CVSA looking to penalize drivers without medical cards

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is reportedly thinking of cracking down on drivers who do not have a medical certificate.

According to TruckingInfo.com, new guidelines that are being considered by the CVSA would place a truck driver out of service who has failed to come up with a medical certificate twice. This potential guideline is considered lenient compared to previous ideas, as the news provider reports that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration asked the CVSA to make drivers accountable the first time around.

Those in the industry objected to the one-strike proposal, saying that there are bigger issues in the trucking sector.

"We felt very strongly that it does not make sense to make it an out-of-service item because [those] criteria should be about preventing people from operating who present an imminent hazard," Rob Abbott, vice president of safety policy at American Trucking Associations, told the news provider. "Drivers who forget to carry a med card don't present an imminent hazard."

The CVSA is a nonprofit organization that works to promote safety for commercial vehicles. Those who are thinking of entering the industry may want to consider online truck driver training.

By Mark Priest

CVSA looking to penalize drivers without medical cards

Monday, May 9th, 2011