Rules, Rules, Rules

 

FMCSA has decided to bring some new rules into the mix. Truck drivers need to read this. DOT exams preformed on or after May 21, 2014 will have to be performed by a doctor who has completed DOT’s required training and placed on the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners. If your exam was performed before May 21^st, it will be considered valid only as long as it was performed in accordance with these new standards (section 391.43). This requirement has not been delayed, so CDL holders need to be diligent in reviewing their certification cards. If you do not know whether or not your doctor is on the National Registry look on the following website: https://nationalregistry.fmcsa.dot.gov/NRPublicUI/home.seam. Just so you know, our doctor, Ryan Walton, is certified and has been on this registry since February of 2014.

CDL holders are still going to be responsible for self-certifying and submitting their medical certification to their state licensing agency. This is a separate requirement. States are being required to post your medical information to your driver’s record. Your motor carrier is also required to keep a copy of your med card with your driver’s qualification records along with a copy of your Motor Vehicle Record (if that record reflects medical certification information). The Wyoming Trucking Association estimates at least 6,000 CDL holders in Wyoming have not submitted their medical certificates to WYDOT.

Other rules include the requirement for EVERY commercial vehicle to slow down enough that a complete stop can be made, if necessary, before crossing railroad tracks. In addition, those carrying hazardous materials are required to come to a complete stop at all railroad tracks before proceeding when assuring the tracks are clear of hazards. Additional regulations make the driver responsible for assuring the hazardous materials placards are in place before leaving the shipper’s facility. If your truck is not placarded correctly, you can be fined heavily. It is your responsibility as the driver to make sure you have the placards. The shipper is only required to provide the placard that matches its own shipment. After this it becomes the carrier’s responsibility to ensure the proper placards for the shipment are in place, and that they are affixed to the trailer securely.

Keeping up with all the rules may be confusing, but we really want you drivers to be safe on the roads.

Addictions

Did you know that everyone is an addict in one way or another? Some people’s addictions are simple addictions such as chocolate, sugar, or exercise. Some are addicted to very dangerous things such as OxiContin, Xanax, Percocet, Lortab, Valium, and Morphine pills, and patches. Some addictions are worse than others. Taking more pain medicine than was actually prescribed can also have the opposite effect in causing rebound pain that is as bad, if not worse than the original pain being treated. It is very hard to break these addictions once they have begun, and it does hurt both the person and their extended families. For many people addicted to drugs, it happened by accident that they even became addicted. It can be because their bodies built up such a tolerance to these pain killers, and sleeping aids that it requires greater and greater amounts to reach the desired effect. That is hard and often painful for those who look to quitting and breaking their addiction, as well as those who love them and want to help them. Some do get out of these addictions, but others do not and often build up such a tolerance that they just keep taking more and more without thinking about how it may affect them or the people around them. It kills your liver and hurts the people you love to see you suffer when you don’t have the fix you need. So here are five things to “future proof” yourself and your loved ones:

1.                  Treatment must be accessible and affordable.

2.                  As a consumer, you must make yourself aware of the consequences associated with the abuse of medications.

3.                  The earlier treatment is offered in the disease process, the greater the likelihood is for a positive outcome.

4.                  Treatment must address the WHOLE: the medical, psychological, social, emotional, and vocational needs of the individual.

5.                  Programs need to match treatment and interventions to an individual’s particular problems and needs.

Try and understand that not everyone has the will power to quit on their own. Sometimes they need a little help and support from family and friends. So if you know someone who is struggling with drug abuse, try and find the best way to help them.

All facts in this blog article where provided by the DATIA Focus Magazine Fall 2013 Issue 4 Volume 6