Medical Disqualification For Unfit Drivers

This is a topic that all of us need to be concerned about and not just drivers. America is overweight for eating way to much of the wrong foods. The concern for getting unfit drivers off the road is coming at us and it has already started. With more to come.

I have collected articles about many drivers being taken off the road after many miles (millions) of accident free driving because they failed their DOT physical when they had one of the disqualifying factors for years. Your medical card is taken away and you have now lost your job. But on the other hand I have an article about a driver who had his CDL taken away by the DOT but it was just fine letting him get/keep his pilots license and saying you are fit for flying. You can be missing an arm and be qualified to drive with a prosthetic limb. You can even be a paraplegic and drive a big rig.

I do not understand why you are allowed to take away a person’s job/CDL because you have the disqualifying factor for years and it was caught at the DOT physical and there is no grey area to discuss.  It is so cut and dried with everyone being put into the same category. Your perfect record does not matter to the ones who made the rules.  You can get an attorney and sue and maybe win like others have done.  But that is a long process.

When drivers have been taken off the road for the above examples, being out of shape is now coming and I know many of you have read about it in the trucking magazines.  Recently in our forum, I said “I could not fathom being dismissed from your job, having your CDL taken away from you when you failed certain guidelines, but your job performance and driving record are perfect.  So don’t worry about it”.  I was wrong.  I went and looked up my articles I kept and read about the latest article on this issue.  Like it or not, this is fast approaching and trucking/truckers are going to be made the scapegoat in this.  (who is next? people who sit at desks all day? Is fast food going to be outlawed? Food police at the grocery stores telling you what you can not buy?? This is all silly, but look around at some of the laws we have now)

The powers to be have spoken and it can’t be changed quickly but we can do things now to change the results of many drivers who are borderline on the UNFIT area. Now is the time to take control and drop the weight and get healthy to keep your job.

This includes me and I have lost 20 pounds in the last year.  I ate when my father died to get thru the grieving process and I also did not care about me and how I looked.  I hid the weight well and could not believe I could weigh so much.  April 2008, I had to take another DOT physical per new employers rules even tho I had plenty of time left on my current medical card.  The weight put on my medical papers for my employer to see shocked me. It was a nasty number. I had been working on losing and toning up before this, but it was not enough to lower the number as much as I preferred.  I was SKINNY while being an OTR driver so this was not right.

I cut out white processed bread and tators daily and did leg lifts and walking. Yes I have a job where I am home nightly but that does not matter. Eating right is something we need to do and I even did it on the road. I did lots of leg exercises in the sleeper and I walked every chance I got at shippers and during your break.  I had fresh fruits and veggies with me.  Even bought them at the truck stops which costs you more, but it was the better choice.  I also did some cooking at home and brought about 2 days worth and kept it in my cooler with ice and re-heated the food in the lunch box cooker.  I even bought soups and with all their salt which is not good for you, it made a cheap and filling meal.  And you need to eat breakfast and I do not mean donuts.  Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.  On the road or now,  I eat something every 3 to 4 hours, may be a meal or parts of it or a  good or bad snack.  I drank very little pop. I am a lots of water and black coffee (no sugar/cream) person.  When you get enough points on your fuel card, you can then use them to get some of the more expensive items at the truck stops so that way they are free or will cost you much less.  (for the new readers, professional drivers can get the Driver Payback cards at participating truckstops. For every gallon of fuel pumped, you get 1 point/cent put on the card. When enough points are on the card you can then get your free food/drink/clothing item.)

Here are a few choices of good things to eat and have in the truck/car/at work.

Oranges, peaches,plums, grapes, strawberries, cucumbers, celery, apples,air popped popcorn,peanut butter, fruit smoothies, sunflower seeeds, olives, herbal tea, water, non-fat yogurt, frozen yogurt.  I go thru a lot of canned mandarin oranges–in the truck and at home. For your meals, eat in moderation and make the better choice of grilled verses fried for your meats.

Many companies are starting the Employee Wellness program and if you drive for a major carrier, some of the terminals do have a work out room.  This is also a great place to get your walking in.

It is not going to be easy to accomplish this weight loss as quickly as it went on.  Together WE can do it and get fit and healthy and be ready for our next physical and maybe even your employers new rules being implemented.  And this still includes me.  I want to get back to my weight I had in 2004.  No, I am not going to tell what that was.  I will tell you I  will achieve that goal and will be here to motivate you and cheer you on your results.  So come on over to the trucking forum where this will take place.