WEL...you better not have a physical limitation

Point taken but, until the doctors take a real interest in screening for Sleep Apnea you're not going to see a very high instance of it.

We could go on and on about the technicalities, and there are many but, my whole point for posting is to try to put down some of the truck stop rumors.

A lot of drivers are "running scared" from CSA2010 based on nothing but rumors heard "somewhere" Like, if my BMI is to high I won't pass my next DOT physical. Which is just simply not true.



............. Jim

 

if you cant get up and down a truck bed you've got problems. if you cant climb in and out of a cab you've got problems. this isnt so much about being fat as it is being a crappy worker. i'm 340 pounds and when i was driving flat beds i would hurl myself up on top of my flat bed. no latter, no step stool, nothing. i would get a little sprint, jump, throw a leg up, and then be on the bed. probably looked funny but what can you do. when i worked in construction i would throw 6, maybe 7 2x4's on my shoulder, and walk up a ladder to a 2nd story floor. maybe i'm one of the few exceptions to the rule, but to point blank say fat guys cant work is an insult to guys like me because i'm not the only fat guy that can out work a lot of you skinny guys.

 

Medical regs: driver attendance thin at first FMCSA listening session
It may have been a small gathering that attended FMCSA's "road show" to talk about upcoming medical regulations, but OOIDA members were represented well.
FMCSA held the first of two "road show" events on Wednesday, July 21, to discuss upcoming medical regulations.
OOIDA Members Joe Debord, Bob Stanton and Jon Osburn were among about 20 individuals who attended the meeting held at the Flying J Travel Plaza in Indianapolis. Stanton said only four drivers attended.
Debord, a longtime OOIDA member from Gallatin, TN, said Wednesday's meeting went well.
"It was a nice little conversation. I think it was very informative," Debord said. "From where I sat, it was not adversarial."
FMCSA has discussed and started implementing medical rules on several fronts, including the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, which would limit doctors who are allowed to perform DOT physicals to those certified by FMCSA.
Truckers at the Indianapolis forum asked the FMCSA representatives whether truck parking had been considered.
According to Stanton, Mary Gunnels, FMCSA director of the Office of Medical Programs, said the agency could list whether doctors registered as certified medical examiners had truck parking available.
Several medical issues have worried drivers in recent years, including last year's recommendation by the FMCSA Medical Review Board that the agency adopt a complex matrix system to evaluate drivers with multiple or severe health issues.
Debord said the group briefly talked about the long DOT physical form, which Indiana and several other states require.
"The thing nobody realizes is, this health card and medical deal affects more than just us in the big rigs," Debord said. "It goes all the way down to a vehicle with a gross weight of more than 10,000 pounds. One question I asked was, 'How soon do you want the U.S. Chamber of Commerce all over you all?' I mean, that's a lot of people that could lose their jobs."
The next FMCSA medical meeting for truckers is scheduled to be held from 8 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 18, at the Jessup, MD, TA Travel Centers location at Interstate 95 and Route 175 (exit 41A).
Debord hopes the increased time between the early July meeting announcement and the Baltimore-area meeting will mean more truckers will have time to plan to attend the second forum.
"These issues are important," he said. "People don't understand what's coming down the pike."
- By Charlie Morasch, staff

 

My kinda guy..

 

*applauds*

 

yeah .... I used to work for a guy who was 6'1" and about 375#, I'm 6'1" and around 195#.

Same age.

I got schooled a few times. lol


.......... Jim

 

this is why i was so excited to get a trial day at my current job. i could go in and truly prove myself because i know what i bring to the table. none of this what looks good on paper crap. ha my boss was talking to me about how we could shorten my day and get my route going better cuz i'm on salary and putting in some long days and he says to me "I dont want you to get worn out by this job" and i said to him "you couldnt wear me out if you tried"

 

As a fellow menopausal traveler


* *

 

You traveling the menopausal highway too?

 

That is one thing that many people do not understand.
2 people can he the same height and have the same percentage of body fat on a full body fat annilisis, but have weights 100 lbs or more apart.
Granted to get more than 50 lbs different one of the people would probably work out allot.
When I was in the Army I was not allowed to weigh more than 192. I hit that target weight 1 time total, and that was at the end of basic.
After that I went up to about 205 for a while, then I started lifting more and went up to 220.
When I got high they put me on the "fat boy" program. I did extra PT every day and was cut back on what I was allowed to eat. In this time I went back down to 214.
I was then sent for a body fat analysis. It was determined at that time I had 3% body fat and that I needed to gain weight or stop lifting.
So I had to get those tests done the rest of my time in the military.

At this point in my life I have put on a little too much weight. I do not eat much, and actually part of why I gained weight is that I do not eat enough. I skip meals allot and some days never get around to eating at all. So my body goes into starvation mode. At this point it will hold onto any calories it gets. Most days I eat around 2500 calories. That is not much food for someone 6'1 and 250 lbs.

If I go by the numbers that the medical advisory board was looking at, being a neck over 18" and a BM over 33, then I am a little over. The neck thing would be worse than the weight. I can get that off if I need too.
The neck I cannot do anything about. I have had a 19" neck since high school. So thus under the ideas that the board is advising, I would have to be tested. I know I do not have it. If I was in question I would get tested on my own. Thus if a company wants me to get tested for sleep apnea then they would need to pay for it. Or I would quit and get a better job.
If they ever decide to actually make a rule for that it is still a few years away anyway. Since it has not even been proposed as a rule at this time. It will take several years to get thru the process.