Medical Examiners Certificate Validation Roadside

Drivers are being issued a violation as not medically qualified when they have a valid medical examiner certificate in their possession but have either not turned in the medical card or long form to the state or they have provided it to the state but the state has not recorded it yet. It seems that if he has a valid medical examiner certificate in his possession that he should not be give an violation for not being medically qualified considering the requirement to keep the certificate until January 30, 2014.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 49 CFR Part 391 [Docket No. FMCSA–1997–2210] RIN 2126–AB39 Medical Certification Requirements as Part of the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL); Extension of Certificate Retention Requirements AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The FMCSA amends its regulations to keep in effect until January 30, 2014, the requirement that interstate drivers subject to the commercial driver’s license (CDL)regulations and the Federal physical qualification requirements must retain paper copies of their medical examiner’s certificate. 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 the medical qualification of CDL holders until all States are able to post the medical selfcertification and medical examiner’s certificate data on the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) driver record.

Based on the extention quoted in the Justification, issue a memo that drivers who are able to present a valid medical certificate at roadside are not to be issued a violation for not being medically qualified regardless of state reported information or lack thereof. After January 30, 2014 it is recommended that a new violation be used for certifications not being current in the CDLIS system.