Medical examiners will now need to begin using new forms as part of the Medical Examiner鈥檚 Certification Integration rule, and the changes to the forms will have an impact on truck drivers. What follows are several changes the rule will bring.
1. Carriers and Drivers Should Double Check Form Numbers
Under the change, as of December 22, medical examiners are required to use the revised driver examination forms accessible from the National Registry and FMCSA websites. They are the Medical Examination Report Form, MCSA-5875 (the nine-page form the examiner fills out) and Medical Examiner鈥檚 Certificate, (the smaller certificate that is given to the driver).
Daren Hansen, a senior editor with , said carriers and drivers could experience difficulties if a medical examiner uses the wrong form.
鈥淭hey should look for the form number in the upper corner and make sure the right form numbers are there 鈥� Form MCSA-5875 and Form MCSA-5876,鈥� he said. If they aren鈥檛, the carrier could get in trouble for having used the wrong forms or if the CDL driver brings in the wrong form they could be rejected, and their license could be affected.鈥�
2. Drivers May Want to Get in 45 Days Early
As part of the new form, if a medical examiner is unable to make a final determination on a driver and needs more information, such as a sleep test or information from the driver鈥檚 physician, he or she could mark the form 鈥渄etermination pending.鈥� That would give the driver 45 days to submit the necessary information to the examiner.
If the driver has a current and valid medical examiner鈥檚 certificate (MEC), he or she may continue to operate under that MEC during the 45-day period. However, if the MEC were to expire either before or during that timeframe, the driver would no longer be qualified.
鈥淚t is tough to recommend drivers go in 45 days early for an exam, but that may be what drivers need to do in order to continue driving until they submit all of the necessary information or they will want to ensure they bring in everything they need when they go in for an exam,鈥� Hansen said.
If the requested information is not provided in the allotted 45 days, a new examination will be required in order for the driver to obtain a med card.
3. Drivers May Need Multiple Exams
In the past, medical examiners could update or extend exam forms for a certain period, then file them without doing a complete new exam, but that is no longer the case.
鈥淟et鈥檚 say a driver has hypertension. Today a lot of examiners would issue a prescription and an extension on the medical card for 30 days, then have the driver come back to show his blood pressure has gone down. When the driver comes back they鈥檇 sign off on the blood pressure being down and issue a card for two years,鈥� Hansen explained. 鈥淣ow they can鈥檛 do that. They鈥檒l have to complete a whole new exam.鈥�
Hansen said that is partly due to the way the forms are transmitted. 鈥淥nce you submit a form, you can鈥檛 go in and change it again,鈥� he said, adding that drivers may be paying for a lot more exams than they used to as a result.
4. Carriers, Drivers Need to Ensure a Medical Examiner is on the National Registry
Hansen said drivers need to verify that the medical examiner they are using is actively listed on the .
鈥淭hey have to check for every exam and the rule says they have to document their notes about it. That could mean writing down the name and date on a napkin or on a form,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey just have to have something to show the DOT they did, in fact, make the verification.鈥�
By "Move Ahead" Staff
For the fifth consecutive year 
Criteria for the survey included a benchmark score across key programs and policies such as the strength of company military recruiting efforts, the percentage of new hires with prior military service, retention programs and company policies on National Guard and Reserve service.
糖心传媒 Logistics truck driver Ray Osborne.
Jesse Burnette, 糖心传媒 Logistics truck driver.
William Black is a 糖心传媒 operations supervisor.
A highlight of his captainship was co-driving a tractor over 2,360 miles, from Pittsburgh to Reno, Nevada. He was sent to Pittsburgh for a FedEx safety event, where he was able to advise their fleet on best practices. From there, the ATA had asked the captains to deliver the truck out west for another event.
Throughout the year, 糖心传媒鈥檚 professional truck 
Consumers rely on the nation鈥檚 3.4 million professional truck drivers to deliver the goods they want when they need them 鈥� from food and clothing to furniture and electronics. In honor of National Truck Driver Appreciation Week from Sept. 13-19, is thanking and recognizing the company鈥檚 more than 4,000 professional truck drivers who help keep the world moving forward.
糖心传媒鈥檚 recruiting team will be available to meet with prospective associates at upcoming job fairs in Detroit, Los Angeles and Houston. These job fairs are open to active duty, veterans, guard/reservists and military spouses. 糖心传媒 will be at the following RecruitMilitary fairs between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.:
and have committed to hiring several hundred U.S. military veterans and their spouses into their workforce over the next several years as part of the Hiring Our Heroes program.