If you would like to operate a commercial motor vehicle, you must possess a DOT medical certificate. The size of the motor vehicle does not matter, but the weight does. If you are going to drive a commercial vehicle over 10,000 pounds, you must take a physical and get a DOT card.
The DOT medical card is for you to carry to prove that you have passed the medical requirements to operate a commercial vehicle 10,000 or over. Taking your DOT physical every two years will ensure that you are in good health physically and mentally when you are driving.
Applying for and obtaining your DOT medical card helps to ensure your safety and the safety of other drivers. When you know that a clinician will monitor your physical condition, you will be more likely to be careful with your health. Continue reading to find out what you can drive with your medical card.
What Type of Commercial Vehicle Can You Drive with a DOT Medical Card?
Someone with a DOT certificate can drive many different commercial vehicles. When you hold this certificate, you can drive a vehicle that transports people, or you can haul freight over state lines. But what kind of vehicle can you drive?
Here’s the answer:
- Commercial vehicle over 10,000 pounds
- People transport of 16 people including the driver (bus)
- Transport of HAZMAT
- A truck with a trailer where the GCWR is more significant than 10,000 pounds
- A vehicle with a GVWR of more than 26,000 pounds which also requires a CDL
There is variety in what you can transport and the weight as long as you have the proper certifications. With a DOT medical card, you can transport heavy loads, hazardous materials, and people.
What Kind of Physical is Needed for a DOT Medical Card?
You will have to have a physical performed by a clinician who has been certified to perform and approve the exam and issue you a medical card.
These exams may be performed by a medical person, including:
- Physician assistants
- Chiropractors
- Medical doctors
- Nurse Practitioners
- Osteopathic physicians
The clinicians can perform this physical and issue the card as long as they are certified by FMCSA, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. They receive an ID number, and when they approve your exam, the Clinician will enter it into a database.
What Does the DOT Physical Include?
FMCSA has a specific form that must be used to record your physical findings. There is also a portion of the form for patient history. The document includes questions regarding medical and psychiatric history. If you have diabetes or hypertension, you will be issued a twelve-month certificate.
There is no variation of the twelve-month rule, and if your blood pressure or diabetes is uncontrolled, the medical review officer can issue a three-month certificate. This situation would be so that you can see your treating physician to review medications for control.
Once the three-month certificate is near expiration, you will have to return to the MRO for re-evaluation. You may be asked to supply lab work with fasting glucose and HgBA1c to show that your diabetes is improved. Your blood pressure will be rechecked in the examiner’s office.
You will be issued a certificate for the remainder of the twelve months; however, it will only be for nine more months.
Eyes and Ears Exam
Your corrected or uncorrected vision must be 20/40 or better in each eye. Also, you must be able to hear, which is tested with a whisper test that is no less than five feet away. If you wear hearing aids, you need a report from your hearing specialist, who can report to the examining clinician.
If you wear glasses, you will be tested with and without them. If you do not test at 20/40 or less in each eye, you will have to have your eyes examined by your eye doctor and adjustments made to your prescription.
How is Your Heart?
The condition of your heart is critical, and you will have to answer questions regarding your heart health in your medical history.
You will need to report:
- Heart attack
- Heart disease
- Coronary bypass
- Pacemaker
- Stents
If you have any of this history or conditions, you will or should be under cardiology care. You will have to visit them yearly and provide a report with specific testing results.
Conclusion
A medical card is essential, and you have to keep up with your health to be issued. Your life and career depend on it. If you have conditions that need to be monitored, there are forms you will need to have completed by your caregivers.
In some instances, you can apply for waivers for certain conditions, like a diabetic waiver if you are insulin-dependent. These waivers are time-consuming and very costly because testing and reporting are involved. If you want to drive the big rig, you need a card.
