DOT Medical Card Issue

They should have a delete post option?LOL

 

PattyJ: I assume Hills is either a trucking school or a trucking company? But no they will probably take care of it. the only notification youll get is if they don't. and if they do notify you, it will be sent to the address on your license so make sure you keep your license updated. Once they send it to that address, they are no longer liable if you don't get it.

 

did you ever check to see if it was on file?? leave nothing to chance

 

Ok, now im courious about this med card issue. I just got my DOT physical last week. They said they don't have green cards anymore. So they just gave me a piece of paper 8 by 11. And that's the new card I guess. The DMV here in Cali accepted the long form. And told me the paper I had was to go in my wallet. Now it that true or did they just not want to help me out.

 

I think the issue is the actual self certification form itself, not that the med card hadn't expired. Even if the card didn't expire for a year after the January 31 deadline to self certify with the DMV; if you didn't submit the self certification form they would suspend the cdl anyway, even though you gave them a copy of the med card and it hadn't expired. It was most likely about not submitting the self certification form, not medical card expiration date. That's just a guess, though. DMV had a copy of my card, and I self certified two years ago, but just to be on the safe side I filled out a current form and self certified again and attached a current card and long form this past January.

You just can't trust the DMV or anybody else to safeguard your cdl. S#!+ happens and things get missed at DMV's and Companies. It's no skin of that clerk's nose but it sure is some skin off yours if something doesn't get done by some deadline. Don't count on notices from anybody or anybody else to do anything. Remember yourself and do it yourself and when you do it get a copy of something that says when it was done. Printout of an online submission, paper from the DMV - something - anything - that says it was done timely. Something that has helped me remember was to do my physical and self certification form and license renewal on my birthday. That way every year when my birthday gets close I know to check and see if anything needs to be renewed or submitted. I do as much as possible online and print it out and keep that in a file. Even if it's just a "print screen" printout. Anything with a time and date stamp. C Y O A.

Last; No, I don't think the suspension for it will hurt you as long as it was reinstated timely. It's what we call an Administrative suspension; like got behind in child support or failed to renew or insurance cancellation or (like in SC believe it or not) failure to pay the property tax on a vehicle and failed to submit the form telling the DMV you sold it (you'd think the change in registration and title would tell them that - but NOOOO you have to fill out a SEPERATE form called Notice of Disposal of Vehicle and submit that to the Driver License division of DMV. You'd think one side of the DMV computer system would talk to the other - but NOPE it doesn't). It doesn't speak to your Driving Record, which is what most companies use the MVR to assess. I have to say, though, (and I mean this kindly and gently - I personally totally get how these things happen - I'm not being judgmental) it CAN speak to your level of personal responsibility and SOME companies do look at that. "This guy makes his living with a professional license. If he doesn't have the personal responsibility to attend to everything to keep that from getting suspended over filling out a form or getting recertified timely: Do we really want to trust him to be responsible for an entire trailer load of UPS merchandise or an entire trailer load of $500 smart phones or other high end electronics (or even stuff you might not think off the top of your head of as high value but is, like rolls of Kevlar or a flatbed load of copper pipe, or a refer load of Haagen Das that if the refer isn't set up and monitored right becomes a BIG cargo spoilage claim - you get the idea)".

I wouldn't sweat it, though, and good luck (sincerely) getting the DMV to remove the suspension. The Army didn't invent Catch 22 and an "I don't give a darn&d" attitude - the DMV did! LOL. Have a good one and be Safe!

 

Not trying to start any trouble, really Im not but I have a Question? Why would they withdraw or disqualify-not suspend(Theres a difference in Ga)- his cdl in Sept 2013 for failing to submit a form that had a deadline of Jan 31st, 2014 on a license he got in 2012? If you read his statement closely, they reinstated his license once he showed them a current medical card. That would suggest to me that for some reason the medical card he showed them when he got his cdl in 2012 was not recorded with his cdl paperwork. I have no clue as to why it wasn't but like you said-stuff happens. As for getting DMV to fix it, I have been dealing with GA DMV for over 45 years and never had a problem getting them to fix their occasional errors. I still believe if he will do as I said he will have no problem getting them to remove the withdrawal or disqualification. In Ga, if your cdl gets withdrawn or disqualified, you can still drive a 4 wheeler on that same license. You just cant drive a tractor trailer or commercial vehicle on it until the disqualification period is up. If your license gets suspended, obviously, you cant drive anything. You do have a great point about making and keeping copies of everything concerning your license. I still have copies of my 1990 application for a cdl. Prior to 1990 tractor trailer licenses in Ga were class 5 licenses. Before that (in the 70's) they were chauffers licenses. Its also a wise idea, as well as a requirement in most states, to keep your license address updated. That way, if you do receive a disqualification notice, you will get it and wont be out there driving illegally. He stated he didn't even know it was withdrawn for 3 months. More than likely, if his license had gotten checked during that 3 months, he would have been cited for driving a tractor trailer without a license-maybe even jailed? The states only required to send notices such as that to the address that is on the license. Whether its correct or not is irrelevant because, by law, it is supposed to be correct.

 

Get a medical done ever two years and get copes for you and DMV and a backup one just in case.

To be on the safe but extreme side you should really get a medical done ever year at the same month ever year. That way you will not forget to do your medical and have the peice of mind you are fit to drive.

 

Yea and if you Really want to be safe, anytime you are sent down for a random drug test, particularly by the company or because of an accident, go to your own personal physician and get a backup test. I was sent down to do a random drug screen by the company and actually failed the drug screen. I had not taken any kind of drug, not even prescription in over 3 years, then it was the painkiller the dentist gave me when he pulled a tooth.

The only thing that saved me was the terminal manager, who I had known for several years. He told them no way did I fail a drug test, that something had evidently gotten mixed up. He told them either retest me or hed send me to two other doctors for a drug test. They retested and passed me, though sometimes I wish they had refused and I had gotten sent to the two other doctors because it still casts a shadow on that particular test. Since that happened, if I get sent to do a random drug screen, I also go to another drug screen clinic and get a backup done the same day.