To carry or not to carry: 65 percent of readers say physical med card still key in inspections

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Manchester Scales — Johnny McBee checks a logbook
Violation of the 60/70-hour rule due to a nonqualifying restart under the new hours of service will result in the driver being placed out of service.

Despite official change in the necessity for drivers to carry physical copies of their medical cards as of Jan. 30, several readers noted they’d continue carrying their card and/or the full medical long form absent solid evidence that roadside officers wouldn’t be continuing to request certification documentation during inspections.

The chart here shows Overdrive readers’ answer to the question, posed this month, of whether their last inspection included hand-over of the physical medical card or an electronic check of medical certification credentials on file.

During your last inspection, were you asked to supply your medical card?

Noted Tom Strese under news of the physical-card policy change on Overdrive‘s Facebook page, for instance: “Maybe [carrying the medical card is] no longer required — until the first uninformed officer writes a person up for not having it.” As evidenced by the February polling here at OverdriveOnline.com, the physical medical card remained part of more than 6 in 10 readers’ most-recent roadside stops.

Continuing to carry physical proof of certification will remain an option, as medical examiners will continue to issue the certificate for CDL and non-CDL commercial drivers alike. Drivers are required to report renewal to their state licensing organization, as previously reported.