gentle cardio.”
Sherri says
Wow. I don’t believe I have EVER heard anyone take offense at being told “Be Safe” before. How offensive is it to you that anyone would wish you a safe journey? So offensive that you flip them off???!!! What a winner.
FYI – I have told my friends “Be safe and careful” upon parting for years – I’m not telling them to slow down – There is NO HIDDEN MEANING in my words. Be safe and careful – BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE ON THE ROAD IS!! If YOU are then you have less to worry about and you aren’t as likely to be involved in an accident.
Pffft. And people wonder why drivers are treated so badly anymore. Must be the charming attitude they shower others with.
Charles says
It is all a legal racketeer create by the Federal government where everybody in the top and in the middle make money out of the pie, except the driver….Blood pressure has nothing to do with safety, I drove many years with my blood pressure 150/95 and never had any problem on the road…In fact, the trucking company I was driver, they had their own contracted doctor who did the medical exam every two year and the doctor always passed me and certify my card…Just go to a truck stop and take a good look around and you will see a lot of over-weight tired drivers and bet you anything that most of those drivers have been driving for long time high blood pressure. How do you think they manager to pass the physical exam to stay in the road…Well, they don’t. It is cheap for the company to keep them the same way I was keep on the road until I retired and my blood pressure never was a issues for safety. It is all a legal racketeer!
Jennifer says
Sherri, I believe you’ve missed Heath’s point. The ridiculous hoops we have to jump through just to remain in an industry imploding on us are of such biblical proportions that any mention from anyone on how to perform our jobs is just another stick in the ribs. The frustration level amongst drivers has never been higher, and the ability of the driver to relieve that frustration has never been lower. However any driver chooses to deal with our current employment atmosphere is fine and understandable by me, and if you were such the driver you say you are, you would be cutting more slack, too. It’s just a matter of time before the American public and the government realize there are a finite number of people who want to drive a truck for a living, and the numbers only get smaller for those who are able and qualified to perform such duties. Until then, God bless all of us, frustrated or not.
FtPBby says
Hmm ~Good Luck headline is a bit premature ~ I did a search and found 15 in a 10 mile radius..Anyone else, How’d you guys do with a search?https://nationalregistry.fmcsa.dot.gov/NRPublicUI/SearchResults.seam?zip=34951&pageSize=25&state=+&radius=25¤tPage=0&city=&cid=9398
Samuel Barradas says
I think you missed this paragraph from the article:
denise says
I search in my area and there was not any.
denise says
In fact I went as far as 500 miles and there is none.
km says
Call them up and you’ll find they are not certified under the New Rules…. There’s a difference!
Charlie says
Right. “If I don’t have a problem then there is no problem”. Typical American philosophy.
Joe Skeptical says
@ Charlie – that philosophy isn’t only American.
fordconvert says
pffft i am so glad that i got out of the rat race. this reminds me of the affordable health care act; “let’s pass it so we can see what’s in it”. similarly, fmcsa is going to proceed even though there aren’t sufficient numbers of qualified examiners to execute it…? i am wondering how the industry is going to react to the future driver shortage. today’s shortage will be nothing compared to tomorrow’s.
Harry S Monster says
The big truck companies have the solution..its perfect for them. They can do mass recruiting and go thru millions of drivers milking them of money and the feds of money and fill the roads with dangerous drivers who dont give a rats ass if they have thier license today or work at mcdonalds tomorrow. They have no more focus or interest in this industry than camels have on sand. Indifference at best. Your already seeing it out there. The roads are not getting safer. The drivers are not more considerate. Everything the DOT claims its aiming to improve is getting quickly much worse. But you take presidents of say Prime and theyd say the DOT is doing the right thing because Prime makes a bloody fortune on gullible naive newbies entering the industry trapping them in clever contracts and basically putting em out there on the road angry frustrated used and abused drivers who if they had any good intentions will find them bitterly smothered out by greed and deception. Meanwhile the independents are pretty much wiped out of the industry and that leaves all the freight to all the people with ill intentions. Like most corrupted industries they will remain up and until shit hits the fan and it all comes unglued. They will take the money and run as they all do. It doesn’t take a damn genius to see the pattern that is repeated over and over in this country. We simply refuse to treat the corruption for what it is. The country is being run by crooks and we are letting them.
Joe Skeptical says
Trucking companies have two choices:
1) Hire, train & pay well, lose some drivers, keep some.
2) Train as little as possible, use new OTR drivers to extend highway miles.
Which produces more profit?
Choice #2 makes the company $8-10,000 profit per body per “training” period. (Additional miles less fuel, salary and “training” cost) THEY DO NOT CARE WHO STAYS, THERE ARE MANY MORE RIGHT BEHIND THEM. WE’RE IN AN ECONOMIC DEPRESSION FOLKS.
#1 makes less profit; how many of you, in the same position as a company owner, would make more profit or less? YOU’D TRY FOR MORE. Just like the big companies do.
Do you care about the pizzeria’s employee issues or your food? Do you worry about the airline’s contractor arrangements or your flight arriving on time?
Trucking is a business for high school drop-outs, despite the many better educated drivers. Any company – chemical & fuel tanks, heavy lift, short haul, etc. that can’t use newbies to make big buck$, doesn’t. The DAC report is a cute tool to both keep track of bad drivers and punish others that don’t make the company enough $$.
The FMCSA doesn’t give a rat’s rip about how trucking companies are run, they care about issuing rules that make themselves look competent. They don’t want to know about company operations and markets, THEY DON’T CARE.
Markybear says
I’m with fordconvert on this, I’m glad I’m out. Driving has become more of a choir and hassle than its worth. Low pay, new regulations, hos rules, and the other bs, staying away from family for what? The government is going to make trucking so difficult to get into, companies will have to find alternatives for transportation of freight. But whats their options? They arent going to pay more…so its a catch 22.
Joe Skeptical says
There is no shortage of drivers.
snow man says
There is a shortage,and it will get worse when.The young kids fresh out of driving school are figuring out they cant make it out here on the pay (26)cents per mile that these rip off carriers are giving them.When this economy does come back you will see a mase exit from truck driving,because they can Make more money flipping burgers and be home everything!
james says
Originally, mine was set to expire May of next year. I started a new job and although mine was good, they wanted me to get a new one. So I went. They had no problem getting me in, but here is something I noticed. Since getting my cdl, I have had three DOT physicals, the first one I paid for and two different employers paid for re-certification. While all three went off without a hitch, I noticed something on this last one. The first two naturally were done before the new rules. The doctors at both of these took their time asked pertinent questions, etc. This last one though felt like when I worked years ago on an assembly line and it was rush rush rush. And this third one was done by the same company that did the second one, same doctors even. I just look at it as the doctors who get the federal certification are going to start treating the drivers as just another piece on an assembly line and “let’s get em through here as fast as possible.” Now granted, I know most people don’t like going to the doctor, but this seems to be defeating the original intent of why the rules where changed in the first place.
laura says
our company has been requiring a certified examiner since we knew this would be law. So drivers are prepared when it happens. We haven’t had any trouble finding providers in our area. And it doesn’t seem that providers have had any trouble getting certified. We had one case were a driver completed a physical with a non-certified driver, we called and let the office now we couldn’t accept it, he was certified by the end of the week.
Bill says
I find it ironic that the Federal Government can tell a college trained doctor that he or she is not qualified to perform physical on a person. ObamaCare at it’s finest folks!!!!
Plumkrazee says
Where did you get the information that this was in any way connected to the ACA? Are you just making shit up, as you go along? Are you a gub’ment troll on here, trying to see if you can cause hate and discontent? Get back under a desk somewhere, and get back to work!!!
Kevin says
Would you be so kind as to enlighten me to what this has to do with the ACA ???????
Don Dierdorff says
I’m still waiting for anyone to explain the ACA in it’s entirety, in laymans’ terms and in 4 hours or less.
Still no takers.
Gundermin says
I’m not psychic, but I would venture to assume he was referring to the idea of government controlled health care.
Charlie says
I believe Bill here is making a comparison. He didn’t mean it was tied to Obamacare directly. Both are being forced on the American people and its only half ass thought out. Tomorrow’s lesson : How to read between the lines.
reggie44 says
No big deal. Got mine done. If you want to drive you just go to the doctor that’s certified. My company has a doctor they use that is certified. I did it while loaded and the company paid for it. Oh and my company only has 200 trucks so if they can find me one en route then all the other companies out there should have no problem. As far as everyone quitting GOOD MORE MILES FOR ME LOL LOL LOL bunch of cry babies
Brandi says
Well my husband is screwed. His was scheduled for next week. And after doing a search we found out that there isn’t a doctor certified within 500 miles of us. And to top it off, the state capital is 100 miles away and there isn’t even a certified doctor listed there.
John says
This article is old information – as of Wednesday (the deadline), there are almost 23,000 certified medical examiners (and 47,000 are registered). I am not sure where they are getting their statistics on this.
I am on the register y, am certified and am promoting other physicians to become certified – I have the information from the National database.
Just a suggestion to correct this article.
denise says
John I used this link searched up to 500 miles, there is no Doctor registered.
https://nationalregistry.fmcsa.dot.gov/NRPublicUI/SearchResults.seam?zip=48653&pageSize=25&state=+&radius=25¤tPage=0&city=&cid=9398
AskTheTrucker says
Elaine Papp of the FMCSA was on Truth About Trucking “Live” on May 8th and explained why there is enough National Medical Examiners. She spoke about having places set up at various truck stops also.
Understanding the National Registry Of Certified Medical Examiners Program
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/truthabouttrucking/2014/05/08/understanding-the-national-registry-of-certified-medical-examiners-program
Bill says
This is standard for Anne Ferro. She is going to push her safety agenda no matter what the evidence says. She knows all. This coming from her vast experience in the trucking industry. It’s the same thing as when she revamped the HOS. FMCSA was supposed to conduct a 6 month sleep study before implementing that. Did they? No. They did a 2 week study which , to my understanding , consisted of very few OTR drivers which are the ones affected the most. It just shows her ignorance once again when it comes to the trucking industry.
Ben says
So let me get this straight, I can go to my regular doctor . he can prescribe medicine. he could order tests and perform surgery but he can’t sign the medical card unless he is certified. do we need this government oversight. I would like to know is there a fee associated with these doctors becoming certified and if so who is getting the fee.
J Ossowski says
What was the last thing mandated by the federal government that DIDN’T include a fee of some sort?
Bob R says
So, from what I can tell from these posts, generally most folks are OK with yet MORE
federal intervention. This is something like the GUN issue. There “they” started out
with mandates, “in the name of safety” of course.
Its just another GOVT control binder. Glad I am almost done with this. Frankly,
you “new profesionals” scare the hell out of me.
Bob R
PS: if you dont believe this is not related in some way to GOVT healthcare………
Charlie says
Good post. Especially the part about the “new professionals”.
Stephen says
Another example of how this administration is putting the squeeze on the industry, and cuddling up to the mega carriers who have medical examiners on staff. This administration has made no bones about how they want less trucks on the road.
My fear is the next step, California will require the examiners to meet some (yet to come?) obscure CARB requirement!
Thomas says
Driver shortage???
Yes we have a problem, the industry sees drivers as less than human, less than criminals, go figure we have a problem with driver shortages .
This is yet another reason we have a driver shortage.
Treat the drivers like criminals (driver facing cameras, eobr’s, etc)
Make it harder to get certified
Do it all in the name of safety. When has any govt intervention helped the driver?
At Werner we had moble eye, a system that would set a beeper if you got too close to a line or a car, good right?
Werner chose to shut drivers down and cost them days of pay in response to the computer.
Was it to help or punish? The driver facing cameras, csa, medical standards, etsc are all against the drivers,. Where else so you lose medical anonanimity because you have a job.
Where else can a misdemeanor in your own car cost you your job?
Yes we have a problem, the industry sees drivers as less than human, less than criminals, go figure we have a problem with driver shortages .
Ray says
I just did my physical a couple days ago. I passed easy. Hopefully I’ll take some weight off by the time the next one rolls around. I’m not sure what all this means in terms of the likelihood of me being able to pass.
R.Drumm. says
How many more anti trucker rules and regulations can they dream up to apply to the trucking industry?
I only wish that they would take All trucks off the road, so that the crying wining complaining aggressive drivers who can’t handle a 4 wheeled vehicle in their own lane and respect the safety of others have no more trucks to blame for their reckless acts on our nation’s highways…
Furthermore, when will ALL the huge trucking companies grow a pair of balls and tell government to bite the big Johnson and take your over related azz e’s out and start clamping down on aggressive drivers to make our highways safer for everyone….it’s not about safety as it is now, it’s about revenue from the eyesore trucking industry and those filthy low life drivers….at least this is how we are seen through most eyes….I for one am sick of it….
Don Dierdorff says
It’s always been about revenue.
Ryan says
I got a new medical card at the end of January when I started working locally for a company in a rural area. They had 2 doctors they used, one certified and the other was not. They sent me to the one certified first… After answering yes to smoking and telling my age (35) he said I had to have some lung test done at my experience and they would schedule it. The cost depending on where I wanted to go ranged from $75 to $125 and had to be done before I could be cleared!! After all his little test, I walked out with no medical card and he told me my vision barely past yet I have perfect vision… I went back to the terminal and told them what happened and they sent me to the other non certified doctor. I was in and out with card in hand and perfect vision 🙂
I was also informed under the new weight, body mass or what ever they call it section of the CMA score, at 5’11 195 pounds I’m over weight… If that’s the case, a lot of drivers are in trouble!
AzDon says
One of my co-workers was sent to get her two-year physical updated at the company-designated clinic. They measured her neck and the size of her throat and would not update her without her first going through sleep apnea testing…… Worse, they reported this to Az state medical review!…. Two things I got from her story was 1) The govt is pushing this whole “sleep apnea” thing on truckers before the science is completely established and 2) I’m guessing that part of getting a DOT physical from a “certified” examiner requires you to set your “medical privacy” aside and requires the examiner to report his findings whether you like it or not! My DOT is due next May and I will NOT be going to a company designated examiner! I will pay for my own and insist that my medical privacy NOT BE BREACHED! My results are NOT TO BE REPORTED UNTIL I APPROVE AND AGREE WITH THEM!…… If I’m payin for a service, I’M gonna be in control!
espdp2 says
“If I’m payin for a service, I’M gonna be in control!”
Darn straight! I like your style.
John says
I still see no correction to this article as I pointed out… This is disappointing.
Drivers are being mislead by the stats, I urge drivers to do their research before getting worked up over articles such as this (saying there is less than 15000 when in fact there are most likely over 23000 as this weeks count will reveal).
J Ossowski says
The problem is the same as with parking for trucks. There are plenty of providers (parking spaces). Try to find one where you are or nearby. s the article clearly stated:
” The other issue is not simply one of volume, but also of proximity. According to a letter from ATA president Bill Graves to FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro, there are still “wide swaths of rural areas either without available medical examiners or which are severely underserved.”’
Don Dierdorff says
Any industry controlled by the government to the extent the trucking industry does is begging for trouble.
Where else do you see a healthy 30-year old man having to have the same physical requirements as a 60-year old man?
The whole trucking business is a bleeping nightmare and I’m very glad to no longer be a part of it.
George Mayhew says
Who cares if we need to go some to a certified doctor now to keep driving, some thing I’ve done for the last 35 years. What pisses me off is the fact that this so called government of ours is sticking it’s nose in where it doesn’t belong, AGAIN. We the people, thats a strong set of words, it’s time we the people take OUR country BACK before the idiots up in Washington give it or us away. The Trucking industry is not what it was and my advise to guys thinking about getting into it, DON’T it’s regulated to death by iodiots who know nothing about it. Any one who wants to e-mail me especially if you agree with my statements pease do!
Charles says
High blood pressure has nothing to do with safety…It is all a racketeer created by the government to make more money out of the drivers (Suckers) Everybody get a piece of the pie, of course, the drivers (suckers)…I was lucky my company’s doctor every year passed me, even though, my blood pressure was over the sky.
brad says
Lets put another spin on this… can anybody provide a link to the new requirements? I have looked and cannot find it.
Steve N says
I’ve got 43 of them within 25mi. Where the hell do you guys live? LOL. Either way it’s still more BS.
plhcp says
Links to helpful websites:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/medical
http://www.mrb.fmcsa.dot.gov/ Medical Review Board. In particular, click on “Proceedings” at the top.
http://nrcme.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/FMCSAMedicalExaminerHandbook-2014MAR18.pdf Medial exam rules start at about page 25
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/medical/driver-medical-requirements/driver-exemption-programs Exemption programs
plhcp says
Skills performance: http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/medical/driver-medical-requirements/skill-performance-evaluation-certificate-program
“FAQs” http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/faq/Medical-Requirements
plhcp says
Searchable archives of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Newslist: http://lists.unc.edu/read/?forum=occ-env-med-l
This very active discussion list addresses many medical issues relating to specific driver examination cases.
Search the archives.
Here’s an example of a discussion thread, going on right now: “I have a driver who has implanted defibrillator. He was disqualified 1 year ago. I just received a note from his treating cardiologist that his heart function has normalized and he no longer needs his implanted defibrillator. It has been inactivated. Should he be qualified? ”
My response was: If heart function has normalized and he no long needs the defibrillator, then why not?
But it’s only a discussion.
R P says
Just another day in the life. Been dealing with this industry for 38 years and I only have six more to go. I plan to stay under the radar, do my time and at the end the boss is getting the one finger salute with the words “the keys are in it. I’m going fishing.”