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Updated information about the FMCSA proposed medical ruling for CDL requirements.

According to Trasport Topics, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last week issued a final rule requiring all interstate truck drivers to prove they have passed medical examinations and proposed a separate rule setting up a national registry of qualified examiners.

The rule would require proof of an exam to obtain and keep commercial driver license.

This  new rule, long sought by safety advocates, also will require states to merge commerical driver license records and truk drivers’ medical examination certificates into a singe electronic record that law enforcement officials could check at any time.

Current federal regulations require that commercial drivers pass medical exams every two years, but in most states, drivers are required only to prove evidence of their medical certifications to their employers or when asked by roadside inspectors or law enforcement officers.

Under the new rule, drivers will be required to keep their state licensing agencies informed each time they pass their mandated medical exams, which is every two years for drivers who don’t have special medical conditions. Some drivers with medical problems are required to pass medical exams as often as every three months!

The new driver medical requirements are intended to help prevent medically unqualified drivers from operating on the nation’s highways by providing state licensing agencies with a means of identifying interstate CDL holders who are unable to obtain a medical certificate.

FMCSA also said this rule would deter drivers from submitting falsified medical certificates because enforcement personnel would have electronic access to information about the medical certificate and the identity of the medical examiner.

After the new rule is implemented, drivers will no longer be required to carry a medical certification care in thier wallets.

*Did you know… During 2007, FMCSA and its state partners conducted more than 3.4 million roadside inspections, citing drivers with more than 145,000 violations for failing to have medical examination  certificated in their possession and issued 6,105 violations for physically unqualified drivers.

It is said that the propsed medical examiners rule would help prevent “doctor shopping” and fraud.