<10,001 lbs . Does Your Carrier Require A Physical ?

[zorry]

With all the discussion on BMI I am curious if your carrier requires you to have a DOT Physical for vans.
FedEx ? Crossroads
Panther ? Express ? No
Load-1 ? Yes
Tri-State ? Yes
Nations ?
LEA ? Yes
Barrett ?
Others ?
Bolt ? Yes
Active Aero ? Yes
CTX ? Yes
Ceva ?
PTL ? Yes

I'm editing in answers but I think I lose that ability after 24 hours.

 

[Murraycroexp]

Crossroads Express = No.

 

[Jamin_Joe]

Tristate yes, after talking with the Doctor they use, he said that msny companies are adopting that policy. This is what me so upset, I took out a loan on a van under 10000lbs and the overly strict ruling will put me out of business.

In order to determin my odds of winning, forcing the vision waiver, I am undergoing a thourough eye exam from an Opthomologist that specializes in my condition, which will be the deciding factor to continue or abandon my Expediting efforts. Though I will raise holly he11 by getting the advocacy groups involved and will join any class action law suites that may arise from the FMCSA's overly strict ruling. I can understand the strictness for a large semi, but for a standard size van or small box truck it makes no sense.

 

[ntimevan]

Bolt express ...Yes
And I think it should be required by all companies ....thin the herd of unhealthy drivers .....IMO

Sent from my SGH-M919 using EO Forums mobile app

 

[Jamin_Joe]

I agree for those with dangerous conditions, but they are making it too hard for those of us that are safe drivers and have excellent driving records. There are many people with limited vision in one of their eyes that is compenssted from the good eyes visual field, like two flashlites shining on the wall with the void being un-noticible. I see my Opthomologist every 3 months and he would not sign the approval if I was unsafe to drive. Granted, bad apples do fall through the cracks, which is a concern to everyone on the road.

 

[mjmsprt40]

I wonder how quick many of these "thin the herd" types would change their tune if it suddenly meant them. Everybody seems to be in favor of something that adversely affects the other guy but when the tables get turned and it suddenly means me-- hey, wait a minute, that's not fair!

Sorry about going off-topic, but it does get old reading posts by some guy or another that wants other people to lose their gigs so he can (he hopes) make more money. These guys would be the first to complain if the welfare rolls expand with people who can't find work elsewhere, and now can't work here because their businesses got shut down. You don't want the competition but you also don't want the increased taxation that comes from driving that competition onto welfare. Make up your minds, you can't have it both ways.

I've been driving some kind of vehicle since 1973. I have yet to have an accident because of a bad left eye. I require outside mirrors-- that's the restriction on my license, the only restriction.

 

[xiggi]

Government just who I want in charge of thinning the herd. Never been in favor of someone willing to work lose their lively hood because of government.

Sent from my - Fisher Price ABC - 123

 

[Jamin_Joe]

Was born with a hole in the center of my optic nerve, my right eye's visual field coveres that void and the perepheral vision in my left eye is fine. I can see over 4 lanes of traffic out of my left eyes corner.

OOIDA had a Law Firms name on their document, so I suspect a class action suit may be pending. I may go that route if I cant get the vision waiver after having had a thourogh eye testing/exam by a specialist dealing with my condition.

I feel alot of medically safe drivers will be disqualified due to the overly strict medical standards imposed by the FMCSA and the law suits are coming.

 

[FlyingVan]

Landstar.....Yes.

 

[layoutshooter]

"I feel alot of medically safe drivers will be disqualified due to the overly strict medical standards imposed by the FMCSA and the law suits are coming."


This is a very true statement. FMCSA has NO intention of using sound, proven, medical science, when crafting rules (laws that are not passed by the congress). They are only out to satisfy the big money that funds the campaigns of high level politicians. They are just another, corrupt, government agency that is entirely out of control.

 

[ntimevan]

I was just exspressing my opinion ....if I have to maintain MY health and weight to stay out here driving a VAN and making money , whether its required by my employer or the Government , I will DO so .....do I like more restrictions that seem to pop up all the time ..Heck no...But yet again I chose this line of work ...so I watch WHAT I eat and drink ....its not that hard to do ....just that most are too Lazy to make any attempt and make excuses instead of choices that will benefit them once retired .....as for the thinning the herd comment ...its because I feel there is too many Vans out here now and IF a driver is not healthy enough to drive a semi ...I don't need them having a heart attack while driving a Van and killing me or a family member or Anyone in that case .....

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[mjmsprt40]

Let's be clear about what we're talking about here. Right now, the question concerns the under 10K crowd and whether specific companies require the DOT physical. Up to now, this has not been a federal requirement unless you're hauling placarded hazmat or you're in a very large (over 12 passengers) vehicle for hire. Some companies require it either for insurance purposes or general CYA purposes-- but up to now it has not been law.

Right now as I write this, the outfit I drive for doesn't require it. It might in the future, of course. If they change insurance carriers, the new carrier may demand it. But right now, nope.

There are carriers that don't require a DOT physical, but may require some sort of physical to be sure you won't die on them and that you're not high on something. Some carriers seem to assume that if you have a pulse and you drove in under your own power, you're good to go. Some physical requirement is probably a good thing-- I personally would rather not share the road with substance-impaired drivers, and you may need some physical ability to do the job-- lifting packages, securing the load and that sort of thing. Beyond that-- we're in under-10K vehicles here. If you can drive your personal car legally, you should be able to drive a CV without major problems.

 

[Jamin_Joe]

I was just exspressing my opinion ....if I have to maintain MY health and weight to stay out here driving a VAN and making money , whether its required by my employer or the Government , I will DO so .....do I like more restrictions that seem to pop up all the time ..Heck no...But yet again I chose this line of work ...so I watch WHAT I eat and drink ....its not that hard to do ....just that most are too Lazy to make any attempt and make excuses instead of choices that will benefit them once retired .....as for the thinning the herd comment ...its because I feel there is too many Vans out here now and IF a driver is not healthy enough to drive a semi ...I don't need them having a heart attack while driving a Van and killing me or a family member or Anyone in that case .....

Sent from my SGH-M919 using EO Forums mobile app

The problem is that people dont consider the exceptions, like that stupid DMV lady. She wss blabbing about peripheral vision, whuch in my case is excellent, she refused to forward my call to someone that was literate with medical procefures to tell me what tests would be more helpful for the mefical board to review.

Everyone has bouts of high blood pressure, edpecicially when stressed and can have heart failure/stroke at any time, even healthy people.

So under their standards that prohibits all people, just like mental health. Everyone is distracted by anger or deep thought tobthe point of not paying attention at times, though temporry, it is still classified as OCD in the DSM book of psycological diagnosis.

There are differrnt degrees of Diabetes, including nondiabetics(sugar rush sound familiure) and if under treatment poses no danger to others. Why should everyone be penilized by the irrisponsibility of others.

Yes dangerous drivers should be kept from driving, but not those that are redponsible and under treatment.

 

[CharlesD]

Government just who I want in charge of thinning the herd. Never been in favor of someone willing to work lose their lively hood because of government.

Sent from my - Fisher Price ABC - 123

Of course on the other hand we have people unwilling to work making a good livelihood because of government.

 

[in-Transit]

Active Aero =yes


Sent from my flying circus ....

 

[Turtle]

Load One = yes

 

[mjmsprt40]

Just a wild guess here, I would expect most of the big outfits to require it (some won't) and the small outfits to be hit-or-miss, you'll have to ask if they do or don't. I drive for a small outfit, it doesn't require a DOT physical.

Does the company haul hazmat that requires placarding? They'll require DOT, bet the rent.

Since this seems to concern mainly JamminJoe, may I suggest he ask some carriers what they require? The under 10K crowd doesn't necessarily follow all of the FMCSA guidelines you know, if we did we'd all be required to have CDLs, keep logs, have the DOT physical and all the rest of it. A surprising number of us don't have to do any of that. In our size range, it depends on the carrier and the insurance.

Edit; add-on: Some of this comes from worry about what the future may bring. Honestly, neither you nor I have much of a clue about that. My landlord picked up a saying worth considering: Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you. Worrying about losing your gig because the carrier/insurance companies MIGHT change the rules only causes you to lose sleep, and since (a) it might not happen anyway and (b) there isn't a lot you can do if it does, don't worry about it until the time comes that you actually have to deal with it.

 

[Jamin_Joe]

Thanks MJM, I do at times over worry about things but been burned by unforseen details many times. I am hoping that the extra data from my eye specislist will get the med. Exemption approved. I hate dealing with Government customer service people that just follow scripts and are unwilling to consider the cases where the script doesnt apply.

 

[beachbum]

Here at landstar they require a cargo van driver to have class B or A to even lease on to them.

How many others carriers require CDL's that require physicals?

 

[beachbum]

Only time I follow any FMCSA guideline if I haul a load that I have to placard.
All CDL requirements are La d'état rules to lease on with them.

Just a wild guess here, I would expect most of the big outfits to require it (some won't) and the small outfits to be hit-or-miss, you'll have to ask if they do or don't. I drive for a small outfit, it doesn't require a DOT physical.

Does the company haul hazmat that requires placarding? They'll require DOT, bet the rent.

Since this seems to concern mainly JamminJoe, may I suggest he ask some carriers what they require? The under 10K crowd doesn't necessarily follow all of the FMCSA guidelines you know, if we did we'd all be required to have CDLs, keep logs, have the DOT physical and all the rest of it. A surprising number of us don't have to do any of that. In our size range, it depends on the carrier and the insurance.

Edit; add-on: Some of this comes from worry about what the future may bring. Honestly, neither you nor I have much of a clue about that. My landlord picked up a saying worth considering: Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you. Worrying about losing your gig because the carrier/insurance companies MIGHT change the rules only causes you to lose sleep, and since (a) it might not happen anyway and (b) there isn't a lot you can do if it does, don't worry about it until the time comes that you actually have to deal with it.