The doctors who perform yearly physical exams on long-haul truckers and bus drivers must now be certified by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Physical exams have long been a requirement to a commercial drivers’ license in Kentucky.
But Commissioner Rodney Kuhl with the Department of Vehicle Regulation at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says this extra step will ensure the safety of drivers and -- for bus drivers -- their passengers.
“By going through the medical examiner process and by going to see a certified medical examiner, they are being trained to look for specific contributors or certain medical conditions that could prevent a driver from being physically fit to drive,” said Kuhl.
Kuhl says commercial truck and bus drivers who don’t meet the federal physical fitness requirement can ask the state for a waiver to become an “intrastate” CDL operator. Those drivers can only operate inside the commonwealth.
About 150,000 Kentuckians have their CDL.
