Medically Unqualified Drivers Operating Heavy Trucks
Our lawyers recently completed a case in which the driver of a heavy truck which caused a collision with serious injuries was found to be disabled and medically unable to be operating the vehicle. For many years, The National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, has been pushing for increased regulations to prevent medically unqualified drivers from operating commercial vehicles such as tractor trailers and heavy trucks.
Based on investigations of accidents involving drivers with serious medical conditions, the NTSB determined that serious problems exist in the medical certification process for commercial vehicle drivers. According to the NTSB, these problems can lead to increased highway deaths and injuries for commercial vehicle drivers, passengers, and the motoring public.
The NTSB study found that many commercial vehicle drivers who have serious medical conditions which are known to their employers, physicians, or others, are never reported to the appropriate board or motor vehicle licensing authorities. Enforcement authorities cannot in most instances determine the validity of a medical certificate during safety inspections and other routine stops, because of the absence of procedures or information sources to validate the medical information on the driver’s certificate. According to the NTSB, in the absence of a mechanism to track all medical certification examinations, a commercial driver with a serious medical condition who is denied a medical certificate by one examiner, may be able to obtain a medical certificate from another examiner. This bypasses the purpose of the medical certification process and can endanger the motoring public.
According to the NTSB, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which has authority over commercial drivers, is working too slowly to complete directives from Congress that it, the FMSCA, ensure that medical examiners are qualified and know what to look for in conducting examinations on commercial drivers, track all medical certificate applications, enhance oversight enforcement in valid certificates, and provide a comprehensive mechanism for reporting medical conditions.
According to the NTSB, once these recommendations are implemented by the FMSCA, there should be a decrease in danger to the motoring public from medically unqualified drivers.
