New DOT physical qualifications start May 21st

blackpup · May 7, 2014

Just ran search for medical personnel qualified/certified to preform the DOT physical in my home town. There are six, of which total , four are nurse practitioners .

jimmy

zorry · May 7, 2014

AMonger said:
Falls into the category of "You know it, and I know it, but tell that to..."
In this case, doctors, and drivers who have been sent for mandatory sleep studies as a condition of getting their medical card.
I can hear it now: "Doctor, have you been sued yet?"
"What do you mean?"
"For applying standards over and above what the FMCSA allows as a disqualifying factor. Because that's what's about to happen."
Does a doctor then have to choose his lawsuit, and does the driver have the resources to press it?

Read post 11.
If they've left it up to the desecration of the Dr, I don't see any error in him deciding you should be tested.

He may be swayed by referral fees, but that's an ethics issue.

Jamin_Joe · May 7, 2014

Another turd flew my way from this and Im a bit ticked off. Things were going well with me signing up with a company to drive with and the new medical requirements are being adopted for all drivers, even for noncommercial vehicles. Ie, under 10000lbs.

Seems that the poop keeps following me and it is very discouraging.

ATeam · May 7, 2014

skyraider said:
So, how do expediters stay in shape?

That is perhaps the most important question asked in this thread. There are the things you cannot control, like the regs that are imposed against our wishes and against the feedback truckers provide in the listening sessions. And there are the things you can control like what you eat and drink, and how often you exercise.

But getting into and staying in shape while living and working on the road is easier said than done. The food that is most easily found out on the road is also the food that is often unhealthy to eat. While the knowledge that exercise is good for you is there, the irregular schedule and irregular sleep patterns expediters have make it difficult to maintain a routine. While the desire to eat healthy and exercise may be there, the lack of a routine and the irregular sleep erodes the will power that is needed to eat well and exercise.

Logically, ones own health should be a top priority that everyone shares. Realistically, there are forces at work out there that make the unhealthy path of least resistance easier to follow.

How do expediters stay in shape? There are many ways, of course. Join a gym with many locations so you can use it on the road, develop an exercise routine you can follow in the truck, plan your meals ahead of time and stick to the plan, make extensive use of the fitness rooms in truck stops, track your diet and calories (a highly effective yet simple method); the list goes on. But before any of these will be effective and produce lasting benefits, the mind must change and habits must change too (not easy).

For many people, there comes a point where the bad food does not taste good any more and the good food tastes better. There comes a point where the inner tug to work out grows stronger than the inner tug to sit on the couch. There comes a point where the inner tug to grab a snack at a drive-through window fades and is replaced by an inner tug to drink water or snack on fruit.

Habits are powerful forces. Making the shift from unhealthy habits to healthy ones can happen but such changes do not come easy. It takes two to three months of doing the right thing to substitute a good habit for a bad one. For expediters, with their irregular schedules and easy access to bad food, the habit-change challenge is greater.

AMonger · May 7, 2014

zorry said:
Read post 11.
If they've left it up to the desecration of the Dr, I don't see any error in him deciding you should be tested.

He may be swayed by referral fees, but that's an ethics issue.

The desecration?
What if they leave it up to the discretion of the doctor to disqualify those with brown eyes?
The FMCSA doesn't allow it as a disqualifying factor. As Turtle pointed out in another thread, the medical/sleep industry wanted to make it one but Congress rejected their attempts.

zorry · May 7, 2014

I'll blame desecration on spell check.
I'm not arguing that it's right.
I'm not saying the run around will pass the legal battle.

All I said is I do not believe your issue is with the individual Dr.

The FMSCA will most likely be sued over this.

paullud · May 7, 2014

zorry said:
There are plenty of Chiropractors and possibly some shady Drs that will basically sell you a card.

I haven't paid a lot of attention but I think someone mentioned there's increased liability on the Dr.

Also, some Drs may not have taken them seriously. ( got 10 fingers,10 toes ? You pass.)

I don't enjoy the increased cost but if this causes somebody to get a better physical,and possibly corrective treatment, and later he doesn't run over a car with kids in it, it'll be $100 well spent.

How many accidents are caused by an improper physical?

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layoutshooter · May 7, 2014

paullud said:
How many accidents are caused by an improper physical?

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I bet that would be difficult to quantify.

paullud · May 7, 2014

layoutshooter said:
I bet that would be difficult to quantify.

For us yes but the government should have a close number and I find it odd that they aren't using it to explain why things need to change. It seems like it would be pretty easy to know that driver A had a physical 2 months ago but went into a diabetic coma while driving.

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Jamin_Joe · May 7, 2014

I dont think it is with the doctors, they will become liable if they certify someone as being ok and they get involved in an accident and FMCSA rules get misinterpreted by the Plantifs Lawyer. The rule book has multiple definitions for the same things. The FMCSA bases their findings on statistics according to OOIDA, and not real world experiences.

In my case with my eye, they clearly go over board. In my bad eye, I can see over 4 lanes of traffic out of the corner of my left eye and my driving record is perfect. I may have to abandon my Expeditng business because of the stricter rules. This is what upsets me, all the money and the dream of doing something to take control of my career. Seems like I keep getting knocked backwards by Bs.

Frustrating!

AMonger · May 7, 2014

paullud said:
How many accidents are caused by an improper physical?

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I think that's one reason Congress stepped on them. Not only was this done absent proper rule making procedure, but they really can't even quantify the problem they're purporting to use to financially enrich the medical community, er, I mean, the problem they're purporting to solve.

And know that congress slapped them down, the businessmen have found a different avenue to see to it they get to vacation in Hawaii and their daughters get a more lavish wedding.

layoutshooter · May 7, 2014

paullud said:
For us yes but the government should have a close number and I find it odd that they aren't using it to explain why things need to change. It seems like it would be pretty easy to know that driver A had a physical 2 months ago but went into a diabetic coma while driving.

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I doubt that the government has that good of records, and even if they did, it would still be hard to PROVE. The coma in itself, even that close to a physical, would not be PROOF. I also would be very shy of trusting any numbers they put out. They have way too many agendas they are pushing.

zorry · May 7, 2014

So, you want to say bad physicals could be a problem, but resist attempts to improve the physicals with the registry ?

The registry I am fine with.
The sleep studies, I'm fine with,as long as the cost is covered by the carrier/insurance company.

layoutshooter · May 7, 2014

zorry said:
So, you want to say bad physicals could be a problem, but resist attempts to improve the physicals with the registry ?

The registry I am fine with.
The sleep studies, I'm fine with,as long as the cost is covered by the carrier/insurance company.

I am NOT fine with the government "approving" doctors, that is DANGEROUS. I am NOT fine with "sleep studies" since the science they are using is, at best, flawed.

zorry · May 7, 2014

Is there a pass/fail to the registry ?
Or can any Dr that is willing to take the training, understand the regs, able to get in.

If so, that is Not government approval.

Saying we'll only accept Drs that do this, approve of that, would be government approval.

layoutshooter · May 7, 2014

There should be no registry. That is FAR TOO much power being taken by federal government. Makes it far too easy for the feds to push an agenda, bypassing the rule of the People. There should be NO regulatory agencies. ONLY the Congress should have that power.

zorry · May 7, 2014

Should Drs be licensed ?
All the registry is , I believe, is a license to practice the art of DOT Physical Exams.

Nothing more, nothing less.

layoutshooter · May 7, 2014

zorry said:
Should Drs be licensed ?
All the registry is , I believe, is a license to practice the art of DOT Physical Exams.

Nothing more, nothing less.

NOT by the Feds. Drs are NONE of the feds business. That is a STATES issue. NO further intruding by the Feds should be accepted.

paullud · May 7, 2014

zorry said:
So, you want to say bad physicals could be a problem, but resist attempts to improve the physicals with the registry ?

The registry I am fine with.
The sleep studies, I'm fine with,as long as the cost is covered by the carrier/insurance company.

I think the point is that there is no proof that "improper" physicals are a problem or dangerous.

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