Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
National Headquarters: 1 NW OOIDA Drive, Grain Valley, MO 64029
Tel: (816) 229-5791 Fax: (816) 427-4468
Washington Office: 1100 New Jersey Ave, SE, Washington, DC 20003
Tel: (202) 347-2007 Fax: (202) 347-2008
November 25, 2015
The Honorable T. F. Scott Darling, III
Acting Administrator
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
RE: PETITION FOR RULEMAKING TO EXTEND THE DECEMBER 22, 2015, IMPLIMENTATION
DEADLINE FOR THE MEDICAL CERTIFICATION INTEGRATION FINAL RULE
Dear Acting Administrator Darling,
OOIDA supports the driver health and highway safety goals of the National Registry of Certified Medical
Examiners (NRCME). In May of 2015, however, OOIDA filed a petition for reconsideration of the
Medical Examiner’s Certification Integration Final Rule, Docket No. FMCSA-2012-0178, 80 Fed. Reg.
22790 (April 23, 2015). FMCSA has not responded to that petition. OOIDA’s petition raised several
critical issues, issues that have only gotten worse in the interim. OOIDA has learned that many
experienced professional drivers with excellent safety records have continued to encounter different
situations that produce results that are contrary to the goals and intentions of the program. If FMCSA is
not ready to address these issues, OOIDA now petitions FMCSA to extend the December 22, 2015,
deadline to implement that rule until these issues are resolved.
With this impending deadline, OOIDA has significant concerns that the current direction of the NRCME
program is about to get worse. Those impacted by this change will include all stakeholders, the agency,
CMEs, and most directly and substantially the professional drivers who rely upon their medical
certification to enable them to earn a living for themselves and their families. The agency will defeat its
own laudable goals as the medical certification process continues to operate arbitrarily to disqualify
professional drivers in good health and with excellent safety records.
STATEMENT OF INTEREST
OOIDA is a not-for-profit corporation incorporated in 1973 under the laws of the State of Missouri, with
its principal place of business in Grain Valley, Missouri. OOIDA is the largest international trade
association representing the interests of independent owner-operators, small-business motor carriers, and
professional drivers. The approximately 150,000 members of OOIDA are professional drivers and smallbusiness men and women located in all 50 states and Canada who collectively own and operate more than
200,000 individual heavy-duty trucks. The vast majority of OOIDA members hold a commercial driver’s
license and are subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s rules regarding driver
medical certification. Changes to the medical certification rules and process are critical to the drivers’
well-being and success.
These are several of OOIDA’s ongoing concerns with the current medical certification process:
INCONSISTENT AND NON-UNIFORM MEDICAL EXAMS
Instead of providing consistent and uniform medical exams based on DOT standards, CMEs are too often
subjecting drivers to inconsistent and non-uniform evaluations. Drivers are being held to arbitrary
standards not specified in the DOT physical requirements. These practices pull safe drivers off the road
for protracted periods of time and force them to spend thousands of dollars on unwarranted tests and
expensive exams. In worst-case situations, safe driving careers are ended and small businesses are forced
to close. OOIDA members have experienced these consequences first-hand on too many occasions.
Members have experienced their CDL being downgraded and having to re-take their driving exam. They
have lost excellent job opportunities due to CMEs who believe they are more informed than the driver’s
personal physician. Inconsistent and non-uniform exams have grave consequences to the drivers who rely
upon them for their livelihood.
UNINFORMED CERTIFIED MEDICAL EXAMINERS
Multiple sources have confirmed to OOIDA that the FMCSA has not effectively communicated changes
to the program to all CMEs. A recent email sent to all CMEs, using the current addresses from the
NRCME, returned approximately 19,000 addresses as undeliverable. FMCSA staff confirmed that they
are aware of this issue and are working to fix it. Without crucial information in their hands regarding the
changes on December 22, CMEs could provide drivers with incorrect forms. In-turn, those forms would
be rejected by State Driver’s License Agencies (SDLAs). Fixing this problem would require far more than
a minor delay. FMCSA must retrain CMEs on the new Medical Examination Report, Form MCSA-5875
(MER). A driver’s exam is not when a CME should be struggling to learn a new form. The driver would
be understandably irritated and delayed from getting back to work. A CME would be placed between
frustrated drivers and the need to understand and abide by a new rule they were not aware of or prepared
for. The agency would lose the confidence of those who rely upon this system working properly. This
situation could repeat itself over and over just as we enter the heart of the holiday season when many
drivers may take care of matters such as their medical certification while they have precious home time.
CONFUSION EXISTS AMONG CMES ATTEMPTING TO STAY INFORMED.
Various occupational medical blogs and two recent question and answer sessions hosted by FMCSA have
revealed abundant and significant confusion among CMEs regarding the changes on December 22nd.
During the first question and answer session, a crucial staff member was not available due to illness. This
resulted in many stakeholder questions being “tabled.” The second question and answer session also
resulted in FMCSA staff having to again “table” questions as they required further consultation among
staff. The FMCSA’s actions of twice “tabling” questions point out their awareness of the need to allow
the appropriate amount of time to correctly respond to questions, as the matters at hand are complicated
and will have grave consequences for all drivers who require medical certifications. It is absolutely
critical that the agency continue to ensure adequate time is allowed to correctly implement this program.
FMCSA’s staff’s own apparent confusion and the lack of clarity of their communications to stakeholders
over important issues mirror that of stakeholders’ grasp of the rules.
THERE IS NOT ENOUGH TIME TO FIX THESE PROBLEMS BEFORE DECEMBER 22, 2015.
Only 17 business days remain for FMCSA staff to fix the problems raised by OOIDA and to develop the
promised FAQs to answer CME questions. As demonstrated by the many questions posed to FMCSA in
the question and answer sessions, these FAQs are very likely to bring about their own questions. During
this very brief time FMCSA staff must also ensure that all CMEs are made aware of the pending changes
and have access to the FAQs. With approximately 41% of CMEs not receiving notifications, this is an
incredibly unrealistic timeline. Nearly half of CMEs being unaware of substantial changes is not an
acceptable threshold for moving forward with changes that risk the livelihoods of many thousands of
individuals every month.
THE ISSUES “TABLED” BY FMCSA STAFF.
The issues that were “tabled” during both question and answer sessions are of immense significance.
OOIDA is greatly concerned about whether a driver must return to the same CME for a follow-up visit if
they have a pending determination. Over-the-road drivers could have substantial problems returning to a
specific CME for a follow-up. It also appears that the changes to provisions for short-term medical cards
(ie: 30, 60, 90 days) will not allow for the follow-up exams to be considered a “follow-up” in the same
way a pending exam is permitted. This will lead to a greater expense for the driver who will have to pay
for a full exam a second time, rather than the CME checking “follow-up” on page 1 of the MER as is
currently the practice.
FMCSA staff has been responsive to some of these concerns and steps have been taken to address a
portion of these issues. OOIDA Compliance Staff have noted that some of the most egregious problems
with the NRCME have subsided. But resolutions to these issues will only truly be effective once they are
resolved in the rules and more effectively communicated to stakeholders.
It is apparent that FMCSA now requires more time for staff to properly coordinate the positions of the
agency. The agency has been without key medical staff until very recently. Without the opportunity to
ensure that all CMEs are clearly aware of the new forms and changes in requirements, it would be
irresponsible to move forward on Dec 22nd. The agency should allow as much time as required to address
the myriad of problems which would result from a premature launch of the Medical Certification
Integration rule.
CONCLUSION
In light of these concerns, OOIDA petitions FMCSA to delay the implementation date of the medical
certification integration rule until it addresses OOIDA’s pending petition for reconsideration, including
the issues described above. Changes and improvements are necessary for the NRCME program to
adequately and uniformly focus on fairness, highway safety, and driver health.
Thank you for your consideration of OOIDA’s petition. We look forward to working with you and
FMCSA on continuing to improve the NRCME program to meet the goals set out by Congress in a way
that ensures fair treatment for safe and professional truckers. We look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Todd Spencer
Executive Vice President