Skip to content

CVSA Considering Out-of-Service Citation for Drivers Who Don't Have Medical Certificate

By Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor

Under new guidelines being considered by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, a truck driver who twice fails to have a medical certificate on hand could be placed out of service.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration asked CVSA to change its criteria to make not having the certificate an out-of-service offence the first time it happens, but the CVSA committee that makes these determinations decided that the better approach is to give the driver two strikes.

The change would not take effect until the full membership of CVSA ratifies the committee’s decision at the group’s fall meeting, said executive director Steve Keppler.

Even as a second strike, adding the certificate to the list of out-of-service criteria is potentially a significant compliance issue.

Failure to have a medical certificate is the fourth most common violation in the new CSA enforcement program, after form-and-manner log violations, logs not current and speeding, said Rob Abbott, vice president of safety policy at American Trucking Associations.

Industry Objects

Industry members of CVSA objected to the FMCSA’s request for a first-strike violation.

“We felt very strongly that it does not make sense to make it an out-of-service item because (those) criteria should be about preventing people from operating who present an imminent hazard,” Abbott said. “Drivers who forget to carry a med card don’t present an imminent hazard.”

Abbott also said that preliminary analysis of CSA data shows that failure to have a certificate does not indicate a higher risk of being involved in a crash.
The members of the CVSA committee that drafts the out-of-service criteria found that the industry’s arguments were valid, and decided on the second-strike approach, Keppler said.

Both Keppler and Abbott said that the FMCSA initiative arises from the agency’s stepped-up focus on driver medical issues – bus drivers, for instance, already can be placed out of service for the first violation. And there is a safety issue: while many drivers simply forget their card, others don’t have one because they are not qualified to get one.

The agency confirmed this in a statement: “This action is designed to encourage full compliance with the existing medical qualification rules and improve the safety of our nation’s roadways.”

Keppler and Abbott also said the agency wants to build additional protection into the system because some state licensing departments may not be ready to start validating driver medical certificates as required starting January 30, 2012.
Under an FMCSA rule made final in 2008, states must start recording the valid certificates of new drivers next January, and recording the certificates of existing drivers January 30, 2014.

Some states are concerned about getting this done on time, confirmed Kevin Lewis, director of driver programs for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. They have limited resources and many priorities, he said. “They are stretched thin.”

Keppler explained that roadside inspectors will be able to check prior violations of the certificate requirement through the Driver Information Resource database.
He also said that FMCSA has asked CVSA to have roadside inspectors start doing random checks of the accuracy of certificates by calling the doctor listed on the certificate directly. The alliance is figuring out how it might implement such a program, he said.

Printer Friendly Version
Email This Story
RSS
Bookmark and Share

Government/Regulations: Related News

5/9/2011 – FMCSA Reopens HOS Docket; Comments Sought on Four New Fatigue Studies

Four new fatigue studies have surfaced, and on Friday afternoon the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reopened the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking comment period to allow for review of the newly presented research….
More

5/9/2011 – CVSA Considering Out-of-Service Citation for Drivers Who Don’t Have Medical Certificate

Under new guidelines being considered by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, a truck driver who twice fails to have a medical certificate on hand could be placed out of service….
More

5/6/2011 – FMCSA Toughens Driver Licensing Rules

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is tightening its standards for commercial driver’s license testing, and creating a new commercial learner’s permit. In a rule published in today’s Federal Register, the agency completes a three-year effort to correct shortcomings in the driver testing and licensing system….
More

5/3/2011 – Committee Urges FMCSA to Seek Jurisdiction Over Shippers

The Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee recommended the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration seek jurisdiction over shippers, receivers and brokers who ‘unduly detain’ drivers….
More

4/29/2011 – ATA, CTA Call to on Government to Abandon Proposed Tanker Wetline Regulation

The American Trucking Associations and the Canadian Trucking Alliance called on the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to abandon proposed wetline regulations….
More

4/28/2011 – FMCSA Advisory Committee to Make Recommendations on Sleep Apnea

The next step in the federal effort to address sleep apnea in truck drivers will come this summer, when the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will ask a panel of advisers for recommendations on how it should proceed….
More

4/26/2011 – Obama Introduces Oil Speculation Task Force

Last week, President Obama announced the creation of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, a working group designed to root out illegal speculation oil markets. The announcement came one week after Goldman Sachs estimated that speculation may account for up to one-fifth of oil prices….
More

4/25/2011 – NY Truckers Prevail in DERA Battle

Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that contractors engaged in state sponsored work are not required to abide by the requirements of that state’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act regulations….
More

4/25/2011 – John Hill Talks About Life at the FMCSA

When John Hill went to Washington to serve on the still-relatively-new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in 2006, he says, “I thought I would have a lot of say in truck safety in this country.” But, he now says, he discovered that decisions in Washington are politically driven in most cases….
More

4/21/2011 – New Jersey Idling Ban to Start May 1

A ban on idling in New Jersey will go into effect on May 1 for pre-2007 model year trucks, despite local truckers’ efforts to get the law modified….
More

4/20/2011 – Former FMCSA Chief Speaks out on HOS, EOBRs

Former Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator John Hill believes it’s going to take Congressional action to put an end to the never-ending cycle of hours of service litigation and rewrites….
More

4/18/2011 – Obama Signs Repeal of 1099 Provision of Healthcare Reform

President Obama signed into law a bill last Thursday repealing the healthcare reform law’s 1099 tax reporting requirement, relieving small businesses of future paperwork burdens….
More

4/18/2011 – Trucking Groups Oppose DC Parking Tax

The American Trucking Associations and three other groups filed comments with the District of Columbia against proposed regulations that would impose a parking tax on the operators of commercial vehicles loading or unloading in the city….
More

4/14/2011 – California DMV Enrolls in Motor Carrier Insurance Database

The California Department of Motor Vehicles recently enrolled with the National Online Registries to electronically receive insurance information for trucking companies that use subscribing insurance companies….
More

4/14/2011 – ATA Leaders Call on FMCSA to Retain HOS Rules in Face of New Data

Officials from the American Trucking Associations again called on the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, to abandon their proposed changes to the hours-of-service rules following the release of new data showing significant declines in truck-related crashes….
More

4/13/2011 – FMCSA Proposes Details of Mexico Trucking Pilot Program

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposed its plan for a three-year pilot program in which Mexican and U.S. carriers could offer long-distance service into each country.

The program is the result of an agreement between President Obama and President Calderón of Mexico to resolve the long-standing dispute over cross-border trucking. FMCSA will publish the details of the program in the Federal Register on Thursday and will take comments for 30 days….
More

4/13/2011 – FMCSA Seeks Comments on EOBRs and Driver Harassment

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking for additional comments on whether its proposed mandate for electronic onboard recorders sets up the possibility of driver harassment.

The agency believes its proposal would ensure that EOBRs are not used to harass drivers, but in reaction to a recent suit challenging its treatment of harassment in an earlier EOBR rule, it wants to be sure that everyone has a chance to comment on the issue….
More

4/13/2011 – ATA Chairman Windsor Calls for Sensible Hazmat Regulations

American Trucking Associations Chairman Barbara Windsor, president and CEO of Hahn Transportation, told a House panel that changes are needed to the regulations governing hazmat shipments to improve efficiency and relieve unnecessary regulatory burdens….
More

4/12/2011 – Right to Repair Act Introduced in Congress

Representatives Todd Platts, R-Pa., and Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., have introduced the Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act, HR 1449, into the 112th Congress….
More

4/11/2011 – WIT Meets With NTSB Chair

National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman spent nearly four days recently immersed in activities to help her better understand the trucking industry….
More

4/11/2011 – Senate Bill Would Create Clearinghouse for Drug and Alcohol Test Results

The Senate last week opened another front in the long-running effort to establish a national clearinghouse for truck driver drug and alcohol test results.

The Safe Roads Act of 2011, introduced by Sens. Mark Pryor and John Boozman, both Republicans from Arkansas, would give the Department of Transportation two years after passage to establish the clearinghouse…
More

4/8/2011 – Bill Would Allow States to Raise Truck Weight Limits

A bill was introduced in the Senate Thursday that would put an end to the federal freeze on changes in truck sizes and weights, allowing states to allow 97,000-pound, six-axle rigs on their highways….
More

4/7/2011 – CARB Offers Special Compliance Option for California On-Road Fleets

The California Air Resources Board announced an early action compliance credit for trucking fleets that install a particulate filter by July 1, 2011, or that make a commitment to purchase a particulate filter by May 1, 2011….
More

4/7/2011 – 2011 NAT GAS Act Introduced

The New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions of 2011, or NAT GAS, Act, was introduced Wednesday to provide incentives for the use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel, the purchase of natural-gas-fueled vehicles, and the installation of natural gas vehicle refueling infrastructure….
More

4/6/2011 – ATA Points Out Outdated Rules to DOT

Responding to President Obama’s call to help reduce the regulatory burden on U.S. businesses, the American Trucking Associations highlighted nine outdated, obsolete or onerous rules that the Department of Transportation should reconsider….
More

4/6/2011 – CARB Makes Over $100 Million Available For Truck Clean-Up

The California Air Resources Board in coordination with six local air districts is offering $106 million in grant funding to help qualified diesel truck owners upgrade or replace their vehicles….
More

4/5/2011 – EPA Streamlines Aftermarket Natural Gas Conversion

The federal government just made it easier to convert cars and trucks to run on natural gas….
More

4/4/2011 – EOBR Mandate Reintroduced in Senate

Two senators have restarted last year’s effort to pass a bill that would mandate electronic onboard recorders on most trucks.

Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., reintroduced the Commercial Driver Compliance Improvement Act, a bill they offered last September but that expired at the end of the congressional session….
More

4/1/2011 – CVSA: Cutting Funding Will Weaken Commercial Vehicle Enforcement

As Congress looks for ways to cut the federal budget and deficit, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance warned a Congressional committee that funding commercial motor vehicle safety programs at lower than current levels would weaken state enforcement efforts. As a result, enforcement would be unable to maintain the progress that has been made and large truck-related injuries and deaths could tick upwards….
More

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
We'll deliver tax strategies to your inbox from our CPA firm.
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.