Tag: medical certification

Business

Further extensions of CDL-related COVID waivers unlikely, official says

And more from FMCSA top brass and CVSA: a common misconception about the short-haul exception, new split-sleeper-berth usage, crash preventability, and more.

November 17, 2020

Voices

Turn down sleep apnea noise machine — quantum-leap logic and unnecessary rigmarole are not in interest of safety

NASTC President David Owen on the re-emergency of strict sleep apnea screening protocols: Follow the ambulance chaser’s logic: "If we all have apnea and untreated apnea causes fatigue, then we’re all fatigued, all of the time!" The truth is more complex.

July 23, 2020

Business

Evidence emerges of stricter approach – and confusion – around sleep apnea screening

A draft update to the FMCSA's official guidebook for medical examiners may be to blame for confusion over sleep apnea screening for truck drivers. Details here.

June 26, 2020

Overdrive Radio

How former heavy-haul owner-op and current fuel hauler Lonnie Laurie became the sometime ‘one-armed bandit’

Listen as Lonnie Laurie, sometimes dubbed the 'one-armed bandit,' recalls life as a heavy-haul owner-operator and more in this week's Overdrive Radio podcast.

January 24, 2020

Channel 19

Critical med-cert step to avoid one ‘acute violation’ in audits

Breakdowns in the process for electronically marrying a driver’s updated medical certification with his/her CDL has been a “fertile field for auditors” in back-office compliance reviews, yielding acute violations that contribute adversely to safety ratings.

November 1, 2019

Life

New health-coaching service aimed at helping fleets of all sizes aid drivers’ health efforts

Bob “The Trucker Trainer” Perry and the men and women behind the Espyr company have recently developed and launched the “Fit to Pass” program for fleets of all shapes and sizes who want to give their drivers a way to ensure health fitness ahead of their DOT physicals — and beyond.

October 28, 2019

Channel 19

Owner-operator Alex Prifti’s new authority and, better yet, 1987 359

See how an owner-operator, Alex Prifti, handles the trucking industry at this day in age. Learn all about Prifti and get other owner-operator news on Overdrive.

September 13, 2018

Business

Search returns to certified medical examiner site; FMCSA mum on hack details

Truckers can now search the DOT’s online registry for certified examiners by zip code, says the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, but the full registry remains offline three months after a hack prompted its outage.

February 23, 2018

Business

6,600 drivers will need new medical card after Georgia-based examiner’s arrest, DOT estimates

Truck drivers who received their current medical certification from Dr. Anthony Lefteris, who operated out of a Petro in Atlanta, will need to be re-examined and issued a fresh medical certification by another examiner, the Department of Transportation says.

December 20, 2016

Business

OOIDA accuses FMCSA of sidestepping rule process with sleep apnea provision, files legal challenge

OOIDA filed its legal challenge Nov. 11, seeking to vacate the rule either in part or in whole. OOIDA says the final rule, which required procedural changes for medical examiners, included an appendix not found in the agency’s 2014 proposal that could subject some truckers to sleep apnea screening.

November 15, 2016

Channel 19

Thursday roundup: Chiropractors and sleep apnea tests, Rhode Island throws parking bone to truckers

Road report from owner-operator Joe Bielucki on a recently-reopened Rhode Island truck rest area on I-95, and a view on the Medical Review Board’s recent apnea screening/testing recommendation: Should chiropractors be able to order retesting?

October 27, 2016

Business

Sleep apnea: Problems with one-year medical certification

The Medical Review Board’s preliminary apnea recommendations would enshrine a practice that’s increasingly common with truckers being treated successfully for sleep apnea: a one-year medical certification.

October 20, 2016