As called for in the new highway law, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Monday, Oct. 3 announced it would establish an FMCSA Medical Review Board, which will provide scientific advice to the Department of Transportation and FMCSA on medical issues, including the physical qualification requirements for commercial drivers.
The Medical Review Board will provide FMCSA with ongoing medical expertise to shape research on and decisions about the health and wellness of CMV drivers, including physical qualifications, medical advisory criteria and safety research. The board also will advise the agency on the development of uniform driver physical qualification standards and CMV driver health and wellness, and will provide advice and recommendations for the development of a functional capacity test for individuals with certain impairments.
Another role for the Medical Review Board will be to advise FMCSA on the establishment and maintenance of medical examiner training and certification processes. In a recent related action, FMCSA announced that it planned to survey medical examiners on the proper role of an examiner as the agency develops its National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.
DOT will appoint five physicians to the board, which will begin work during the current fiscal year. Applications for board positions are due Oct. 30.
For more information on the Medical Review Board, visit http://dms.dot.gov/search and search Docket No. 20105.
