NEW CDL DRIVER RULE RESTRICTS CHOICE OF MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL FOR DRIVER PHYSICALS:

A new rule issued by the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) establishes a National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (National Registry) responsible for conducting driver physical exams for CDL licensure. The new rule requires on or after May 21, 2014, all medical professionals who conduct physical examinations necessary for CDL licensure must be listed on the National Registry. In order to be listed on the National Registry, medical professionals must earn certification by completing training and testing in FMCSA's physical qualification standards for drivers. Most private practice doctors are not expected to undergo the required testing, training and certification. As a result, many drivers who have relied on family doctors to provide CDL medical qualification certificates will be required under the new rule to select a medical professional listed on the newly created National Registry. Typically, such medical professionals are private clinics specializing in DOT compliance services. The FMCSA said the rule is necessary to prevent medical professionals with no knowledge of FMCSA rules from “rubber stamping” driver medical certificates. The rule was mandated by Congress under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005 (49 U.S.C. 31149).

COMPLIANCE DEADLINE: May 21, 2014.

DRIVER RESPONSIBILITY: On or after May 21, 2014, CDL drivers seeking a medical certificate necessary to obtain or renew a CDL license must undergo a physical examination by a medical professional listed on the FMCSA National Registry. Drivers with unexpired medical certificates on May 21, 2014 are NOT required to obtain a new medical certificate from a medical professional listed on the National Registry until their current certificate expires.

INTERSTATE DRIVERS AND INTRASTATE DRIVERS: While the FMCSA rule applies to interstate drivers only, most states adopt FMCSA regulations to cover intrastate drivers as well because failure to do so would result in the loss of federal transportation funding. It is likely that every state will adopt the new FMCSA rule for intrastate drivers as written.

MARKETER RESPONSIBILITIES: Petroleum marketers have very limited responsibilities under the new rule. For medical certificates issued on or after May 21, 2014, petroleum marketers must obtain an original or copy of the medical certificate from the driver or medical professional along with verification that the certificate was completed by a medical professional listed on the National Registry. Both the medical certificate and the verification must be kept in the driver’s qualification file. Verification may be as simple as a note placed in the driver qualification file by the marketer indicating that the certificate was issued by a medical professional listed on the National Registry. Marketers may use the online look up feature on the National Registry to make verification.

NATIONAL REGISTRY: Medical professionals listed on the FMCSA’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners can be searched by locality and Zip Code on an interactive map at:

https://nationalregistry.fmcsa.dot.gov/NRPublicUI/home.seam
 

GOT QUESTIONS? CONTACT Mark S. Morgan, Esq., PMAA Regulatory Counsel
(202) 364-6767 or mmorgan@pmaa.org