Medical Card

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by mlrs270, Jun 9, 2013.

  1. GasHauler

    GasHauler Master FMCSA Interpreter

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    He could have renewed it no matter when it expired while deployed if he knew. If he's a reservist then he has 60 days starting when he gets conus. It's all right there in the NC DMV site. As far as driving around without a medical card the states have done it for years. It simply says that when you drive a CMV you need your medical card. There's a few of us that wish it stayed that way. We are retired and do not drive anymore but wanted to keep our CDL. Now unless we pay for the physical ourselves we have to surrender our CDL and get a regular class D.
     
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  3. CDL1968

    CDL1968 Medium Load Member

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    This has happened with two of my drivers and all they had to do was show up at DMV with a copy their orders and a new medical card and they where reinstated. The Haz-Mat was the normal B.S. with the TSA and having to take the write over again.
     
  4. GasHauler

    GasHauler Master FMCSA Interpreter

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    I think NC will be the same. Either way I don't see how they could print anything like that on the DMV record and even if they do he's got the best excuse you could ever have.
     
  5. mlrs270

    mlrs270 Light Load Member

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    Hey GasHauler no luck with the NCDMV. Their reasoning for the suspension is they are saying I should have renewed in December. I told them I was deployed and there is no physicians qualified per say for DOT medical physicals with us. I have reached out to my congressman and my senator but you how long that might take to get answered from them.
     
  6. Ghost Ryder

    Ghost Ryder Road Train Member

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    Is your license suspended because it expired or your medical card expired? There's a difference.

    If your medical card expired, then your license will just get downgraded to a class E.

    If the license itself expired, then obviously it will get suspended.

    Either way it's no big deal if you're overseas. The military has a civil service exemption from DOT regulations. Same goes for emergency vehicles. I don't think you need a CDL anyway to operate military equipment.
     
  7. GasHauler

    GasHauler Master FMCSA Interpreter

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    You're getting the short end of the stick here. Keep watching your DMV record and let me know if I can help in anyway.
     
  8. GasHauler

    GasHauler Master FMCSA Interpreter

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    His medical card expired and the state of NC went ahead and suspended his CDL.
    Not anymore with the downgrade. The states are requiring that you file your DOT physical with them to meet the new requirement by the FMCSA. It becomes law on the 1st of Jan 2014. I wish it was still there because I'm retired and I wanted to keep my CDL. For a long time they did just downgraded the license but you will receive a letter from the DMV that they want to see your medical card. I called the CDL part of the DMV and was told by a couple of people that you will not be able to renew your CDL unless you have a CURRENT medical card on file. They also said if I was stopped I would receive a ticket because it's all on file now with the DMV. I know they wouldn't renew the CDL without a medical card but I wanted to fight and say look at the regulations. They all say you must have a medical card when operating a CMV. I'm not driving a CMV so my CDL should be good for driving my POV. Since it was confusing for them plus they wouldn't renew it anyway I went ahead and got a regular license because I will never drive a truck again. It just pissed me off.

    You're right you don't need to have a CDL to operate military trucks on the highway. But it sounds like this poster drives commercially and they are putting the screws to him. The NC law does allow reservist to just show them their orders overseas and they will issue a CDL. However, there's another law that lets active duty people renew before they deploy if their CDL is going to expire while they're gone. I hope
     
  9. GasHauler

    GasHauler Master FMCSA Interpreter

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    mirs270;
    If the state of NC suspended your license because your medical card expired they can not do that. Listed in the interpretation part of FMCSR §383.72 a question was asked about the state requiring medical cards. At the end of their answer the FMCSA says " The action taken by the state is not a disqualification for the purposes of FMCSR §383.51 but a with drawl of the commercial driving privilege. Maybe this helps maybe not but I'll keep looking if it helps.
     
    RickG Thanks this.
  10. RickG

    RickG Road Train Member

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    I renewed my CDL in January of this year with a medical card that was current but expired February 28th . I renewed the card on February 21 . I should have sent a copy of the card to the DMV myself but assumed my safety department would do so because they had in the past . They didn't and the DMV mailed me a letter the 27th of February stating my CDL was suspended and I had 30 days to renew the medical card or my license would be downgraded .
    Luckily I was home on a Friday when the letter came . Also by luck the load to Canada I was supposed to load the previous day and deliver Friday was cancelled at last minute . It would have been a serious problem if I had been stopped at a Canadian scale with a suspended license .
    I got the mail at 1 p.m. . I immediately called my dispatcher and she called the DMV . We are in Central time zone , the DMV is in Eastern so it was close to 3 p.m. there by the time she talked to them . They told her to fax copies of front and back of the medical card and call them back . By the time she sent the fax and tried to call back they were closed . It was straightened out by 10 a.m. Monday and I had a letter of reinstatement .
     
  11. GasHauler

    GasHauler Master FMCSA Interpreter

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    Rick that's what the DMV letter said that they sent to me at the beginning of the year. You have to keep it update or they will do just what they did.
     
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