Physical Condition

Hello, my Name is Noah and I'm doing reseach to see if I should go for it or don't bother trying. here the story, I have always wanted to drive trucks and going on the road but whats stopping me is that I walk with a cane due to weak knee (left knee) but I can climb in and out if I want to. I'm also hard of hearing cochlear implant. that pretty much it. oh I'm 5' foot tall. what is your take gentlemen?

You may have to get an SPE certification depending on how impaired your knee is. Working the clutch also might be tough on your knee. Best thing would be to get a DOT physical and find out where to go next.

For the hearing test you must be able to hear a whisper at a distance greater than five feet. Or there is another more accurate hearing test they can perform if you cannot pass the whisper test. Your height should not be a problem in the least.

What do you mean by hearing whisper? like someone whispering to you at a distance of 5 feet? and the knee issue, now day every company has automatic transmission so I figure I wouldn't have to worry but I'm sure that some companies has manual transmission.

What do you mean by hearing whisper? like someone whispering to you at a distance of 5 feet? and the knee issue, now day every company has automatic transmission so I figure I wouldn't have to worry but I'm sure that some companies has manual transmission.

Most Schools train in a manual truck. I'm sure there are ADA GUIDELINES that would accommodate that issue. You would be issued a CDL with an automatic only restriction. If you want it bad enough, do your homework, with hard work and perseverance, almost anything can be accomplished! Good luck!

What do you mean by hearing whisper? like someone whispering to you at a distance of 5 feet?

Basically, yes.

a forced whispered voice in the better ear at not less than five feet with or without the use of a hearing aid

I am not sure from what you said whether or not you have issues with both ears, or just one, but you only need one of them to be able to hear forced whisper at 5 feet to be able to pass the hearing portion.

As for your knee/cane, the medical requirements are looking for whether you can safely operate a vehicle. They aren't testing you to see if you can run a marathon. They will be looking to make sure you can safely operate the pedals.

The medical isn't too expensive. You don't need to wait for a company to hire you to get it either (though they may make you do another with one when they hire you). You just need to find a Certified Medical Examiner and should expect to pay around $100. Many of them are a walk-in situation so you don't have to plan weeks out to get one.

And I just wanted to add, there is still opportunity for getting the medical "O.K." if you fail to meet the normal requirements. There are amputees out there working as drivers, people missing entire limbs. The medical requirements, especially where disabilities come into play, are just for a quick approval of people who are considered healthy and ready to go without further considerations being made.

Go get that medical so that anxiety is out of your way and you can focus on studying for the written exam and start looking at companies and schooling options.

I remember there was an article a while back about allowing anyone who is deaf to be allowed to start driving the trucks. I have no problem driving a vehicle which I do everyday, used to have a manual car. I just wasn't sure how strict the companies are about physical requirement. but thanks guys I will go about seeing the medical examiner and hopefully he gives me the okay.