The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced in the January 14 Federal Register that truck drivers still need a paper copy of their medical certification documents. Full details on the final rule are at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-01-14/pdf/2014-00445.pdf.
This requirement to carry a paper copy of the medical examiner’s certification will stay in effect until January 30, 2015, and it applies to any driver with either a commercial driver license (CDL) or the commercial learner’s permit (CLP) who must be medically certified under 49 CFR part 391. Fritz Mead, National Tank Truck Carriers vice-president, says it is important to note that drivers are still required to certify their status (eg, interstate or intrastate, exempt or non-exempt) with the State Driver License Agency (SDLA) agency before January 30, 2014 and to provide the SDLA a copy of any new medical certificate received after January 30, 2012.
FMCSA also extended the requirement for interstate motor carriers to retain copies of their drivers’ medical certificates in their driver qualification files. This extension of the requirement to carry a medical certificate card was needed to ensure that all SDLAs are prepared to accept and transmit the medical qualification of CDL and CLP holders on the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) driver record. This is the second time the agency has had to extend the paper requirement.
