FMCSA to Increase Medical Examiner Standards
The trucking industry is filled with all sorts of regulations. Still, perhaps one of the most important ones is having a medical examiner who can make the judgment call that someone is fit for driving an approximately 80,000-pound tractor-trailer combo. To that extent, the FMCSA is considering implementing a new rule that will wipe 17% of existing medical examiners from the list.
Details
The change comes from a published Final Rule in the Federal Register, which says that medical examiners must update their information with the National Registry through login.gov by February 26, 2024, in order to stay as a valid medical examiner with the FMCSA.
In a way, this requirement is a litmus test of sorts. After all, if a medical examiner is so negligent in his or her duties as to fail to update their contact information, how can they be trusted with determining something as important as deciding whether or not someone is physically capable of fulfilling the duties of a commercial driver?
Interesting to note is that this change is expected to have little to no impact on valid testing, as there are almost 77,000 registered medical examiners who have undergone the process already.
“FMCSA does not anticipate any concerns that there are too few MEs to meet the demand for physical qualification examinations, and the possible removal of approximately 15,727 MEs, as proposed in this notice, will not have any impact on the availability of certified MEs to perform physical qualification examinations of CMV drivers,” the FMCSA says in its notice.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the only effect we see this having on the trucking industry is significantly reducing the chances of a shady deal where a medical examiner who has not given an examination for an extended period is given money to pass a driver who would otherwise be unfit for the road. As such, this regulatory change is a quick and easy way to increase safety on the road for almost no cost to the American taxpayer, and forces minimal burden onto trucking fleets that operate in good faith.
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