Hi everyone,

I do not think that I will be seeking certification for this. I do quite a few CDL exams. I have approached these in the same fashion that I practice all other areas of medicine. I believe that common sense and judgment are essential parts of a determination of fitness to drive a truck, just as they are part of determination whether someone needs to be hospitalized, needs to be started on medication for a chronic condition, and so forth. It appears that, increasingly, the requirement that the rules be taken absolutely literally, and probably that the rules become more stringent, is very likely.

I have two concerns. Here is a quote from the AAFP article cited above:

"Additionally, the final rule requires medical examiners to provide copies of medical reports and certificates to the safety agency within 48 hours of a request from enforcement personnel. "This level of responsiveness is required to enable FMCSA to investigate patterns of errors or improper certification by medical examiners," says the final rule."

I think that this means, after a trucker is involved in any type of accident or violation, the medical certification will be looked at very very closely. I suspect that penalties will be assessed, if there is any irregularity or deviation from the federal standards.

Secondly, it is likely that, especially if rules get tighter, many current drivers will no longer be qualified. I, personally, would find it just about impossible to tell someone that I've known for 25 years, who has been a safe driver, and whom I believe is perfectly competent to operate a truck, that he is no longer able to earn a livelihood.

I can easily imagine a situation where diabetics must demonstrate an A1C less than eight. Or that BMI must be below 35. So I would have to tell the guy with A1C of 8.1, or a BMI of 36, that they have to seek other work. Which, in our area, is essentially impossible. If this has to occur, I'd rather be done by the doc in a box, than by me.

Am I being a wimp? Most likely. I just don't see any good whatsoever coming from this.

Gene

Gene Nallin MD solo family practice with one PA Cumberland, Md