The Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA) has handed down an extension that requires all interstate commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders to retain their paper copies of their medical examiner’s certificate. CDL holders are also still required to provide all current documents upon request at the roadside by federal and state commercial motor vehicle inspections. In Dec. 2008, FMCSA issued a Final Rule modernizing, streamlining, and simplifying recordkeeping obligations for drivers, carriers and state governments by requiring that a driver’s medical certification record be merged with state-issued CDLs. States received support from FMCSA to implement the necessary IT system upgrades and merge the records into one, an online database – the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS). FMCSA announced the one-year extension today to protect commercial drivers from being cited for violations because some states are not yet in full compliance with the new system. The original requirement was in effect only until Jan 1, 2014. Now, the new regulation will extend until January 30th, 2015. Of course, this is according to FMCSA. How does this make CDL drivers feel?
As you and I both know, the FMCSA is all about rules and regulations. Just another paper to carry around, right? Not exactly. Why some regulations are questioned but in effect for a reasonable reason, other regulations and requirements are foolish at best. We want to know how you feel. Chime in below, I’m curious to get your take on this. Below, you’ll find the official regulation.
The FMCSA amends its regulations to keep in effect until January 30, 2015, the requirement that interstate drivers subject to: (1) either the commercial driver’s license (CDL) or the commercial learner’s permit (CLP) regulations: as well as (2) the Federal physical qualification requirements under 49 CFR part 391, must retain paper copies of their medical examiner’s certificate when operating a commercial motor vehicle. Interstate motor carriers are also required to retain copies of their drivers’ medical certificates in their driver qualification files. This action is being taken to ensure that the medical qualification of CDL and CLP holders are documented adequately until all State driver licensing agencies (SDLAs) are able to post: (1) the drivers’ self-certification whether the physical qualifications standards are applicable to them; and (2) the medical examiner’s certificate information, on the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) driver record. This rule does not, however, extend the compliance dates for the SDLA to collect and to post to the CDLIS driver record the CDL holder’s self-certification about applicable standards and the medical examiner’s certificate.
RIN: 2126-AB71
Docket# FMCSA–1997-2210
Source: FMCSA
