In the past, the loyal readers of this column have been rewarded with pearls of wisdom about a drug and alcohol clearinghouse, an employee notification system, and even the pre-employment screening program, three registries that track a driver’s driving history or drug background. That being said, among the issues making news recently is a registry of sorts to monitor medical examiners. As of May 21, 2014, all interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers must have their medical examination performed by a certified medical examiner listed on the National Registry.
Chances are that by the time you actually read this column, all medical examiners—the professionals actually performing driver physicals—will be certified and registered to actually perform the task at hand. In other words, all your driver DOT physicals must, and I emphasize must, be performed by practitioners that are part of the registry. This proves that they have been trained and understand how the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) medical regulations and its guidance apply to drivers of commercial motor vehicles. Previously, any licensed professional could perform this task.
If you have been paying attention, the reason we have yet another registry is the lack of a true standard when it comes to medically qualifying drivers. Examiners must now be trained, tested and certified to perform this task.
As it stands now, drivers are required to obtain physical examinations and a medical examiner’s certificate from a certified medical examiner listed on the National Registry. Drivers can locate examiners in their area or anywhere in the country by using the National Registry website at http://nrcme.fmcsa.dot.gov. Finally, drivers will still receive a medical certificate from the medical examiner after passing their examination; however, medical certificates will now include the certified medical examiner’s National Registry number.
Quite obviously, now that a standard is in place, many people will look for ways to circumvent the process. Some will not try to entirely break the rules but to see how far they may actually be able to bend them; others, as FMCSA warns, will try to forego the rules and perform false physicals and issue counterfeit exams. The best advice that I can give carriers is to always perform your due diligence. Researching the medical review officers who perform physicals on your drivers is an absolute must. Information from NTSB crash investigations indicates that improper medical certification of CMV drivers with serious disqualifying medical conditions has directly contributed to crashes with injuries and even fatal results. The registry was created to enhance CMV driver health and help lower accident rates on our nation’s highways.
While this requirement will certainly reduce the number of qualified medical review officers available to perform DOT physicals, it will indeed bring about a standard on which all examiners will be trained. While we may say that this is yet another registry to track the industry, I think we can all agree that the most important facet of this registry is that all drivers are medically qualified to drive and that they continue to reduce the rate of crashes on our nation’s highways.
David Heller, CDS, is director of safety and policy for the Truckload Carriers Assn. He is responsible for interpreting and communicating industry-related regulations and legislation to the membership of TCA. Send comments to [email protected].
