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just yet. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration has delayed implementation
for another year.
The new medical certificate rules have
been in the works for literally years. Part
of the rule change went into effect in
2010, while other parts have been kicked
and punted down the field to the early
part of 2014. But, once again, FMCSA
has delayed no longer requiring that
drivers carry their medical certificate until
January 30, 2015.
Under the rules, drivers were sup-
posed to report their operating status
and provide a valid medical certificate to
their state CDL-issuing body (DMV, RMV,
etc) by January 30, 2014. Once that was
complete, it was supposed to eliminate
the need for a driver to carry a paper copy
of their certificate as that information
would be available to roadside officials
electronically.
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According to FMCSA, the delay was
caused by a “lack of readiness” of some
states. We strongly recommend keeping
your medical certificate with you unless
notified otherwise by your state DMV.
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By Matthew Wrobel, Foley Services Inc.
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The rules actually went into effect
several years ago. Drivers who have regis-
tered since January 30, 2012 have already
been subject to them. Essentially, the DOT
is merging the CDL with the medical cer-
tificate. If you have not already, you must
visit your state CDL issuing body as soon as
possible. The deadline to supply them with
your information was January 30, 2014.
To register, you will need to have:
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interstate or intrastate)
Note that if your medical certificate has
expired you will need to undergo a DOT
physical. We advise that if you have not
already complied with these rules, you do so
as soon as possible. Failure to comply with
the rules could lead to losing your CDL (Fines
and late fees are a more likely outcome).
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While the rules sound sensible enough
— less paperwork to carry — they have
caused a surprising amount of trouble for
the states that have to implement them.
Until very recently, there was very little
standardization between the different CDL-
issuing agencies. Several of the agencies
had to dramatically increase their usage of
computers to comply with the rulemaking.
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Note that these rules are separate from
the rules going into place later this year that
requiredrivers toonlyundergoDOTPhysicals
from a doctor who has passed a DOT exam
and who is registered on the DOT’s National
Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.
That rulemaking has also been plagued
with problems, as far fewer doctors than the
FMCSA predicted have signed up. There
have been widespread calls for those rules
to be delayed or abandoned as impractical.
Another set of rules going into place
would create an online system allowing
doctors to upload information to FMCSA
instantly. Once that system goes into place,
doctors would be required to supply the
information within the same day as the
examination. This is to prevent drivers
“shopping around” for the results they want.
If and when these rules go into place,
there will have been an almost total rewrite
of the medical examiner’s certificate regula-
tions.
