What is the FMCSA Plan for Diabetic Driver Exemptions?
For those employees who follow FMCSA’s rules, diabetic driver exemptions are hard to come by. For one insulin-dependent commercial motor vehicle driver from Oak Park, Michigan, he had to wait for months for verification from medical experts that he was in a stable condition to go back to work. The driver, said this caused him a “lot of financial hardships due to the number of days he was out of work.” Despite all of his struggles, he ended up receiving a two-year medical exemption after agency officials were convinced that he was fit to continue working.
The FMCSA Plan with Diabetic Driver Exemptions
The program originally forced diabetics to go through an exemption process of up to 6 months. The new program to have the drivers exempted by the FMCSA was the right move and showed that it is possible to evaluate the insulin-treated drivers and identify those that have well-managed diabetes and can continue working.
According to the vice president of the American Diabetes Association legal advocacy, “the exemption program is a bit cumbersome and does not provide for instant medical certification after evaluation by a professional in that field of diabetes.” Even though many improvements have been seen as far as the treatment of diabetes is concerned, there are still serious problems for those drivers who are not in control of their condition.
Applications for Diabetic Driver Exemptions
According to FMCSA regulations, drivers who make applications for the diabetic exemption must go through an evaluation by an endocrinologist who is certified and eligible as the per the board’s regulations. The driver will then be “assessed by the endocrinologist against the different safety, medical, and operating guidelines of the entire program.”
Drivers who are given this diabetic driver exemption will have to complete evaluations that are carried out by a certified endocrinologist every four months. In addition to annual reviews done by the same professional.
FMCSA’s New Diabetic Driver Exemption Plan
In the fourteen years the diabetes exemption program has been in existence, it has revealed the possibility to evaluate and monitor the drivers of commercial vehicles that suffer from insulin-treated diabetes.
The new revised plan will make all examinations done through a medical examiner that is a professional in the field of diabetes. Eliminating the middle “agency” is also a step in eliminating all the paperwork needed to be accepted into the diabetic driver exemption program.
The vice president of the American Diabetes Association points out that there are many functional tools that can be used to manage this condition and they would make the operation of commercial motor vehicles as safe as possible. However, “the American Trucking Association (ATA) supports the elimination of part of the exemption process due to lack of truck drivers.” “ATA has some concerns still, but they hope that FMCSA reviews all stakeholder concern to ensure the finalized diabetes standards create a fair and equal process to new and existing drivers with diabetes.”
A nonprofit, Road Safe America supports this exemption process because drivers should be safe while on public roads. Road Safe America, like many diabetic drivers, support the exemption fully.
Failed FMCSA Drug Test?
If you failed a DOT mandated drug and/or alcohol test while working under the FMCSA, and want to get back to work fast, call SRS. SRS is a leader in facilitating mandated substance abuse evaluations. SRS has an extensive network with a nationwide reach for all DOT modes, including the FMCSA. Get in touch with SAP Referral Services today.
SAP Referral Services (SRS) is the leading facilitator for mandated substance abuse evaluations. SRS maintains an extensive network of qualified providers in more than 3,000 locations nationwide for testing violations that originate from any of the DOT’s modes including FMCSA, FAA, FRA, FTA, USCG and PHMSA, or a company’s internal drug and alcohol testing policy.
Source:
FMCSA Plan to Eliminate Exemptions for Diabetic Drivers in Limbo