Medical card 2nd opinions

[Ragman]

We read about all guys with issues getting a med card. I wonder how many know it is ok to seek a second opinion.

When is it OK for a trucker to get a second opinion on a DOT physical?

 

[skyraider]

I bet that medical thing is deep in rumors and so on. But, as you all know, the government is here to help you to be all you can be, like that army of one thingie. Your left, your left, your left- right -left. Platoon halt! Right face! At, ease gentlemen, Smoke'm if you got 'em.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

With all the new "guidelines" That Fmsca has laid out.....each Dr. might not folllow them exactly the same as they are NOT rules but "Recommended Guidelines" If certain criteria is met by the patient...

take me for example....2 stents it is "highly recommended" to have me do a stress test every renewal time.... Its a CYA event for Drs. some might, most do.....
a stress test is about $2,000 more or less...every year just to keep my CDL.....that I don't use....so I let that endorsement expire this year....

 

[Ragman]

With all the new "guidelines" That Fmsca has laid out.....each Dr. might not folllow them exactly the same as they are NOT rules but "Recommended Guidelines" If certain criteria is met by the patient...

We hear a lot of guys say "I can't get a med card because the doc says I have ---, but I don't.

If that's the case, Get a 2nd opinion.

 

[cheri1122]

Maybe drivers think doctors are infallible, but DOT knows better. Not allowing a second opinion would be legally indefensible.

 

[rollincoal]

Wouldn't surprise me if they regulated a way to keep 2nd opinions out of it, or maybe with integrated medical records obamacare the second Dr is biased as to what the 1st Dr mistakenly believed, instead of independently concluding anything.

 

[RoadHouse]

All those hotdogs clog the arteries, OVM. I agree with you on the commercial license. What is the point of requiring cargo van drivers to have medical cards when it's not the law? Then the owners of the companies that super-impose rules on their drivers that don't exist complain when the government comes out with new rules and super-imposes them on their company. I wish you good luck in your new way of doing business my friend. Screw all of these arbitrary rules!

 

[cheri1122]

Roadhouse: you don't seem to understand who is imposing their rules on drivers. It's the insurance carriers, and when do you hear them complaining about government regulations?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Roadhouse: you don't seem to understand who is imposing their rules on drivers. It's the insurance carriers, and when do you hear them complaining about government regulations?

Actually it's IS the governments doing not the insurance companies... ALL CDL holders must have a a DOT physical! FMCSA requires it . The state enforces it... If one just had a passenger license then NO physical is required at any carrier I know of ....

 

[OntarioVanMan]

All those hotdogs clog the arteries, OVM. I agree with you on the commercial license. What is the point of requiring cargo van drivers to have medical cards when it's not the law? Then the owners of the companies that super-impose rules on their drivers that don't exist complain when the government comes out with new rules and super-imposes them on their company. I wish you good luck in your new way of doing business my friend. Screw all of these arbitrary rules!

I had to have one because I had a CDL that's the reason! And the law. Not a carrier thing.
And thanks!

 

[RoadHouse]

It is a carrier thing, but why do carriers like Panther force their cargo van drivers to get a commercial license? Why do carriers like Panther, E-1, Load One, and FedEx force their cargo van drivers to get DOT physicals when it is not a DOT requirement? You cnnot drive cargo van for the bigger companies without getting a DOT physical. Did I miss something here, or did things change recently?

 

[RoadHouse]

It's not an insurance thing either. There are many drivers who have their own cargo and liability insurance and they do not have a commercial license or a current DOT physical. It's something the carriers are arbitrarily imposing on their cargo van drivers.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

It is a carrier thing, but why do carriers like Panther force their cargo van drivers to get a commercial license? Why do carriers like Panther, E-1, Load One, and FedEx force their cargo van drivers to get DOT physicals when it is not a DOT requirement? You cnnot drive cargo van for the bigger companies without getting a DOT physical. Did I miss something here, or did things change recently?

Wrong sir....Load 1 does NOT make CV drivers have a DOT physical.....ONLY the drivers that have a CDL.....many of L1 drivers don't have a CDL.....and don't do the physicals....

I just got my renewal letter in the mail from the STATE...Renew or lose it....Carrier has nothing to do with it....It is the carriers obligation to make sure a drivers endorsements are up to date....

 

[Pro3500]

I kept my class A in NY for 19 years without a DOT. It was only when I signed on with FEDEX that I had to get a new DOT. I didn't drive commercial vehicle during that time period but I kept my license. I've had my class A for 39 years in NY.

 

[Turtle]

Wrong sir....Load 1 does NOT make CV drivers have a DOT physical.....ONLY the drivers that have a CDL.....many of L1 drivers don't have a CDL.....and don't do the physicals....

Yes and no. Load One requires CV drivers to pass a DOT physical when initially leased on, but after that they do not require annual or biennial examinations.

 

[Turtle]

It is a carrier thing, but why do carriers like Panther force their cargo van drivers to get a commercial license? Why do carriers like Panther, E-1, Load One, and FedEx force their cargo van drivers to get DOT physicals when it is not a DOT requirement? You cnnot drive cargo van for the bigger companies without getting a DOT physical. Did I miss something here, or did things change recently?

Panther requires van drivers to have a CDL for several reasons. One is, someone is likely to be a little more serious about the occupation if they go to the trouble of getting a CDL. Another is the theory that those with CDLs are smarter than those without (we all know what a load of crap that is, though).

It's not an insurance thing either. There are many drivers who have their own cargo and liability insurance and they do not have a commercial license or a current DOT physical. It's something the carriers are arbitrarily imposing on their cargo van drivers.

Actually, it's not arbitrary at all. They have specific reasons for requiring a DOT physical. Most of the things that will disqualify you from driving a CMV also make you a very expensive liability to a motor carrier in the case of an accident even of you are driving a cargo van. If you are blind in one eye, have diabetes and a current diagnosis of angina pectoris, and you have a heart attack as a result of going into a diabetic coma, and have an accident which injures or kills someone, the lawyers will have an absolute field day with the carrier's bank account. Such a scenario may sound unlikely and a little absurd, but it was that very situation that resulted in Panther requiring CDLs and DOT physicals of its cargo van drivers. (what allowed that to even happen in the first place, allowing such a driver to slip through the cracks, can be traced back to Panther's catering to fleet owners, especially van fleet owners, some with 30, 40 vans, rather than focusing on individual owner/operators, but I digress).

 

[cheri1122]

Bottom line is that it's about liability, and if that's not an insurance concept, what is?
I have searched for the threads/posts I remember stating that carrier requirements are passed on from insurance requirements, without any luck.
['Search' is a bad idea for an ADD person, lol, because I just get distracted reading everything, till I can't remember what I was looking for, hours ago.] Then I miss all those people that aren't here anymore, and that just bites.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I kept my class A in NY for 19 years without a DOT. It was only when I signed on with FEDEX that I had to get a new DOT. I didn't drive commercial vehicle during that time period but I kept my license. I've had my class A for 39 years in NY.

My state does not allow you to do that....If you possess a CDL endorsement you must have the physical when required....

 

[pearlpro]

Pesky rules and regulations driven by LAWYERS and then forced upon the rest of us, Ive always had to take a Physical never had Issues until all the sleep tests and apnea and such, I got a second opinion and was cleared and given a two year card....the issue is SKILL of the Clinic, are they simply in it for the MONEY, Imagine that or does the Dr really care about you as a Patient, Freind etc....I used my family Dr until I was told they would no longer do the CDL physicals due to costs and such. Then had to choose from the Money Mills....what a joke of a Physical that was....I mean really Monkeys could have been more professional, 12 minutes 125 dollars please.....

 

[RoadHouse]

I can see where heart conditions can be a problem, or even type 1 diabetes. Any ways, that does not matter as most drivers who have diabetes don't even know they have it. When Panther gave me the DOT physical, they tested my urine for sugar and protein spillage. The problem with that test is that those tests are not reliable like the A1C test.