Commercial vehicles are one of the most significant modes of transportation especially due to the worthiness of the goods transferred by them. Every day, these giant sixteen and eighteen wheelers fetch and haul all the necessary items required for the daily living. Therefore the drivers who are in charge of these vehicles must also possess a standardized level of proficiency and dexterity over the skill of driving these commercial vehicles. Competency of a driver is decided by a significant examination conducted by a certified medical examiner of the Department of Transportation (DOT). The DOT examination test measures a driver’s all-around competency for driving a commercial vehicle in both interstate and intrastate trade levels. Any driver who is about to take the examination also wants to know what the DOT medical card cost is as well.
Here is a look at the DOT test and some of the requirements
In essence, the DOT examination scans how well a driver is clinically fit to undergo the strenuous job chores related to the operation of a commercial vehicle. It determines whether or not; the examinee is competent enough to meet the criteria of swiftness and deftness required for operating a commercial truck. The level of required competency is set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the body conducting this examination is comprised of MD doctors, a Chiropractors, an Osteopaths, certified practice nurses and physician assistants. The doctors upon written evaluation are registered in the FMCSA’s national registry.
The examination mainly evaluates:
- Vision and Hearing levels of the Examinee
- Blood Pressure and Pulse Rate
- Whether they are impaired by either drug, alcohol or sleep derivation issues (sleep apnea).
The points that a commercial driver must ascertain
When a driver operates as an intrastate driver, the DOT examination must be current and the driver must have his card with him at all times. Further, if you do not have a Commercial Driver’s License must undertake a test to become a commercially licensed driver (CDL), after accomplishing it, the DOT medical card is the next step. Fundamentally, a DOT medical card is vital for those drivers who intend to operate a commercial vehicle for interstate or intrastate business. A CDL is required in the following instances:
- Trucks and vans whose gross combination weight rating scales up to 10,001 pounds or surpasses it
- Transports devised to hold more than 8 or 15 people at a time
- Automobiles tagged of as consisting of lethal or harmful elements
As for the DOT medical card, once an examinee passes the test, the driver is required to carry it on his or her person and to provide it, when asked, to law enforcement. The cost of the test varies and in order to get the best price, one should call around to various clinics to ask about pricing and available appointment times.
As much as it is the duty of a commercial driver to be DOT certified, so also it is the job of the employer to ensure that their drivers are compliant. The photocopy of the DOT credentials of an interstate driver must be kept both by the operator and the employer.…