Alert One! All Safety Directors, fleet managers, or employee representatives please take note of the following information as it references both your CDL commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operators and your non-CDL commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operators. This announcement is time sensitive and can affect your drivers eligibility to continue to drive in a CDL status. Again, there is a section that deals with the non-CDL CMV operators so if you have non-CDL CMV operators also take note of that.
Fed Med Card/CDL Merger Could Fuel Driver Short ... Even if Only Temporarily
The word has been out for months now and much has been written about next month's merger of the Fed Med Card with the CDL (commercial driver's license). Yet, not all motor carriers and their drivers have made this deadline a priority in order to continue legally operating their commercial motor vehicles (CMV).
As of January 30, 2014, all holders of a CDL must have "self-certified" by providing their state driver licensing authority with a copy of their valid and current medical examiner's certificate/card. "Holders" include those who do not drive on a full-time basis, such as mechanics who test drive a repaired CMV, managers and supervisors who occasionally drive a CMV, temp drivers, etc.
Each state has its own specific form and procedure by which a driver must self-certify. Many CDL holders have already received a letter from their state licensing agency instructing them on how to proceed with this process of self-certifying. Also, as of January 30, 2014, drivers who have been through this process will no longer have to carry their medical cards with them.
Although this is clearly a responsibility between the CDL holder and the state licensing office, some employers have been processing this information for their drivers (with the driver’s permission and cooperation, of course) to ensure that their driver workforce stays intact. Why are employers involving themselves in this matter? A failure of the CDL holder to complete this process will result in the CDL holder being "downgraded," meaning that the driver will no longer be considered a licensed CDL driver and will not be allowed to operate a CMV.
If the driver fails to self-certify before January 30, 2014, and is stopped by law enforcement officials, both the driver and the carrier will likely be cited for operating a CMV without proper licensing. This will affect the CSA Driver Fitness BASICscores, as well as the likelihood of being placed out of service and possibly fined.
A driver cannot be allowed to operate a CMV as of January 30, 2014, until the carrier has a copy of the driver's MVR in the driver’s driver qualification (DQ) file showing the driver's medical status. If at any time the MVR that the carrier has on file shows the driver does NOT have current medical information on file with the state, the carrier is not to use the driver. This driver is to be considered "unqualified," even if the driver has a valid medical card in his/her possession!
The only exception is that the driver can carry a medical card if it was issued in the last 15 days. The carrier can accept and use this card as proof of medical certification until the MVR is updated. If the 15 days are up and the MVR still does not show the driver as being medically certified, the carrier must consider the driver unqualified.
This process of self-certifying does not apply to commercial drivers who are not required to have a CDL. Even still, they must continue to carry their medical card with them and their employers must keep a copy of the medical card in the driver’s DQ file.
Update 12/18/2013
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