D.O.T. PHYSICALS (NOW THATS A JOKE)

[FAMILYEXPDT]

Supposedly there is a law in thw works that will make a percentage of body fat a standard in the DOT physical. Not certain what that percentage is but if you are over that you will no longer be able to hold a cdl. This was told to me by a doctor that does a very thorough dot exam.

As far as typing in caps.....there is such a thing as internet etiquette. You may want to research it. If you have so little respect for the people that are regulars, why post here?



-charlotte

 

[wallytrucker1]

dang charlotte,u beat me to it....

 

[Tennesseahawk]

I YAM WHAT I YAM! I'M POPEYE THE YELLING POSTER!

-Vampire Super Slooth Trucker!!!

 

[Dreamer]

I don't think this really has anything to do with the DOT physical... it has to do with somebody not liking fat people! Otherwise, that would not have been the whole point of the screaming post.

The point is FUDGED numbers, and passing people who shouldn't be passed, not whether a big guy should or should not be driving.

Seems to me your comments about lard, and grease, and pizza, chips etc.. seemed aimed ONLY at big people, not UNHEALTHY people.

Those who know me know I am a big guy, but on paper, I'm healthier than most. My problems come from another issue entirely. I just had a complete physical and blood workup.. family doc in prep for surgery, not DOT physical.. BP was 132/78, Cholestrol 194, sugar 75. Did full stress test, EKG workup, and heart is fine and dandy. Sure I'm at RISK for problems, but 'right now', my doc says my numbers are better than his. So, who's more of a risk, the fat guy with good numbers, or the skinny guy with 350 cholestrol, high sugar, etc?


I guarantee there are skinny guys out there with far worse numbers.

I see just as many if not more, unhealthy, non-hand washing, dirty, sweaty, stinky 3 day old clothes wearing, brown toothed, skanky skinny guys handling the buffet food. But hey, why didn't you mention them?



You want to talk about people passing the physical who shouldn't? Fine, do so.. don't use the issue as an excuse to parade your prejudice against fat people!



Dreamer
Forums Administrator


--------------

"The present is what slips by us while we're pondering the past and worrying about the future."

- Ziggy

 

[jasonsprouse]

OK, I had every intent on replying to the post and telling about my recent physical.

But DUDE reach over to the left and hit that "Caps Lock" button once. If you cannot type in capital and lowercase letters, "Please back away from the internet".

 

[dpea9]

Dreamer, A very good post. I was also wondering about FUGGED!!!

its not gun control
its people control

Dan

 

[BigBuzd1]

>THESE PEOPLE HAVE AND COULD KILL YOUR FAMILIES ON THE ROAD
>ALL BECAUSE SOME DOCTOR FUGGED THE NUMBERS AND PASSED THEM
>WITH FLYING COLORS.BE CAREFUL OUT THERE CUZ THAT TRUCKER
>WHOS FLYING DOWN THE ROAD OR WEAVING IN AND OUT OF TRAFFIC
>COULD GO INTO A DIABETIC SHOCK OR HAVE A HEART ATTACK.
>


The number of drivers who have killed others in crashes due to heart attacks or diabetic shock as you put it, are far out numbered by the healthy dumb asses (in trucks and 4-wheelers) who fly down the road, weaving in and out of traffic, with total disregard for the etiquette of the road, safety of others or themselves, or the law.
By the way you have presented yourself here on this message board, to all of us, as a community of hard working respectful professional drivers, leads me to believe that you are more of a threat on the road with your total disregard of manners and lack of self restraint than any overweight professional driver could ever be!

 

[buckeyewildman]

please quit yelling y,all i,m trying to sleep

 

[TS462]

If the DOT goes to BMI Body Mass Index. I like most of us out here will be out of a job. Because if you look at most drivers they do not fit into the guidelines that some chart has set for being healthy.

 

[midtnguy]

Talk about a driver shortage, lol

 

[greg334]

You know I really think that the originator of this thread is a person who has failed his DOT because of his weight problems and could not convince their doctor to pass them.

For some reason I find the entire subject somewhat troublesome because the limitations already put into the DOT regs have been well establish and the changes to the industry has forced many of us to push ourselves to the limit with diet and exercise to make a living.

I strongly believe that using the BMI is like saying that one must be a certain height to obtain a CDL. Let’s go a step further, add a cholesterol limit and even a sodium intake limit while we are at it, the former is not only related to our diet but also is hereditary.

As much as many of you want to blame other factors in the world for these problems like the companies and DOT, it all comes down to the only one who can really be at fault is the person themselves. But with that said, I will be honest with you all about my weight problems which are related to two factors, my past profession and on going stress. My work used to be sitting 10 to 12 hours a day working and the related stress that added my weight.

 

[wallytrucker1]

Being a type 2 diabetic, the dot mandated doctor visit is always a much dreaded occassion for me. After we both finish lying to each other, he says to watch my diet, get good sleep every night and plenty of exercise. I once had one tell me to drop down and "give me" 25 pushups. I laughed and told him we would need several more appointments for me to do that; gave my card anyway.. Our job, imho, is not condusive(?) to good physical health and I do admire those of you who are able to accomplish it. Keep it up.

 

[babs3361]

Putting a BMI index standard to any industry, Sounds to me very communistic. Watch out America we will soon be there. Then what about that 4 wheeler that has a heart attack runs into a big truck which in turn causes a major chain reaction. Lets blame that trucker for that too. Or maybe we should blame the DMV or maybe god he could have stopped it. Life is not perfect. We are all out here to make a honest living even fat, unheathy and skinny people. So because someone has a weight problem you want to take there lively hood away from them maybe you should support them. Life is not perfect and life is not fair. But when it is time to meet my maker it is time. Weather someone hits me with there vehicle or if I die in my sleep it is time. What peace I find in not worring about it. You should try it.

 

[cheri1122]

Given the DOT's history of asinine 'standards', nothing would surprise me, coming from the desk jockeys. But Dreamer is absolutely correct: there are a lot of potentially dangerous medical conditions that are entirely invisible, so a person who appears to be overweight can actually be a much better health risk than a person of 'correct' weight.
We all know it aint easy to eat healthy on the road. Particularly in expediting! When time is of the essence, it's just so much easier to grab a couple hot dogs at the Pilot, or fill up on chips, rather than stop for food. Exercise is tough to fit into a day that requires most hours be spent sitting down, too, which is why we see so many grossly obese drivers.
But if it becomes a priority to eat better, we can find substitutions for the worst dietary offenses, (and here, I'd like to thank Broompilot, for an inadvertant typo that has caused me to find donuts very unattractive: one of his posts included the word 'dognuts', and I may never eat another Krispy Kreme, lol). What helps me, is to identify the bad foods, and try to find a better one to eat instead. Fresh strawberries are just as good as a Snickers, ya know?
Relying on the DOT physical, rather than our own common sense, to tell us what shape we're in, is criminally stupid, IMO. We expect that kind of logic from the Feds, but we're smarter than that, aren't we?

 

[MSinger]

>>well the driver i pulled out of his sleeper dead from a
>>heart attack was skinny as a bean pole. it's not just the
>>big amongst us who have to watch what we eat.
>
>VERY WELL SAID ARKJARHEAD ITS JUST NOT THE OBESE PEOPLE ITS
>ALSO THE SKINNY ONES THAT ARE RECEIVING THE FUGGED NUMBERS
>FROM THE HACK DOCTORS MAY IT BE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE OR
>WHATEVER.
>
>THESE DOCTORS AND CARRIERS SHOULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE, OR IN
>THE WORDS OF THE BEST PRESIDENT WE'VE EVER HAD IN HISTORY
>OUR PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH BRING THESE DOCTORS AND CARRIERS
>TO "JUSTICE"
>
>CHANGE THE LAWS ALLOW 3 TERMS AND ALLOW G.W.B REMAIN AS
>PRESIDENT


I HAVE TO AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT ONE!!!!! THERE IS STILL HOPE, MAYBE FRED THOMPSON WILL GET IN THE RACE!!!

2002 GMC Savana 3500 DRW 15' cube 10,000 GVWR "Old Yeller"
former Penske truck

 

[wallytrucker1]

I certainly hope you are not including Snickers W/almonds in that comparison. I may have to remove you from my Christmas card list Cheri..

 

[JohnMueller]

ROYAL FLUSH;

DOT Physicals are NOT a joke. The physical is one of the most important items contained in a Driver Qualification file. FYI - carriers can mandate that driver/contractors physicals be done by a carrier approved physician only, or can allow the driver/contractor to choose the physician of their choice. The DOT revised the physical form a couple years back to include very specific instructions for physicians use on proper completion. The physician is the person responsible for the contents of the physical.

Folks can pass a DOT physical, even if they are obese or have high blood pressure. The instructions stipulate that those individuals who have these medical conditions are issued Medical cards for periods less than the typical 2 year card - for example, a person with BP of 140/91 will be issued a card for no longer than one year.

As to your comment about carriers accepting cards with fudged numbers, how does that carrier know that a driver/contractor's physical was fudged? - they don't. Carriers depend on the physician to accurately record the driver/contractor's health on the physical form. The attending doctor is the only person who could possibly be responsible for the form's content, unless of course the driver/contractor provided false information to that doctor.

Thanks,
HotFr8Recruiter

 

[garman351]

Being a bigger person I'm offended that everybody has to be very careful on what they say about race, color etc. But fat People are fair game.

Let me tell you something,Ive been a bigger person my whole life and my blood pressure etc is perfect. I was working on farms going through high school and some hard labor job's through the years and I was the last fat person you would want to #####-off. I have seen just as many (skinny) chain smoking People that eat poorly who caughed-up a smerf while the rest of us were trying to enjoy a meal.

Fat People are cruely treated and laughed at and are discriminated at job interviuws etc. Ive never seen a fat reciptionist at any businesses or car sales etc. It makes me sick to think most job interviuwers especially a man looks at a lot of woman they hire only thinking they will get laid sometime down the road!

Be careful about cutting down Santa Claus, hes a fat man everybody seems to love for just a short amount of time every year. Talk about double standards in our society. Most (DOT) physiacals are a joke for most People even the fat ones who actually pass their tests.

The next time you run into me at a truck stop run up to me and tell me how fat I'am if you have the guts. Most People are kind but there is the vast majority who has nothing good to say about anything.

Garman351

 

[bryan]

Hi

Somebody must be doing something right.Since the last 4 years have been the safest in the last 50 years to be a truck driver.

Of course everytime a semi is invovled in a fatal accident it makes the headlines due to the fact that we get our news instantly now.Then throw in the fact that attorneys have turned truck accidents into a multi million dollar business.

The industry has made great progress but that isn't going to make any headlines on CNN FOX or the New York Times."Killer trucks" sell its just that simple.